Seeing the results of the the eRICHIE Masi sale made me also think about selling some Masi stuff - but I think this one is a fluke. There is only one ERICHIE!
The ebay price I believe surpases the prices that John Barron was selling early 70's NOS Masi bikes for a few years back. That makes no sense - an original never ridden bike should in my opinion be far more valuable than a restored machine.
Obviously, people wanted to own the very bike that Richard poured so much effort and time into. It isn't a Masi bike anymore - it is Richards interpretation of a restored bike. If anyone else had the bike, I bet it would have topped out at around $4,000 to $5,000. I figure 2.5K for a truly mint group, and 1.5K - 2K for a restored frame. This isn't to say at all that anyone overpaid for the bike, but we need to understand that this bike was more than just the sum of its frame and its parts.
In a way, I really hope this is a fluke. I have no doubts that the bike needed a full restoration and Richard did right by it. But I'd hate to see the day when restored bikes become more valuable than nice original examples. As I understand it, the world of vintage autos fell victim to this attitude long ago and the outcome was not "pretty" except in the purely visual sense.
Mike Kone in Boulder CO
> e-RICHIE stated his reasons for selling the Masi on numerous online
\r?\n> boards,
\r?\n> one version can be found here:
\r?\n> http://www.bikeforums.net/
\r?\n> There are a few responses from e-RICHIE concerning the bike.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I suspect that the glut of ebay masi is a direct result of eRICHIE's
\r?\n> auction,
\r?\n> everyone who has a Gran Criterium dreaming of selling it for upwards of
\r?\n> $5k
\r?\n> even if it is only a $1200 bike.
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Marty Eison
\r?\n> Frisco, Texas