I'm forever living in a dream world of what things had once cost. And of course I am always excited to find true bargains at absurdly low prices. However, I noticed the recent NOS late 60s to early 70s Peugeot PX-10 on eBay now has sold for what even I would consider a VERY low final bid of $1,700. Item number: 200120991630
This bike had been stored for more than 35 years, unassembled and in its original box. The eBay seller had even retrieved the original box for a buyer, having initially hauled the frameset all the still wrapped components home in his car without it. Considering the current costs of very boring mid-range modern bikes now selling for that same amount, I think the buyer got an excellent deal. I thought the bidding would have gone much higher by the end of the auction and had foolishly elected not to bid.
I suppose the main advantage to owning pristine bikes like this one is to know for certain it has all of its original components and also has all paint, chrome and decals in original factory condition - regardless of what one may think of Peugeot's finish quality. So, no costly restoration re-paint or search for NOS components was required.
Had I purchased the bike, I definitely would have built it up and ridden it even though this would have surely lowered any future resale value. Admittedly, this was not the highest level of racing bike available at the time it was manufactured. Nevertheless, this will be one missed buy over which I'll be kicking myself for quite some time. I think this sale marks a sad comment on how little vintage bikes in general are valued today, even when exposed to millions of potential buyers on eBay.
Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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