I, too, was appalled to see Nivex dropouts cut from a frame, but this would
appear to be an inevitable cost of eBay. Take a look at the page after page of
advertisements 'ready for framing' each one cut from a magazine reducing its
intrinsic value to near zero but its cash value to the despoiler to the
level of a good living. It is no use in this case saying that you would never buy
from him; if you really needed Nivex dropouts then sadly you would. In the
unliikely event of a friend or acquaintance cutting a frame up, then have
nothing more to do with him.
We may be doing the seller an injustice, of course, as even a damaged frame
of that age and type would surely be worth more than the cut off dropouts. Has
anyone asked what happened to the rest of the frame?
Stuart Tallack (a little saddened in spring time Sussex)