I get that "How much can I get?" question constantly and am becoming a little impatient (hoping that it doesn't show, however) at having to explain the problem of generating an appraisal for a bike or part I can't see or for which there isn't any kind of a market record.
BUT, Dale, I wonder if you see the CR list as an appropriate place to ask "What would be a resonable price to pay for one of those Twizgets if I find one?" A bike or part rare in my region may be very common in another. I would sometimes like to know if the item for which I'm about to pay a premium price is way-common up in New England, for example.
Calvert Guthrie Kansas City
In a message dated 5/20/2002 10:09:17 AM Central Standard Time, OROBOYZ@aol.com writes:
> This posting reminds me, again, as to why I have the "firm price" rule on
> the CR... It is because (among other reason) that I do not want the CR to
> be
> a place to establish the highest possible price for old bike goods.
>
> In theory, the CR exists for people who own and maintain their old bikes,
> not
> a place for people who want to get rid of them. Of course, collectors/
> owners/riders want to find old bikes too, so the selling of bikes and parts
>
> is to some degree desirable, but there is something unpalatable about the
> "how much is it worth questions" I receive all the time.
> An Ebay search can help those people find what similar items are selling
> for,
> and "What it's worth?" is a nebulous concept anyway because as we say so
> often, it is "worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it right
> now."
> Certainly some bikes will routinely sell for a certain range but closely
> coupled with that is the condition of the bike, it's originality, its size
> and the model within a maker's range....
>
> Anyway, I still do not want folks using the CR list as a survey site to
> maximize their selling prices. It just goes against the grain.... Everybody
>
> understand the thinking here?
>
> Thanks
> Dale
>
> Dale Brown
> List manger
> Greensboro, North Carolina
> <A HREF="http://www.classicrendezvous.com/main.htm">Classic Rendezvous</A>