Charles wrote:
"You can't put a price on happiness..but the new owner of that bike just paid a steep price for happiness, is all I can say. If he ever tries to re-sell that bike to get anywhere near his purchase price back, he'll be having some strong feelings, and happiness won't be one of them.
Note well...no comment about "stupid prices" expressed or implied."
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Charles, it seems like some dollar value issues are definitely implied in your post. It seems like you're saying that the buyer paid too much based on what you think the actual value of this item is in today's market and what it will be in the future. In addition, it seems that your point is that the buyer will regret buying the bike at some time in the future for that reason. Why do you think you know what the market will be for a bike like this in the future? For all we know it could go even higher under the right circumstances. It's also possible that this bike will have little dollar value in a future when our generation of vintage bike enthusiasts is no longer riding age or are deceased. Most of the folks I ride with these days already see no value in old bikes as real "tools of the trade" for state of the art riding.
Why not accept that the price paid may not be an issue for the buyer of this bike? He may know perfectly well that there may not be any future buyer that is willing to pay what they just paid for the bike. All this could be said about your purchase of a beat up old De Rosa frame. That seems fine with me. Why flog the value issue? Can't you just accept that money may not be what it's about? How does anyone justify the price of a vacation? When it's over, all you have is an experience, a credit card bill, and a refrigerator magnet. It seems like this buyer has something that will bring them pleasure each time they experience riding/owning this bike. That's priceless if it's important to them and they can afford it.
Roman Stankus
Atlanta, Ga.