because this is a 'by subscription only' forum, what bothers me about the criticism heaped on auctions and items like these is that alot people go to the soapbox on what's real and what's perceived, but the discussion doesn't allow for the sellers to participate; most are not on the cr list. they often never heard of the cr list. they may not be vintage-bike folks. they may just want to sell something using ebay as a conduit. these 'auction trashings' occur routinely on this list. unless the seller is on board to speak his piece, i do not like the tone of these discussions. there's no resolution to this subject, but a close second may be to only be critical of auctions that you know are the property of listees. we cannot call someone to task if he's not on this list. how could we? he doesn't get this mail. should a listee be the conduit to funnel our mail to all ebay sellers with whom we disagree? this would turn into a lynch mob. just try to weed through all the ebay items under 'bicycle' and see how many item descriptions make you curl up. re, the bianchi: i believe the guy's story. it's good enough for me. e-RICHIE chester, ct
On Wed, 9 Oct 2002 13:53:02 EDT OROBOYZ@aol.com writes:
> In a message dated 10/4/2002 1:05:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> richardsachs@juno.com writes:
>
> << what's the harm if he's not (as) well versed (as our list
> bretheren) in
> the jargon? >>
>
> Coming into this a bit late (I have been off at the Bike Show) ....
>
> Well, this is rather a crucial point about a persons responsibility
> in
> selling a valuable thing, be it a bicycle or anything else. True
> ignorance of
> the facts or feigned ignorance, the result is the same.
>
> I think I read in between the lines that Richie has affection and
> empathy for
> the older gentleman, which I can understand, but this seller still
> must be
> held responsible when selling something as special as this bike. HE
> should
> have asked you to help him properly describe that bike before
> placing it for
> auction.
>
> You cannot simply say a bike belonged to Coppi if you are really not
> sure or
> able to substantiate it. Imagine selling an item "Used by John
> Kennedy" or
> selling your home by saying it had some enhancing attribute that you
> really
> didn't know for sure and unable to substantiate it. It would be seen
> as
> outrageous. Kind of like these religious relics, i.e., "Saint
> Sebastian's
> toe bone" Yuk.
>
> That bike was valuable in it's own right as a mechanical piece but
> the Coppi
> provenance would boost it's value immensely to some buyers. If we
> are "CR
> Police", in a position to call someone to task on a slip up (or, in
> some
> other cases, intentional misrepresentation) like this, I think it's
> a good
> thing.
>
> Dale Brown
> Greensboro, North Carolina