I suspect the seller simply looked up Mercier bikes somewhere, maybe Bikes Direct and found a price. Perhaps he has only owned four years.
IMHO anyone who used the 'lift it one finger" as a sign of quality is not to be trusted.
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk