wrk101

Well, I was bummed out, as I briskly walked back to the bicycle area of one of my favorite thrift stores, the guy in front of me puts his hands on this Bianchi Limited. CRAP!! And check the price...

He headed straight to the cash register, he wasn't going to stick around long. Fortunately, there was a line at the register, so I struck up a conversation. "Nice bike!" "Yep". "I sure would like that bike myself. How about I pay you a nice finders fee of XX, and you don't even have to buy it!" "Deal".

Needless to say, my finders fee far exceeded the marked price. Double butted Ishiwata tubing, nice Cyclone II derailleurs, really nice shape overall..

The guy I bought it from is probably posting the same story (from his viewpoint) on his "Pickers Forum". All's I did was hand this guy the bike, and he handed me XX in cash." "I didn't even have to take it out of the store."

Right now, the cars are backed up to the street to make donations (year end rush). In ten minutes at my favorite thrift store, at least four bikes were wheeled out (nothing decent)///

10 Wheels

Yea, but no pump.......Haha

cycleheimer

$10? OMG! Italian made? 58CM! OMGx3! Happy New Year! What a finish to 2010!!!

auchencrow

Unbelievable, Bill.... You have my respect and undying admiration!
- I take it that price tag was one you forgot to take off the new cable housing?

Old Fat Guy

Nice bike for $30. Now if the thrifts here would just mark anything at $10, I would get back into flipping.

What are the components on it? I sold a Bianchi Limited this past Summer for $500. It was minty* w/600 throughout.






*minty means fresh, but not straight from the mint.

wrk101

That's one reason nice bikes don't last in the thrift stores around here. Either you happen to be in the bike area when they wheel the bike out, or you lose.

I think this model was made in Japan, probably a 1983 or 1984 (I'll be checking component codes). This one is mainly Suntour Cyclone II. I think they switched to Shimano 600 around 1985.

"AC" date code = 1984.

Rabid Koala

I was in the local Amvets when I spied a very nice Schwinn Premis in the hands of another customer. He was looking it over carefully, but for $25 I would have grabbed it and run. He eventually walked off with it, I was hoping he would decide against it.

On the other hand, I scored a very nice key machine on Craigslist for $100, it was worth much more than I paid so the day wasn't a total waste.

wrk101

I guess my lesson on that Premis is offer the guy a nice finders fee, he might just be looking for some quick cash. Nothing quicker than getting it right at the store.

A lot of the folks trolling my local thrift stores are flea marketeers. Many of them have a specialty, say toys, or shoes, or whatever, but will spot a deal and grab it. At least some of them are just interested in making a buck, the quicker, the better. So if you run into one of those folks at a thrift store, with some sweet bike in their hands, you might want to make them a nice offer on the spot. I know I am adding it to my "thrift toolkit".

RobbieTunes

56cm and I'd be driving west.

tmh657

Double Wow. Nice score. I flipped one of those earlier this year. It was a large frame. I could ride it and it was quite nice. Someone had put Dura Ace 10 speed on it so I harvested those bits and put together what was laying around.
I believe it had a made in Japan decal. I have a picture somewhere.

-holiday76

I had that same bike and commuted on it for a summer . Like it a lot. Japanese made. I paid $100 for mine ad it was just wheels as a frame.

Not to sound like I'm judging, it's nice to get deals at the thrift store but it seems kinda lowly to not be giving a chance to the less fortunate people to get the same deals you're getting. I'm sure you're not the only one doing it there( and I've probably done it myself) but whenever I hear about people camping out at thrift stores to grab bikes before they make it to the floor my heart just sinks a little bit.
Anyway, whatever. Good catch.

Old Fat Guy

Mine was clearly marked 'Made In Italy'. I want to say mine was a 1985, but can't really remember.

-holiday76

i didnt think any of the ishawata tubing ones were made in Italy, but I could be wrong.

EDIT: Mine was actually a Sport SS. Some random builds of it here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/holiday76/BianchiSportSS#

Old Fat Guy

-holiday76,

I didn't see any mention of 'camping out' in this thread, in fact saw 'briskly walking', so yes, you are being a bit judgmental. Of course I mean that in a non-judgemental way but I know of people who do camp out all day, or 'volunteer' just to grab stuff that's resellable. They are jerks, not that I'm judging them.

