One of the reasons that I have several on topic and off topic bikes is because my preceived value of my beloved beauties is usually far above what someone is willing to pay if I where to put them on the open market. A good friend of mine put on Ebay (about 5 yrs.?ago)?a off topic Colnago C40 in pristine condition built with DuraAce 8 speed and good Mavic wheels , Vittortia tires - all in very good condition. He was offered only $800. I told him it was a insult. The bike was far from being a rare bike but it was a very very nice bike and worth more than was offered. Some buyers will only purchase when the price is low and others will pay handsomely. With today's market/economy and instant communications it is hard to always get what you want. I would not sell if you don't have to. The 1983 Guerciotti with full SR and totally pimped out bike could not be bought - too many memories. Gary Smith Raleigh NC USA
-----Original Message----- From: Dave Porter <frogeye@porterscustom.com> To: 'Tom Sanders' <tesanders@comcast.net>; Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Sun, Jun 21, 2009 8:59 am Subject: Re: [CR] Collecting and appreciating the extremely rare
As some of you know, my dream for the past 20 years is to build a velodrome in or near Albuquerque. Part of the plan was to incorporate a museum of bicycle stuff. I've been hanging on to items of importance, most relating to my career in the industry. Well, as (again) some of you know the economy is not doing well at all, at least not the private sector. Consequently, I've had to offer some of the collection for sale. It's doubly bad to sell during a period of recession, as the items do not reach their price potential. I recently offered some Funny Bikes to this group and put a price on them (Dale's rules) for somewhere near what I thought the historical value versus the cost to replace them or pragmatically what I'd have to pay to return them to the museum collection sometime down a brighter road. Unfortunately for me, there have been no enquiries at all. I expected at least a couple wanting to haggle a bit. Nope. Perhaps these frames are not collectible because they're not well enough known or I'm putting too much stock in my perceived value as an American so called master builder. What I'm trying to say, no sour grapes intended BTW, is that you just never know what will float the next guy's boat. Sometimes practicality, esotericism, cool factor, price, etc. just don't play a part until one decides that they just "gotta have it" takes over.. Dave
frogeye@porterscustom.com
Porter Customs 2909 Arno NE Albuquerque, NM USA 87107 505-352-1378 1954 BN2 1959 AN5 Porter Custom Bicycles
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http://www.britishcarforum.com/
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-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Tom Sanders Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 6:11 AM To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR] Collecting and appreciating the extremely rare
There is so much more to collecting than just looking at an object like a water bott le and pronouncing it a bad deal because it is expensive