Last week I bought a 1973 Itavega from craigslist for $10 dollars, that is "ten". I know, it is unbelievable, right? Campy Nuovo, Stronglight 49D, Mavic levers, and Universal 61 brakes. Well as I was giving him the money, I felt good and bad at the same time. Probably also confused because of disbelief that it was actually happening. Well, I intend to let the seller know how nice it cleaned up and how much I appreciated the deal. I will also let him know that since discovering how great the bike is I will offer to buy him a case of his favorite beer.
She rides like a Cadillac and I am sleeping well at night.
Chris Schultz Kennett Square, PA USA
On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 2:49 PM, john strizek <lyonstrings@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Referencing buying on the cheap and taking advantage of others.
>
> I find it is a different circumstance buying from a person(s) offering
> something for sale versus approaching someone asking to buy their property.
>
> When a person(s) is approached by a prospective buyer (who is aware of the
> true value) it is IMHO improper to take advantage of the person(s) and their
> ignorance. The party seeking to buy has an intent to take advantage of the
> uninformed.
>
> It is a different situation when a party offers an item for sale and does
> not do their due diligence in ascertaining the true value of the item(s)
> offered for sale. The buyer has not approached the seller with the intent to
> defraud, even though the buyer certainly wants the best of the bargain. The
> seller has only himself to reproach if he sells in ignorance.
> Further it is sufficient that the seller was not interested in the
> valuation of his proffered item and offers it cheaply. The seller is likely
> only interested in the itme being gone and realizing some income from its
> sale. If the maximizing of the seller's profit were of importance would it
> not be his duty to learn the value, not the buyer's duty to teach the value
> to the seller?
>
> Perhaps some will think it rationalizing my situation but I have been on
> both ends of the sale, C'est la vie!
> I bought a built wheel with a Tipo hub for $2. The seller seemed happy and
> I certainly was. A good deal is where both parties are satisfied, we both
> were ion this situation.
> Another purchase was a Gitane TDF, all Campy except the Sugino Mighty
> crankset and a Mercier 300. I paid $110. I later sold the Gitane for $110.
> All parties were happy. I add that I sold the Gitane with its Campagnolo
> brakes. I certainly wished I had retained them, but again that is life. I
> knew I was selling a bargain, but I had my reasons, the reasons were not
> economic. I just needed to get rid of TDF.
>
> It is just as necessary for the seller as for the buyer to learn the value
> of the sales and purchases they engage in, IMHO.
>
>
> john strizek
> sacramento, california in the USA
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:00:58 -0500
> From: James G Allen <jgallen@lexairinc.com>
> Subject: Re: [CR] ebay outing: eisentraut touring bike now buying on
> the cheap
> To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Message-ID: <4B5477AA.8060108@lexairinc.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; format=flowed
>
> No offense to Earle. What he describes is done all the time and
> considered proper. However, I feel queasy about buying items way below
> their market value. I don't mind getting bargains, mind you. But there
> are times when sellers have no idea as to the value of their items and
> to pay them pennies on the dollars just seems wrong to me. There is a
> lot of authentic Shaker furniture in my area and I personally know of
> occurrences where dealers have gone to the homes of elderly people and
> bought their Shaker furniture for next to nothing.. When they are
> offered $500 for a chest of drawers they think they've hit the lottery
> when, in fact, they've been totally scammed. There have been many times
> on Ebay when I have tried to inform an uneducated seller about the value
> of their item even if I intend on bidding for it. Many times I have seen
> bikes being sold by the family members of the recently deceased original
> owner. Usually, these people have no clue as to the value of the bike. I
> just have a problem taking advantage of their ignorance. If someone is
> getting a really, really good deal on something then someone else is
> probably getting the shaft. Just my 2 cents.
>
> George Allen
> Lexington, KY
> USA