Jerry Moos wrote:
can appreciate Aaron's annoyance, but I'm not sure the sellers were really unethical. It sounds like they were selling a single bike they had owned for many years, perhaps the only bike they have ever sold. I'd agree that it would be unethical for a bike shop or a major collector to renege on a sale like this, but it is a major pain to have to wait for a check and then sort out the packing and shipping of a bike if you've never done it before and don't ever expect to do it again. In this situation, I can't blame the sellers too much for taking the easy way out and just selling it locally for cash. I don't think I would do that, but I don't blame them.
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I have to say, I disagree with Jerry on this. If you've agreed to sell a bike to someone, and agreed to take their check, you've sold the bike. You don't turn around and sell it to someone else without at least contacting your first buyer to give them a chance to meet any higher offer.
If they didn't want to take Jerry's check, and take the bike to shop for packing and shipping (hardly a hassle), they never should have agreed to do that in the first place, yes?
And it matters not a whit that this was an older couple, selling their only bike. They certainly had to know the rules of such a transaction. This kind of basic civility extends to all transactions.
As for selling local, that's just bs. They could have taken the bike to any good shop, or given the bike to Aaron's agent, who would have paid them cash, had they asked. No hassle involved.
The deal stinks as far as I'm concerned.
I can't say anything about the person who ended up with the bike, other than if I were involved in a similar deal, I'd be a little wary of buying the bike. Although I might do it, I confess. It's not the buyer's concern to worry overmuch about another potential buyer.
It's the sellers who did a bad thing here.
And, Barry, for what it's worth the "person" in California who should have had that bike is Aaron Lipstadt, a long-time member of this list, a reputable collector and someone who is a good friend to a number of us out here. So acting as if the buyer who got ther first, and should have had the bike, is some kind of anonymous chump who somehow didn't deserve it, doesn't sit too well with some of us, if you know what I mean.
Charles Andrews
Los Angeles