norskagent

What is the time limit before they disappear? 15 days? Maybe we could start a data base of uncommon but sought after items, what they went for and when? Then future c&v'rs could search to get some idea of "value". Bikes such as paramounts come and go on ebay often enough to search there, but other items such as certain tools or makers (ritchey, etc.) rarely come up. For example these 2 VAR tools just sold:

"VAR 30 BICYCLE BOTTOM BRACKET FIXED CUP TOOL & 30/1 JAW" sold for $122.50 on 8/7/2010.

"Vintage VAR Depose Bike Brake Caliper Third Hand Tool" sold for $16.50 on 8/8/2010.

etc.

thoughts, or is this something already searchable?

KonAaron Snake 

I think it's a great idea. There was an amazing Lotus with a Dura Ace AX group and part of why I didn't bid more for it was because I didn't have a sense of its resale value. I tried doing searches for comparable bikes with that group and came up empty. I had the same problem last month with an amazing Richard Sachs that I ended up passing on. I have a feeling that I'm going to regret bidding more for both of them and I might have been less afraid of taking a loss if a resource like you suggest existed.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Ebay keeps listings around for either 60 or 90 days, i forget which. A database of them would be a good idea however since the market fluctuates the older data might not be terribly relevant...or it might be nice to have to plot a trend.

wrk101

Completed items go away after about two weeks (I think you have it right at 15 days). This really sucks on ebay. I have the same problem, researching items I want to sell. The lack of adequate history hurts both buyers and sellers.

auchencrow

Unless eBay is structured like a Data Warehouse with a separate transactional database for live auctions, archiving all that old data (and allowing John Q Public to query it) could soon bog down their servers.
- I'm sure it could be done, but I'm not sure that they would agree that there is any business case for building it, or maintaining it.

norskagent

I meant it more as something we would do, here, sorta like the "are you looking for one of these" thread. Just a thought. It would be up to the submitter to decide if the item is "rare/seldom seen", and to be honest about the sales price.

Muttleyone

I think that's a great idea. It may be a big under taking for just one person. Maybe we could divide it up into bikes we like and one person keeps up with a single brand or model. i think that would make it pretty easy.

Mutt