I agree with Ken. I got one of my best deals on a bike from one of these eBay outlets. The auction title said it was a 59cm bicycle, but the pictures in the auction clearly showed it was much smaller. I got it for a great price because I think those who were looking for 59ish frames opened the listing only to find that the bike was way too small, and those like me who were looking for a smaller frame didn't even bother opening the listing. I only viewed it myself by accident, and ended up with a great 52cm Campy equipped bike for the low opening bid.
Another time, an eBay outlet had really bad pictures and description of a complete bike it was selling. It was an old Lygie (they got that right). From the blurry photos I could tell it had some nice parts, even though the frame was the wrong size for me. I really inspected the photos closely and said to myself, "is that a... no, can't be... but what if...." I took a chance and bid and won it for slightly over $400. When it arrived I was delighted to find a very-low mileage 531 Lygie from the mid 60's with parts in near mint condition, including a 151-bcd Record crankset, "no-Record" hubs laced to Fiamme yellow label tubulars, Record FD with housing stop, bronze Record RD, steel Record Pedals with strap loop and all the other cool vintage bits and pieces.
A better description of the parts, or even clearer photos would certainly have yielded both of the sellers more money. But the outlet stores didn't know what they were selling and what were the important features of each bicycle.
Kevin Ko Eugene, OR
From: "Ken Bensinger" <kenbensinger@gmail.com> Subject: [CR]RE: eBay searches for vintage bicycles <http://search.bikelist.org/query.asp?SearchString=%22RE%3A+eBay+search e s+for+vintage+bicycles%22&SearchPrefix=%40msgsubject&SortBy=MsgDate%5 Ba% 5D>
In re the post about proper ways to list on eBay, just a very brief commentary: if you know what you're doing with eBay, it's hard to see why you'd sell an item using one of those eBay store services. That's like throwing away money. EBay already charges listing fees and healthy commissions on items sold be individuals. Why would you want to tack on the commission charged by a store that probably just snaps a picture you could take, packs it in a box you could get, overcharges for shipping (just like you could!) and, in a big departure from what you could do, has no clue how to correctly describe/price the item.
Seriously, look at the bikes and parts up for sale from sellers using those I Sold it On EBay type services. Horrible mispellings. Incorrect descriptions. Photos of only one side of the bike. Misclassification (oops, I didn't know track bikes weren't vintage motorcycles), etc. Remember that those businesses sell everything from exotic Keirin frames to broken halogen floor lamps. They have a pretty low discrimination bar and they make money by moving product fast, not by putting up links to sites that explain exactly why the 1974 lugs are a brand apart from the 1975 lugs on a frame.
It strikes me that those services are great for people with things to sell about which they know nothing except that they don't have the time nor interest to worry about what it is or how much it's really worth. But if you like bikes and know bikes, do yourself, and everyone else, a favor, and sell yourself.
Ken Bensinger
Brooklyn, NY