T-town is a great buying event, and a good selling even for stuff you just want to dump. It may not be the place to sell rare NOS collectables, since the people who are willing to pay top dollar are more readily reached by Ebay.
One pattern that I've fallen into is buying things that I don't actually need for a particular project, just because they are cheap, fun items. For example, a couple years ago I bought a set of Record pedals with strap loops for $20. They were rough. I polished them up, replaced a couple of bearing cups and they were then pretty nice. I realized that I didn't really need them, so I sold them the next year. Someone was happy to give me $60 for them. In the $40 difference, I needed to cover my cpst on the cups ($10 or so), some ball bearings, and some grease. If I put any value on my time, say a common $40/hr bike shop labor rate, it was a loosing proposition. Fortunately, reviving old Campy parts is entertainment for me, so I put no value on this time. My point? I guess it is that if you like fixing up old stuff, you can find said old stuff at T-town and the next year there are likely to be people who will pay you far more than your original cost for reconditioned vintage stuff.
Tom Dalton
Bethlehem, PA
Joe Bender-Zanoni <joebz@optonline.net> wrote:Bruce said:
> I thought VeloSwap was a bust for the most part, the majority of new stuff
> goes on eBay, I'm sure.
This is interesting because I thought T-town was such a success this year. Even for vintage stuff, I heard no one complaining. The buyers lined up early and came on strong. The sellers were there to sell- make me an offer- I wouldn't schlep this stuff here if I wanted to leave with it.
I had a ball selling to the messenger crowd. If they really liked or needed a part they got a sweet deal.
We sold half our stuff and I bet that was typical.
The cash machine ran out as usual but then they had some deal with the snack bar or something as the T-town national bank.
Lot's of momentum for the new spring swap.
Joe B-Z GNNJ
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