I just don't see this here.

I have no problem paying asking price at a thrift, but these days, it's usually a crazy price, at least where I am. I think Bill had a great idea. I think the guy who was buying was probably going to flip it, just without the attention to detail, but there I go 'judging' again.

tugrul

I don't even think I've ever seen an adult bike at a thrift shop, let alone anything decent.

Year end rush? I might have to hit some the next few days.

Old Fat Guy

Mine was not Ishiwata tubing, but Bianchi Columbus tubing (Cromor or Aelle? Can't remember seat post size)

-holiday76

maybe he didnt say judging. I'm not going back to reread it because I don't really care that much. If not then sorry I "judged" wrong

For some reason I just had this vision of a bunch of sweaty old retired men camping out in the aisles of the thrift store waiting by the back door for bike to roll into the show room so they could pounce on them.

And like i said chances are good all the other sweaty old men were going to flip the bike anyway.

Like I said, to some degree I've been one of those people and I'm sure I've probably even posted about it. So...

Anyway, happy flipping.

wrk101

I don't camp out myself, but there is a line in the morning at least an hour before they open at my favorite thrift store (I see them out front when I head over to MacDonalds). I let the sharks do their feeding, then stop in later, as items are put out all day long anyway.

I've got to say, the cars in the thrift store lot are nicer than the ones at Walmart for sure. The thrift stores around here are all about raising money for their cause by selling donated items, and then using that money to do their good work. Whether it is a local church, Salvation Army, Goodwill, or whatever, they all are raising money to do their work. I have a friend who works for Goodwill. Its actually much more than that. The stores allow them to directly hire people (some of whom are borderline unemployable), and give them jobs supporting the store. Their job may be as basic as sorting clothing into colors. Then you also have the employees in the store. One by me even has a restaurant, as a way to train people for the hospitality field. So what they need the most are customers to buy their stuff (whether it is furniture, clothing, bikes, or food). The real deals are at the clearance centers, around here they sell stuff by the pound.

Around here anyway, most of the buying in these stores is being done by the ebay and flea market crowd. Its pretty easy to spot them when you see them literally with two shopping carts of shoes! Maybe its different in your area.

-holiday76

he said his was, unless this entire time i've been reading a completely different thread.

-holiday76

i'm sure a lot of the thrift stores in the philly burbs are frequented by middle income types and people who wouldnt need to otherwise shop in a "thrift store". The one by me is actually the exception as it seems to me most of the clientele are shopping there because most other stores are not in their price range.

Then again, that's probably just me judging based on appearance

Dylansbob 

I used to work at a major thrift store chain. For two years after I left, I talked my former manager into letting me "volunteer" on the 12/31. Unfortunately, no worthwhile bikes came in those years. While I was employed, I was able to get a '59 Raleigh Sports and a Western Flyer tandem during the end-of-the-year rush to donate.

wrk101

Yeah, my appearance would definitely give anyone that opinion... Lets see, todays wardrobe: thrift store jeans, thrift store long sleeve T shirt, thrift store shoes, and a nice garage sale jacket....

I guess the difference here is that Goodwill has a separate Clearance Center, where items that have not sold in the store are sold by the pound. Price is $1 a pound. So someone wanting some really affordable clothes can go there, and instead of paying $4 for a nice shirt, can get a nice shirt for about 50 cents (or less). They get so many donations around here, that they have piles of left over items that never sell. My understanding is the left over stuff is either wholesaled cheap, or put in the dumpster..

-holiday76

i just noticed the piaggio stickers on yours so def Japanese made. That also puts it in the 80-84ish range I believe.

KonAaron Snake 

Nice score...and smart, fast thinking.

I'd have probably used a different approach...I'd have tried the Rodney Dangerfield Back to School technique and had someone come up holding a Bruce Springsteen placard. Or yelled fire.

mixtemaniac

amazing find! that bike would go for $300-$350 around these parts!