Forgot to add...
Ralph and Curtis and the crew at Via in Philadelphia (City of Brotherly LUV) are good guys, no... make that GREAT guys!
http://www.bikeville.com
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
Chuck (me loading up my vintage 100 point show bikes after Velo
Rendezvous 6 in Pasadena last year):
http://www.bikeville.com/
On Jan 21, 2007, at 10:37 PM, Chuck Schmidt wrote:
> 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/