Very true. Two years back, I sold an off-topic, mid-90's pair of NOS, CNC crankarms, which brought a whopping $625. Looking through the buying history of the top bidders I found several eccentrics, "specializing" in a single component category, including two buyers (from Japan and Germany, iir) who had bought almost nothing but crankarms, and yet another buyer from Japan who bought everything titanium and very little else. I used to have a small collection of odd, "cool" old (mostly) French parts when they were nearly free, but Ebay prices brought an irresistable urge to sell most of them.
David Snyder
Auburn, CA usa
>I too agree that the E bay price for the recent auction is a bit over the
>top. However the price must have made sense to the purchaser. We mere
>mortals must always keep in mind that some people have money, sometimes a
>lot of money. And auction prices like this remind us that the next time we
>see a half used tub of Campy grease at a swap meet or garage sale that we
>should grab it even if it seems overpriced, say $20.00 or so. I am sure
>many of the bike shop pro wrenches have thrown away a college education for
>their teenagers in Campy empty boxes, grease containers etc. Should we all
>turn into compulsive hoarders? Probably not. But always keep in mind that
>regardless of the item there is probably someone out there who collects it.
>
> Greg Lone
> Langley B.C.
> Canada