I'll chime in on this one. About two years ago I paid $1000 for a 1972 chrome P15. I purchased it from American Cyclery in San Francisco. I'd wanted a chrome Paramount since I first saw one a few decades ago. The one I purchased was supposedly only ridden 20 miles or so - and it looked it. I thought I got a fair price, particularly given the number of extras thrown in (like the original tool pouch with Campy tools). So I can readily imagine someone paying $1500 for a spanking new chrome P13. I certainly wouldn't pay $2500 for this Paramount but if I were selling something on eBay, I would post it with a very high Buy It Now price to see if anyone bites. If someone pays it, then it's fair price! I see it's up to almost $1700 now.
By the way, I bought my chrome Paramount with the intention of using it as a backup bike for commuting and touring, but it's just too darn pretty to ride. I hate it when that happens. Now I have to buy another one I can actually use! To make matters worse, a few weeks ago I picked up via eBay a late 50's Paramount that was found in the back of a bike shop (possibly never ridden) with open-C QR levers and shifters, high flange 3-piece Gran Sport hubs, the neat Schwinn adjustable racing stem and many other interesting parts. It cost only $800.
Is a new bike worth more if it's still in the box? I recall Bicycle Classics selling NIB Raleigh Pro's a couple of years ago and I think they were asking about $1800. I'd rather have the Paramount but at this point I'm saving my money for something more interesting than a Raleigh Pro or a Paramount, something Italian or French - or maybe a Sachs? I'll be passing through Connecticut this summer. Should I stop at Richard's shop or is that too dangerous a thing to do for someone with the bug?
Gary Chottiner
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
_____
Dave-
With all due respect I don't think it's fair to compare my bike with used examples. If I went to get coffee on this bike it would depreciate $500-1000 don't you think? Tell us more about all the unridden bikes you are using for comparison, particularly the DeRosas.
My basis for the price isn't relative to the many clean original chrome Paramounts I've seen for under a grand, it's relative to parting out a full NOS NR group, the frame, and the old logo cinelli bar/stem... (not that I would).
-Jack Bissell, schizophrenic relation to seller
Tucson, Az
http://ebay.com/
On Monday, May 19, 2003, at 04:33 AM, David Novoselsky wrote:
> Very nice, but overpriced? Okay, that's easy to say for me since I
> have its virtual twin, a perfect all-chrome 73 P-15. But, $2,500 as a
> 'buy it now' price and such a high starting bid? Am I wrong here?
> What are today's Paramount prices, real ones that is, not the later
> PDG products?
>
> I paid well under a $1,000 for my 73 and while I may have gotten a
> steal, are any of the Paramounts of the Bike Boom period really worth
> the $2,500 this guy is trying to get, no matter how nice? I
> respectfully submit not. Pristine early Track bikes from the late 30s
> through early 50s? Yes, especially with the right Schwinn-built
> components, the unique crankset, stem, pedals, etc. The early
> 'Keyhole' lugged Paramounts in restored conditions, perhaps but even
> then, not this high. Restored examples of the early 'factory' Nervex
> bikes? Low to mid thousand dollar range, which usually means a
> Waterford or like-quality repaint and correct parts.
>
> But no matter how nice this all-chrome 72 may be, and it seems to be
> all that and more, $2,500? Not IMHO. Too many keep popping up. For
> every Bike Boom Paramount, there are only a handful of Masis of the
> era, early De Rosas for the Italian fancier, etc. How many of those
> are bringing $2,500? Not a lot, unless I am way off here.
>
> At the same time, Paramounts from the lower production era rarely
> surface. My 59s (a road frame and a track frame, both beautifully
> repainted when I bought them) were much more rare on Ebay or
> elsewhere. Paramounts from the pre-70s do not surface all that
> often, and if really nice, get grabbed up quickly.
>
> Curious to see what the rest of you think of the Paramount price
> structure in the current vintage market. Fortuantely, my plate is
> full and this is only of academic interest for me.
>
> Dave Novoselsky
> Chicago, Illinois (Paramount Roster: 41 Track; 59 Track and Road
> bikes; 61 Road; 67 Road; and 73 all chrome P-13)