cudak888 

That's another thing - no valuations with "time limits" imposed by the original poster. Those should be immidiately locked.

-Kurt

atoms

Along these lines I would like to at least strongly encourage posters to included text and if possible, pics from craigslist ads instead of just the link to the ad. The ad will be gone soon enough and the thread becomes a lot less useful to future readers if the object of discussion is a mystery.

cudak888 

How about re-titling this forum "Bicycle Appraisals and Inquiries," dropping the "C&V?" Seeing that quite a few people don't seem to appriciate the fact that this forum exists for C&V valuations, why not just let them run hog wild in the first place?

-Kurt

cb400bill

Is there something we can do to make the Appraisal section stand out more? Larger text with more bold print?

I am getting tired of reporting the wayward posts so the moderators can move them.

cudak888 

You, and everyone else. The subforum already stands out on top of the forum as if it were a bright orange traffic cone. If misplaced valuations were fodder for the Fail Blog, we could supply them with a new entry every hour.

-Kurt

sillygolem

Also, since there's a lot of newbs who post these some emphasis should be put on photographing the drive side and specifying the equipment on the bike. For example, a Free Spirit can be anything from a rebadged Huffy to a Puch with Campy grupos.

paulzinho

Is there a difference when it come to asking for help to ID a bicycle make , model year? I'm not interested in knowing what it is work more like how good is it or where it falls in the lineup. Do these type of posts also go here in the C&V "what's it worth" forum?

unterhausen

nobody answered this, but if there is no question of pricing then the thread should go into C&V. It does seem like after people get some answers in an "identify my bike" thread then the OP asks for value. The thing to do then is to start a thread in here.

oddjob2

For those newbies looking to find out if their barn, basement, garage sale, or attic bike find is the equivalent of a winning megamillions lotto ticket or if you should be the next American Picker TV show host, don't be disappointed if the experts tell you it's not so special (particularly those vintage Peugeots that look so much like the $800 model but aren't . The collectible, rare bikes, are the premium models that were sold in very limited numbers to begin with.

But in any case, PLEASE don't forget to say thank you!

CroMo Mike 

I realize this whole "what's it worth?" forum is just for fun, but let me add to the discussion.

The answer to the question "what is something worth?" is the "fair market value." Fair market value is defined as the price at which something would likely change hands between a willing seller and a willing buyer, when neither is under any compulsion to enter into the transaction. Yes, it's an estimate, sometimes a wild guess. The estimate of value should assume that both parties are aware of all relevant facts, including, but not limited to, the location, the condition of the item, trends in the market, completed sales prices of comparable items, possible rises in market value in the future, etc., etc. Why is that so difficult? An appraiser is not required to have any personal interest in buying or selling the item to make that call. Real estate appraisers, insurance adjusters, and tax assessors do it all the time.

It would also be nice if the pictures hung around longer so others could view the thread in it entirety and possibly learn something from it. All the words in the world leaves one clueless when the pictures of the slightly rough Raleigh worth $150 are no longer there.

oddjob2

I comment on many of the FMV questions that are posted in this "What's it worth?" thread. If I don't have experience with the bike due to age, make, or model, I tend to stay mute, for example most Bianchis and other Italian bikes. Sometimes if I don't have experience, but can draw parallels, due to groupset, age, other components, or similar tube set bikes, I use those as a guideline. I have no formal bike shop experience, but have been a buyer or seller many times over. Most of all, I do my homework, share my experiences, and follow bike pricing in several markets as I have bought or sold in NYC, NJ, MA, FL, OH, PA, and IN, both urban and rural markets.

Everyones comments are welcome, after all we have a constitutional right to free speech, but I think when a noob has a FMV question, they would be best served with objective advice and opinions formed from actual transactions, not airing your opinion or biases for or against a particular make or country of origin (well maybe you can jump all over Murrays and Huffys). It makes me cringe when I see the Cannondale, Trek, Allez, or Japanese bike fanboys get all excited and go well beyond giving an objective fmv assessment. Share your enthusiasm for a brand or bike, but give objective knowledge. IMHO, @RobbieTunes is an excellent brand ambassador for a certain bike line, I can't seem to recall which, but his knowledge and expertise are spot on, not colored by a pair of Miami Vice sunglasses.

Also, as on ebay, craigslist asking prices are meaningless for giving advice. Unless you are a party to the actual closed transaction, there is no basis for a FMV guestimate from asking prices.

Cheers,
Oddjob2