This auction

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

was at $91 yesterday, is now, with two plus hours left already about $800 overpriced.

Pretty nice til I saw the picture of the top tube. OUCH.

$1225, sheesh.

0***3 is pretty darn emotional as he has placed the last 7 bids. He must REALLY want it.

Looks like my size, I better get in on it...

At that price it should at least be perfect, NOS, MIB,...etc...., but with that rust on the top tube and under the fork crown, it's way way overpriced IMO.
I dunno, In these days where many cyclists buy new bikes at $3K and up without flinching, maybe we C&Vers just lost touch with where the value of bikes are now with people??

Chombi

ebay auctions generally don't get out of hand like that

I'd pay that for a Herse with the original shifters/derailers...

Damn....

I've got a near-perfect 60x58cm De Rosa frame set that I'll sell for 1200 even, Campy headset included. Maybe I ought get it up there while the iron is hot!

Early Merckx's very rarely come up, and a full chrome fork is a nice touch.

I think it is going for what it is worth.

Well I thought my reason had left me when I paid ~1K for my '85 professional, but I see someone out there got more carried away than me.
Complete bike w/ campy SR, no rust or other issues.
Yes, I've fixed the cable routing!

I say it depends on the bidder.. I know that I recently paid double the value for a frame I had been searching for.. it wasn't in the best of conditions, but I knew that I would be quite hard pressed to find one again in the exact size I needed much less in better condition.

I also didn't want to have any regrets later on. I can always make more money, but how easy would it be to find that holy grail frame again?

Makes me feel good about what I paid for mine...

It IS worth what someone (or more) will pay for it, but there have been 83ish Merckx going for $400-600. I paid $450 for a 84/85 with number holder. The flat crown all chrome fork is nice, but the chrome is going, going, gone on this one.

Nice bike, but not an early 80's Merckx. I have an '85, so does my wife and so does BBM. Not the same as an early, flat crown, over the BB routed Merckx.

No, not the same at all. I've seen ~'85s w/ both flat or sloped fork crowns, and w/ new and old merckx font styles. I didn't intend to submit mine as an early merckx, just put it up for reference, and an excuse to repost a pic of it!

I'll take a Schwinn Circuit and the difference in cash.

Lotsa money in a NAME. Crazy stuff.

schwinn circuits raced in the tour?

That would sell quickly, at least I "think" it would.

I can't read ebay as well anymore.

FWIW The De Rosa market is fine here in the Twin Cities.

My son sold his Professional on Saturday to a friend of mine.

I sold the doppelganger to my wife's Primato as well. Not an EL-OS framed Primato, so life goes on.

I have visitation rights to both of these bikes.

In addition, I sold a super nice EM Corsa Extra 7-11 Replica frameset to a forum member on RBR that has asked me to keep my big mouth shut.

None of these were ebay sales, cause I just don't have the energy to deal with it at the moment.

As for the ebay Merckx, it has some unique features that make it a little more desirable.

A person has to decide what those features are worth, and to some folks, it's worth a lot of moola.

That's a very nice Merckx!!!!

So, you are saying that a factory built Schwinn from Japan is on a par with an early Merckx? I think Eddy had 6 builders at that time, and he and Ugo De Rosa supervised the operation.

I'm not putting down the Panasonic built Schwinn, I've had them and they are nice bikes, but hardly in the same league as the bike in question.

Nice frame for sure. Little pricey for me... okay way too pricey for me, but I am cheap.
I will stick with my EM from later in the decade.

-Jake

Nope.

You are dead wrong.

These are fabulous, worthy bikes.

After putting on close to 400 miles in the last three weeks on my EM Century, the love affair is still there.

Have you ridden a Merckx Leader? Incredible frameset in my opinion.

Nothing wrong with a Circuit mind you. They ride well.

They just aren't how I choose to use my saddle time.

For the money, I would rather go for this one.
No chrome fork, but you get a little chrome on the drive side stay.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Eddy-Merckx-Prof...item2eafa53a64

-Jake

Jake, once again. not the same. The auction bike is earlier. Show me another early Eddy with top of the bb routing going for less, and then we can compare apples to apples.

"In the same league"....... what does that mean? "On par" what does that mean?

Git it right OFG, the Circuit is not a Japanese bike.