Full pickup truck plus a car hauler trailer (a friend of mine is into vintage cars).

It was going to be a challenge. And the added cost of the operation really cut into the economics. I still thought it would work out. But it was not the deal of the century. The bikes were pretty good for sure. A lot of the parts were typical 80s mid grade stuff, not much value if sold individually, but instead needed to go into another bike build. The wheels and cranks could bring money. A lot of the components were typical Suntour mid grade stuff. Seller thought the pile if marketed well would net someone $20K. I did not think so. The asking price, plus storage, handling, etc., put it at a typical flip material price. He had some reference prices of what he thought bikes would flip for that were 2X to 3X of what I am seeing on bikes I have sold. I think that is how the pile value got up to that $20K mark. Maybe he has gotten those prices in Chicago, or maybe thats the way the market used to be, I am not sure. And to me, it had the large added risk of putting $5K into it up front. Its a lot easier to risk $50 on a bike, plus $25 in parts, one at a time. Yes, they are tough to find, but when you do find them, its pretty easy to make money on them.

One advantage was it all was in one place, with one deal. Beats driving all over chasing deals. I figure the miles I have driven chasing deals in the last year (two or three bikes at a time) far exceeded the mileage of this one transaction. So as crazy as it sounded, it had some merit.

Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. Certainly a lot more logical for someone close.