cpsqlrwn

So there's this DeRosa Professional offered by a bike shop that I've been watching on the Bay which has an obscene price with a make offer option. Here's the link....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/251249615318...84.m1438.l2649
So I've made a few offers and sure enough they were refused immediately because my offer is under the minimum price the seller will accept. So this frame and fork has relisted once and the second listing is about over and the only offers on it have been ones that my two usernames have made. No one else is even bothering to make an offer the price is so ridiculous. So I go to My eBay and for some reason I feel motivated to send the seller a question. So I ask......

"What do you consider a fair price for this frame and fork? Thanks!"

And his response is.......

"Honestly, I am not sure...
What do you think it's worth?"

I was going to respond by saying I think it's worth what I offered, but I thought I'd string him along a little so I responded.....

"You're not sure? Don't you do any research when you buy something for resale?"

Waiting for his response at this point.

sloar

If you really want it, I wouldn't insult him. I would just send him another offer, he might take it this time since he had to relist it.

cb400bill

It does look like a nice frame. Not $2199.95 nice. At least not to me.

Mjm6

If you want it, call the phone number and talk to them. The will likely be willing to negotiate on the price over the phone more so than on line.

However, I think the starting price is way beyond a reasonable price, it's unlikely they will come down enough to have the price reflect a fair market price, so this frame will probably be sold to someone who is willing to pay beyond FMV for some reason.

---Michael

roadrunner2012

Never mind all the misinformation in the ad. He has no idea what he has.

Call him, like Michael said.

gaucho777 

It's a beauty. I want it, too! I agree that you are not doing yourself any favors with your latest reply. If I were in your shoes, I would build a case using actual sales of comparable frame sets, go on about how much you would love & cherish what is a grail bike for you, then restate your offer and move on if it's rejected.

jet sanchEz

I think you should keep looking, complete De Rosas under $1500 are all over the place. Use adhuntr.com and the facilitators thread, half the fun is the hunt anyways.

Pars 

Make sure you mention that "You can't swing a dead cat without hitting
a red De Rosa"...

frantik

you might be waiting a while...

rhm

True enough. The trick is to find one that hasn't been all scratched up be dead cat claws.

Lascauxcaveman 

LOL at RHM

cpsqlrwn

I'm not really lusting after the bike. If I could get the frame for a reasonable price, fine. Otherwise, it's no big deal. I have 3 DeRosas, all a bit higher up than this one. My objective with the question was not to angle to buy the frame and fork, but to actually find out what the hell he expects this to sell for. I am interested in the mindset of someone who asks close to 3 times what it's worth. It's a DeRosa and he's got 11 watchers.

TimmyT 

Yeah, people who like something, have their ducks in a row, and are sweet to me as a seller get a special price.

People who swing dead cats at me get a very special price. If I were the seller, I would not respond to your most recent request or any further request.

cpsqlrwn

Lobsters, ducks, and dead cats! Who'd have thunk it?

cpsqlrwn

In response to my question about doing research, the seller responded....

"yes, that is how we established the price (see the listing). Feel free to make any offer you want using the "best offer" button."

Time to let sleeping dogs or ducks or lobsters or dead cats lie.

Chombi

It's a De Rosa and it must weep gold from its head tube and BB shell every night after midnight,...... so it's no use shooting any offer more than five bucks under the asking price......
Cut the story short and bow to its supreme C&V greatness like everyone does.....then you might get a real chance on the privilege of owning it!.......

Seriously, good luck! Hope you do get it! Good stuff never comes cheap!

Chombi

MetalPedaler

From what I've been seeing on Ebay [and I'm a former professional Ebay seller....] it seems a lot of people are just trawling on there to try and get some absurd totally unrealistic price for their mundane stuff. I bought my Klein on Craigslist- from 1000 miles away. I still keep an eye on Kleins on Ebay. You see the same ones listed over and over with ridiculous Buy-It-Now prices or absurd starting bids or reserves...they never sell, and get relisted over and over- so much so, that I've tired of looking. On rare occasions you'll see someone who really wants to sell one, so they list it without a reserve and it goes for four or five hundred bucks, as it should...and not the thousands that some seem to think their lesser ones are worth!

You think that DeRosa's bad? Check out this nut-job: https://www.ebay.com/itm/KLEIN-QUANTU...item460d530da8

shoota 

Just remember you only get 3 (i think) offers before you're not allowed to offer anymore.

cpsqlrwn

+1
Thanks for the heads up!

MetalPedaler

I would forget about it. Idiots who so over-value their stuff, will likely never be reasoned with. Even if they relist their item 10 times...... They're just fools. I made on offer on a painting once- a quarter of the seller's BIN price....which is all it was worth to me- and apparently anyone else, because it never sold, despite the fact that the guy must have had it on Ebay continually for 6 months. I made the offer again...he'd just say "But i paid $XXX for it...."etc.-

People who think they "know what it's worth" really don't want to sell. People who want to sell, auction it, with a low/no reserve.

I lose interest when I see stuff severely over-priced. I don't even bother making an offer anymore...I just forget it and laugh, because these people can never be reasoned with.

gomango

In the words of Cristiano De Rosa, it's a "good frameset" for "fast riding" conditions.

Looks like a nice one to me.

Fwiw I know where you can get a nice one for a lot less than that price.

cpsqlrwn

Eloquently stated!

And this is really the whole point of this thread, and I couldn't have said it better..... an investigation into the thought process and psyche behind some of these idiotic listing prices that go on forever.

gomango

There is a little PT Barnum built into this whole bicycle racket.

You know, the "there is a sucker born every minute" mentality.

There are several shops locally that play this game and I don't bother going there anymore.

frantik

I know I enjoy getting emails from people not interested in buying stuff i have for sale

photogravity

Ya know, you shoulda put De Rosa in the thread title. That would have gotten a lot more participation in this thread. At a minimum, you'd have been assured of the thread getting KonAaron Snake's attention.