Good arguments all. But you are forgetting the key point. The seller cannot be trusted. He has mis-represented lots of products in the past, and when buyers have a problem with it, he tells them to go get stuffed - Read his feedback. I would not buy from him, and I would urge others to do likewise. There are plenty of other bikes out there.
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org]On Behalf Of chasds@mindspring.com Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 6:59 PM To: crabulux@yahoo.com Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]re: molteni Merckx on ebay
Devon wondered why no-one has bid on this bike yet..
ebay number: 7181756644
She asks an interesting question..is it overpriced?
I'm hoping we'll get into a little of this at the Velo-Rendezvous on Saturday afternoon...
I think the seller has done a poor job of marketing the bike on ebay. Many more high-resolution pics, along with a more informed and and carefully designed text might have had it sold by now. He'd have been smarter to A) not give away his reserve; B) Start bidding at a buck, and, C) NOT list a buy-it-now.
This bike deserved some action..had he marketed it right, it would get a lot of action, and likely make his reserve. As it is, all the potential buyers are thinking it over. Six-of-one, half-dozen of the other; if he gets his price, the method really doesn't matter, although my way would have been more fun for all concerned..<g>
All this said, the reserve is probably right at the outer edge of the market price, and, imho, the buy-it-now is too high.
On the other hand, someone who wants one in that size may not have seen it yet, and will be willing to pay for it. I know I'm tempted myself; I've always wanted one of these, but it's just a tad small for me, and it's hard to get excited about it with such lousy pictures.
These early 80s Merckx bikes seem a little undervalued right now. I've thought for awhile now that most in-CR-timeline racing bikes from about 1982 to 1986 or so haven't quite seen their day yet.
If you were 15 in 1982, you're about 38 now. In five years?
Give those bikes another five years or so, and I'm betting they will all start shooting skywards...so, now's the time to buy those Merckxs and Olmos and Palettis and Cioccs and all the rest of those cool pimped-out 80s italian rides... I wish I had room for more of them..besides the fact that most of them really are very neat, they're very refined riders every one of them, and represent the end of the era..as if the makers of the time somehow knew everything was about to change, and gave it their all..like the end of a fireworks display.
There's an early 80s Olmo Competition out there, in perfect, mint condition, with all the panto'd stuff, that I still regret selling. I just can't STAND those freakin' vinyl graphics. They were awful. Still, I wish I had that one back.
Charles "love all that panto'd s*&^" Andrews SoCal