Originally Posted by
StephenH
It's all supply and demand. Low supply plus low demand means low, and often erratic, pricing. I see this with Worksman bikes. They're uncommon, but you can see them put up for fairly low prices and not sell, too.
Another example is foreign bikes which were not imported into the US. They're rare here, but not valuable.
good point.
I have a Jan de Reus bike, as far as I can tell there are probably 2 or 3 known to be in the US. Rare? yes valuable? not really. Its a good dutch bike, but even in the Netherlands they don't command a premium price.
Then there is Zieleman, rare? fairly, only 235 were imported into the US (according to Ko Zieleman), valuable? they are becoming more so, both here and in the Netherlands. As a builders reputation grows so does the demand for his/her bikes.
Ultimately it depends on how well known, and desirable the bike is, Confente is legend and due to his untimely death his bikes are rare and command very high prices.
Marty