Lou Deeter wrote:
I've purchased bikes to sell. I've purchased bikes to keep. I've purchased bikes that I was going to keep that I ended up selling. I've purchased bikes I was going to sell and ended up keeping. I no longer look with a primary motive to make money on things I buy, although I do peruse Ebay and place bids that are low enough that if I win, I know I can "flip" it as Harvey Sachs said.
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I'm with Lou here. One interesting tangle in this thread, that may have already been addressed (I'm late to it), is the problem that probably bedevils all collectors of one kind or another: to make real money in collecting, be it bikes or stamps or anything else, you usually have to spend some real money in the process.
I can't remember how many bikes I've bought-- some kept, some sold--that seemed astronomically expensive, at the time of purchase, but proved to be excellent investments in the end.
Five years ago, a totally original Carlsbad Masi, early s/n with everything as it came in the box, lightly used, might have sold for 1500 bucks tops. That same bike now would likely fetch twice that, in a carefully-made auction, with good pics.
Colnagos from the early 70s that cost $1000 or so five years ago are easily worth twice that, or more, now.
Not as good as a well-managed small-cap value fund, by any means, but better than most bikes, and probably more fun to buy, sell, and own than said fund, which is nothing but numbers on a monthly statement.
When all's said and done, I'd rather make money on my bikes, than lose it...so far, most have done far better than inflation. These tend to be the top bikes...the PX-10s of this world tend not to do so well (with exceptions, there are always exceptions), although they're a lot less expensive than a 1973 De Rosa, too...
Charles Andrews
SoCal