elcyc

Example:
How does one obtain, say, the original dealer or department store price of a 1985 Schwinn World Sport?
I Googled that and did find one answer:

https://www.bikeforums.net/21072876-post4.html

Realize : that list is a scan or photo that may have been created fresh for the sake of that thread.

Bottom line:

Does an original price list database exist?

TiHabanero

Although I am not aware of a price list database, that price list looks accurate. In 85 I worked in a shop that sold Miyata bikes and Treks and the local Schwinn dealer who was very large and in the top 2 of the nation for sales volume in units for Schwinn consistently priced the World Sport at 159.99. The Miyata Sports 10 was priced at 169.99, and we constantly had to explain to shoppers why the extra 10 bucks. A petty amount, but on low end bikes people seemed to make a huge deal out of it.
FWIW he was always blowing out the World for 139.99.

smd4

You might be able to find “suggested retail prices” in period magazines, but don’t forget—each retailer paid a wholesale price and marked up that price accordingly. He did not have to sell at the suggested price. Could be lower or higher.

KerryIrons

Schwinn used to post prices in their catalogs but I don't know if they were still doing that in 1985. Looking for a catalog might be your best bet if the only thing you want to know is the list price for tjat specific bike.

elcyc

Not sure which of major department stores carried certain consumer models.
Probably Sears, JC Penney carried some. So I might try to find catalog pdfs from vintage years.
Not sure there were national chain stores for bicycles. Performance Bike used to offer some decent flyers that came in the mail.

mstateglfr 

well- what was the reason you gave for the Miyata costing $10 more?

veganbikes

Generally most dealers are not going to post dealer information. You can find old catalogs pretty easily and sometimes they will have MSRP in them. However these days MSRP for an almost 40 year old bike is not super relevant if you are going to sell it you won't get anywhere near MSRP or what the dealer paid unless they got it at some ridiculous sale and the bike is in NOS condition and someone wants to pay a lot for it. A rare vintage bike with high end components in excellent shape could be worth something an old used entry level bike unfortunately doesn't hold much value except maybe the previous owner if it has been their bike for a loooong time and rode it a lot and loved it a lot but sentimental value is worthless to anyone else generally.

cb400bill

The OP never said that they were going to sell their bike. They simply asked if there was a database of original pricing.

veganbikes

Sure but in another thread that was mentioned as a possibility.

steelbikeguy

No idea whether anyone has organized a list.
In the 70's, prices were increasing quickly, so there wasn't much value in putting them in a catalog. I recall the Cyclo-Pedia mailorder catalog had a separate price sheet that they would update and mail out periodically.
Here's one of those pages:




I did happen to pick up a price list at the local Raleigh Shop in 1976... probably around the time I bought a Gran Sport from them. No idea whether these were intended to get into customers' hands or not.



Steve in Peoria

oneclick 

More vowels.

SpeedofLite 

I'm not aware of a database. An easy starting point for purposes of general comparison among models for a given year is the published MSRP.
The Schwinn World Sport was categorized by Bicycling magazine in 1985 as a Sport Touring model.
Here is a link to the 1985 Buyers' Guide specifications section which includes the Schwinn World Sport: Bicycling JanFeb 1985 Buyers Guide Specifications.pdf

steelbikeguy

I just noticed that I've got a price list for Schwinn in 1976. Presumably the Schwinn catalog archives have this sort of thing too?





Steve in Peoria