Bemoaning constant inflating ebay prices is an old tired song around these parts. It's not just the devaluation of the US dollar because there are still plenty of low priced modern items on the market - from Asian made clothes to whole modern bicycles and parts. Unfortunately, some of the items that are decidedly going up in value are old bike parts. The reason, I believe and have said before in other words that "The Emperor has NO CLOTHES". A recent visit to my local bike shop reveals a bike shop owner saying that modern hubs are less valuable for the track because the rear flange width of old Campy is 75 mm vs 50 something for many of the new stuff being made for the fixed gear crowd. Instead of being met with doubt, the younger set is beating him to the punch line, saying that the old cranks are better, the old saddles are better, the fruits and tomatoes used to taste better, President Kennedy was more inspirational than (insert name here). Literally no one left in my neighborhood wants any modern bike or bike part, save for new tires, spokes, rims and chains. The hip folks around here want vintage clothes, vintage movies, vintage music, vintage rugs, vintage furniture and in short long for better times because they feel that the present is not to their taste.
The bloom is off the rose for modern bikes because the youngsters believe they have been sold a bill of goods. Many modern bike parts are better but can you blame them for being skeptics? The modern stuff looks like a massive effort to maximize profits while minimizing labor costs, and with cutting edge technology being sold at premium prices today and bargain basement prices for the same item tomorrow, people long for anything that looks like an enduring statement of beauty and pride in workmanship. (E.g. : The spectacular Apple Air laptop won't be worth the price of a dinner in just a few years.)
The situation will continue to get worse with prices escalating for sought after items and with that people seeking out anything old that is still undervalued. In any time when a Sears Free Spirit bike looks like a nostalgic comfort zone - Watch Out for your pocketbook when surfing ebay for that perfect item to complete your project.
Garth Libre in Miami Fl USA