Wayne, please read the post below a little closer. Ralph put the stuff up for auction. He works for Curtis, the owner of Via Bike Shop in Philly.
Chuck
On Jan 21, 2007, at 10:30 PM, Wayne Davidson wrote:
> Hi all, I thought I better take a looksie at this hot topic, has
> anyone
> contacted the seller, Curtis is his name, I have his email addy if
> anyone
> needs it. Something is only worth what someone is prepared to pay,
> will be
> interesting to see if & what this sells for...regards wayne...
>
>
> on 22/1/07 7:01 PM, oroboyz@aol.com at oroboyz@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Hey Joel, don't get too hot at Peter. I know both of youse guys
>> and you are
>> good folk.
>> I think I say safely say that he was just venting and mostly
>> referring to a
>> general frustration with some Ebay sellers who don't describe
>> their stuff and
>> are doing this to hide shortcomings in the items. Your
>> explaination goes a
>> long way toward understanding your minimalist description of that
>> headset.
>> Still, people expect (the buying public) some hand holding chit
>> chat. I
>> personally dislike the other extreme, stuff like "RARE!!!!" etc.
>> If a person
>> doesn't already know it's rare, are they going to believe the
>> faceless seller?
>> (Maybe some would.. Doh!)
>>
>> Anyway, keep up the good work and keep everyone happy by chatting
>> a bit about
>> your goodies.. Can't hurt! :)
>> Dale Brown
>> Greensboro, North Carolina USA
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: joel.p.flood@gmail.com
>> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>> Sent: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 10:36 PM
>> Subject: [CR]EBAY: TA Headset for $600? LONG
>>
>> hello all,
>> I put the crazy headset up on Ebay for that crazy price. Remember a
>> few years ago the threads involved with some Midwest seller that
>> listed a $10,000 UNiversal brakeset on Ebay? Sure we chatted
>> about, it
>> did not sell and he did it for sheer publicity.
>> I, on the other hand, listed this not for publicity but to actually
>> sell it. As it was pointed out a few times, my prices are overpriced
>> or what one list member wrote as the upper end of the price range of
>> its' value. But as Steven Maasland also wrote, sure I can list the
>> item for a lower bid to maybe attract more bidders, but what if the
>> serious bidders are on vacation? Remember, it takes two bidders. I
>> love the hobby and I am a collector myself, but like other sellers on
>> Ebay, I get paid to list items on Ebay. That is my job in the winter
>> to keep the guys at the shop working and getting paid, where as most
>> shops, especially as you get into colder regions, lay off there
>> employees or significantly cut back their hours. Ask any bike shop
>> about winter hours. Well bike shops that don't sell skis! Selling
>> over
>> 200 items on Ebay a month, allows for the guys to work, and for
>> people
>> otherwise would not be able to find some these items, the access and
>> knowledge that we have about them.
>>
>> I really don't understand Peter Jourdain's disdain for the caveat -
>> WYSIWYG. I have been selling on Ebay for a long while, and as much as
>> the CR community is the most bike knowledgeable group on Earth, I can
>> list a set of cranks on Ebay, with a photo of the cranks, with a
>> description of the cranks, and when the winning bidder gets the
>> cranks
>> in the mail, they ask where is the Bottom Bracket? Where are the
>> pedals? Anyone who as bought from us before knows, that if we ever
>> had
>> a problem with an item, we will completely work it out. I have no
>> problem refunding money, exchanging items or whatever. As much as we
>> are in the business of making money, we are also keeping the hobby
>> alive for people who don't have the resources that we have. We travel
>> all over the East Coast and as far as Michigan(My boss has also
>> attended VeloSwap in California), buying and trading and creating
>> connections with fellow bike collectors. I just returned after a 6
>> hour drive from a swap meet this morning and bought items that I will
>> soon list for all those people (CRers included) that did not attend.
>> Paramount front hub, various Campy derailleurs, and other bits that
>> would have ended up back in somebody's pile, or in the trash. And
>> to a
>> preemptive defence to those people that dislike buyers like me going
>> to swap meets and "buying up all the good stuff," talk to the
>> sellers,
>> I never haggle over prices, if the seller wants a certain price for
>> it, I pay it. plain and simple, if it is too much, I say it is not
>> for
>> me. From my experiences, sellers are generally happy to see me at
>> swaps as they know I will spend money. I also generally drive all
>> night to get to the swap meet, sleep in the cold van, and have to
>> load
>> the 30-50 bikes we buy.
>>
>> I am not sure either what questions Peter might also have about the
>> headset, other than stake height, that is not available in the title
>> of the headset- "TA french threaded headset NOS new" It is sealed in
>> the original package. Sure I can open it, but that is part of the
>> charm of it- the French air. As it came from France. What auction
>> pictures are not clear? As much as I do not have a Ray Dobbins setup,
>> most of the pictures are clear and fairly accurately describe the
>> condition.
>>
>> I take offence at Peter Jourdain attacking a fellow CRer. Your
>> blanket
>> attack aimed at me for the disclaimer is malicious and unjust. Your
>> use of the phrase "these dealers" in the same email about me puts me
>> in the category of sellers that you feel are trying to get over on
>> the
>> customer. CR sweetheart sellers that fail to deliver a package in a
>> timely manner are given a warm receiption as "wait and it might come,
>> if you remember to remind the seller." But someone that list items
>> for
>> what they feel the market value is, after buying and selling on Ebay
>> for the last 8 years, having all worthwhile items descriptions and
>> selling prices on Ebay since 2000(like CR market high x10000) on
>> file,
>> is distasteful and upsetting and incomprehensible. How does that make
>> since?
>>
>> If an item on ebay needs more than one picture to accurately describe
>> the item, then I generally have more than one picture. I give a brief
>> description for most items, as it seems that most Crers already know
>> what it is and what they are looking for. I am not playing "20
>> questions" or any other game, or trying to hide anything.
>>
>> last point, as Joel Metz states, and others, when was the last time,
>> if ever did you see a TA headset on Ebay. Well, to an be exact, about
>> a year and a half ago, I had one, just like this, never installed but
>> no package that sold for $450. So as much as the price seems
>> astronomical, it is rare. Stronglight headsets are a dime a dozen. I
>> have seen at least double the amount of 1st generation Campy headsets
>> on Ebay in that time, and they are super rare. Of course more people
>> seem to value Campagnolo more this week. If it doesn't sell, so be
>> it.
>> But I already have people knocking so. . .
>> ralph
>> philadelphia PA
>> ebay handle -senditnow
>> auction in auction-
>> http://ebay.com/