-holiday76

Are people actually paying these kind of prices for bikes like these?
And granted, Philly has a pretty good bike marked. But come on, $275 for this?

https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/751184323.html

***Bianchi 10 Speed w/New Tires, Tubes and Bar Wrap***CLEAN - $275 (Villanova/Bryn Mawr PA)
Reply to: sale-751184323@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-07-11, 3:58PM EDT


Has a 31 3/8" standover height. Has Bianchi on frame but nothing else. Seat is Bianchi. Wheels are 27" Araya alloy and tires are brand new 27 X 1 1/4" gum wall.(great for city riding). Has Shimano dera










As somebody who flips bikes occationally I guess I should be complaining, but come on. I don't have it me ethically to be asking that kind of money for bikes like that. This particular seller appears to be making a living out of this though.

Here's another from him:
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/750779259.html

ilikebikes

I guess the seller doesnt have a problem with ethics

-holiday76

obviously.

Homebrew01

Doesn't really cross the line ethically. It's not deceptive or dishonest, is it ??

mazdaspeed

Yeah he's asking a good $250 more than I'd pay but whatever :/

Tom Stormcrowe

If he can get the price, all is cool. Perhaps he gets a lot of negotiator customers and sets the price high specifically to allow for the haggle factor.

due ruote 

I think the argument is that by asking $275 the seller is suggesting that the bike is worth that, which we seem to agree it's not. Maybe to someone else it is; I don't know. I wouldn't ask that much for it, but more importantly I wouldn't pay that much. This is CL after all, not a bike shop. Buyers should do their homework.

ilikebikes

Im going to assume that none of us are selling the bike and none of us are going to buy it. So whats the freaking problem!? Jeez! Go do the laundry or something!

robatsu

DC Craigslist is funny, bikes like that are selling 150-300 all the time. But pretty good ones are too. People don't seem to differentiate between good/bad bikes, just whether they fall into that price bracket. OTOH, it is pretty tough to sell a bike that is easily 4x the value of a $250 CL bike for $400 unless there is something very well known about it.

mastershake916

You see, people ask high rices, and even though they don't get the price, everyone else charges the same price because they see this bike going for a lot of money.

ilikebikes

Where? in China!

tashi

A fair price is what the market will bear; there's only an ethical problem if the seller is misrepresenting the product in some way or not disclosing important information about it.

I wouldn't pay it, you wouldn't pay it, but if someone will, than the price was set right.

fender1

I know the seller. He is an ok guy and I have purchased some stuff from him previously. He does make sure the bikes are clean, functioning & safe but does not ride himself or really know much about vintage bikes based on our conversations. I think I recently stumbled on to his supplier for what he sells as well.

That said, his prices are moroninc in my opinion. These bikes are not worth what he is charging but if he can get it, who's to say he is wrong? Also based on my experience, he sets the price way high so he can be "haggled" down to a more reasonable price and the buyer leaves happy. My rough guess is that he more than doubles his outlay on most of the bikes he sells.

jebensch

My initial reaction is usually to take offense but isn't it the job of the buyers to set the market value? If someone is willing to pay 225 for a Schwinn Traveler (as they do here in New York), then they either didn't need the money that badly or didn't do their research or a combination of the two. I check out what I ought to be paying on items much less valuable than a bike.

That said, price-gouging opportunists are pigs in my book. Kind of like using 'it's a free country' as justification for being a selfish jerk...sure you can, but really should you?

-holiday76

he can ask what he wants, it doesnt effect me as I wont buy it. Im just getting a feeling that because gas is now close to $4.50 a gallon every Schmo thinks his POS schwinn is worth 4 times what any person sane should pay for it.

However if he's getting that price I guess it is worth that. I think that's crazy.

As far as unethical, if he knows what its really worth, and is asking 4 times that, then yes, it is. If he doesn't, well I guess he's just as bad as the people paying the price.

I'm going to go do some laundry...

Bikedud

I see a lot of the same situation on Atlanta Craigslist. I have purchased many items through Craigslist but I don't think I will be picking up any vintage or classic bicycles, they all seem to be over priced IMHO.

