Larry,
You won the ALAN I was hoping to get. Congrats!
Out of curiosity how much did it cost you to get it across the pond? That was what kept me from bidding, a huge shipping quote. It certainly came quickly enough.
Now on to the problem at hand... Take a bunch of clear photos of the damage to show the seller and share with us. ALANs are glued together (screwed and glued) so maybe it can be repaired with adhesive. Modern epoxies are pretty amazing so depending on where the damage is it might work.
You can likely get quotes to repair the frame from a few people:
http://mypage.uniserve.com/
And I seem to recall Harry Hoovannen (I probably botched the spelling on that) used to do these sorts of repairs. Perhaps another CR member can help you locate him.
If you feel like selling it, let me know! :-)
David -- David Bilenkey Ottawa, Ontario, Canada dbilenkey@sympatico.ca
http://www.wooljersey.com/
> -----Original Message-----
> From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org
> [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of
> Larry Myers
> Sent: November 23, 2006 12:36 AM
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR]Problem w/ an overseas e-Bay purchase
>
>
> Hello to all!
>
> I just received, this morning, my first foreign purchase
> from e-Bay. It is a very cool ALAN bike, sized for a child
> (or very small adult)- 22' tubulars, 155mm cranks, jr. Concor
> seat, etc. Only one small problem- while unpackaging the bike
> (which was very poorly packaged), I discovered that it has a
> broken frame. The RH seatstay has parted company with the
> seat lug, leaving about a 1/8" gap between these two pieces.
> I don't feel that the poor packaging caused this- it is a
> break much more typical of hard use , than of shipping
> damage. The Italian seller was not a bike specialist; their
> line of work seems to be vintage scooters & motorcycles (and
> other antique items), and the break was in a place that only
> a fairly skiled mechanic would notice it, so I am pretty
> convinced that the frame was broken when the seller obtained
> it from it's previous owner. I have e-mailed the seller; but
> will probably not hear back for at least a day. I would
> greatly appreciate any input/advice from fellow listers who
> have been through this sort of thing- how it was resolved,
> how long, steps I can take to get a speedy resolution,etc.
> The transaction was conducted through PayPal, where I am a
> verified buyer/seller; should I call them, or would I be
> wasting my time? Any info appreciated!
>
> Larry Myers, Portland, OR, USA
> curmudgeon1957@yahoo.com