Truth Teller

I dont see why your picking on this guy. Looking at his ads he has some really nice bikes and based on what he says and his pics, it looks like he puts a lot of time and effort into them. I have seen a bunch of listings for bikes on CL that needed a lot of work and they were asking for about the same amount of money as he is asking so his prices seem justified to me. I checked out Firehouse bikes and some other shops in Philly and their prices are even higher for the same kind of bikes. This is a free market and if you dont like the price of something, then dont buy it but to sit around complaining about it seems like a waste of time to me.

-holiday76

thanks for contributing your time to the thread

solveg

To me, the local prices seem based on Huffy prices. Basic Schwinns seem to go double of Huffy's and other prices are based off the Schwinns....

search for vintage Bianchi yielded

Bianchi Eros/ Shimano 105 $350
Racing Bianchi with Campy Super Record $999

There's a Schwinn Caliente for sale for $225, but that's abnormal. Usually, Huffys are about $50, Schwinns are $75-$125

Here's an SR PRO Racing bike for $550. https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/bik/752323047.html That's more than I paid for my Mondonico, and it was not a "find" but more like fair value.

roccobike

I know, I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but bike prices have skyrocketed. I agree that Bianchi is too high. But it's closer to reality than we might think. When I flip a bike now, I HAVE to assign a price that's way higher than I would have set it a year ago, just to keep the flood of e-mails down to a managable 8 to 12. Any vintage road bike with index shifting under $150 is gone immediatley. The latest group seeing a price increase around here is the old, rigid fork mountain bikes. Used to be a really nice MTB would sell for $60 to $80. Now vintage MTBs in good shape are in the $100 and up range. I should have bought more Trek 800s at yard sales instead of putting money in the bank.

Truth Teller

I see you guys on here making statements about bike values and saying this bike or that bike is over priced but how are you comming up with this information? Are you guys the bike price regulators? Is there some guide your using? You speculate on how much profit people are making and whether or not their asking price is ethical... it sounds to me like you guys are a bunch sellers or wanna be dealers that are just jeleous of these people. Do you also go around determining what people should sell their houses and cars for as well? If I see something I really like and want and its within my reach financially, I just buy it and if I cant afford it I just pass but I dont sit around whinning about how the persons price was unethical and over priced. SHEESH!

cudak888 

^
Do you have anything better to do then troll and disrupt this conversation? I see that you are a new member too - are you the seller of this bike?

Perhaps if you were to stick around the forums and contribute to our community before complaining, you would understand the reasoning behind our complaints. In the meantime, if you think discussions of this nature are offensive, perhaps you would be best off asking us as to our justification for this "hostility" before you fly off the handle.

For that matter, this thread was reasonably civil with good arguments for both sides - until you came to rant. Please keep it CIVIL.

-Kurt

East Hill

TT, most of the people in the C & V forum are very in tune with bicycle values. We aren't the bike value police, but a lot of new people register specifically to ask about values, and we do our best to help.

Your input is valued just as much as anyone else's input, but please be aware that C & V is considered the most civil forum here on the board.

Thanks .

East Hill

SF Valley

how does this look for a breakdown?
frame = $20
fork = $15
wheelset with good tires = $50
crankset = $20
handlebars = $15
stem = $10
chain = $5
seat = $10
brake levers =$10
derailleurs with shifters = $20

total = $175

$275 - $175 = $100 for his labor and profit

solveg

I think we're all* bike price regulators, the same as we've been car price and house price regulators. The difference is that the guys here have a ton of knowledge with which to base their opinions on.

If you're thinking of buying a Subaru, wouldn't you like to hang out with some car guys and find out that the chassis of the forrestor is based off of a higher quality car while the outback is based off one of lesser quality?

I bought my house because I was standing behind some realtors at another open house and they were discussing what a sweet buy my current house was, and that the only thing that kept it from being sold was the retro kitchen. I learned more about my house and my neighborhood from eavesdropping that day than I learned during the buying process.

So if these guys are saying that CL people are charging too much for a bike, they are really bemoaning the fact that the buyer could get a lot more bike if they only did a little research, and that some bikes (like homes and cars) are priced to take advantage of this.

And you only have to look at the housing/mortgage industry to find similar situations on a larger scale. This particular Bianchi didn't make it into the "numbskull of the day" thread... it was brought up as an example of how bike prices are skyrocketing. Good for people selling bikes, bad for people looking for treasures.

And yes, there are people here who flip bikes... both for profit and to fund their hobby. There are also people who fix up bikes and give them to people who need them. We like those people a lot, and it will be tougher for them to find bikes for a while.