How many of you all buy components off ebay and other sources just because it might come in handy at some time in the future? I know that I do all the time.

I used to do that.

Now I sell them to people, which pleases my wife immensely.

I check all the time for deals. I will buy stuff I don't need if I can get them cheap.

And then we talk about building an entire bike from our "parts bin" like those parts just magically showed up there

I tend to buy whole bikes and harvest parts that I am interested in. Buying piece by piece can really add up, especially when you toss in shipping costs. That being said if something comes up on ebay that is really unique, unknown to most, and French, well then I am all over it.

I have no idea, I just buy stuff.

Guilty as Charged !!!

I have. Usually it's a part I especially like or something I foresee a need for soon, or because it is cheaper than I expected.

I've also watched parts I have no need for at that time, and then walked away when the bidding went silly.

I did that with some components of the local CL more than the bay. Once I started crossing over into building up vintage MTB's, I realized that quite a bit of my "handy stock" of road stuff was not as handy as I thought. I do have one heck of a light bulb collection though.

I like to keep a spare of everything for the eventuality of the original breaking.

^^^

they have medication for that.

There are a few items I look for, like Ritchey Logic 110/74 cranks with the hidden fifth arm, Sachs New Success shifters and RD's, and older Deore XT or Ultegra cassette hubs. But I believe I have almost enough spares of those (except the crank). Now if I stumbled on another Campagnolo 8-spd Racing T FD with a 28.6 clamp, I'm pretty sure I "need" another spare.

Keep them assembled into a complete bike, or two or tree or four. It saves time when that eventuality eventually happens.

vonfilm, I could be an exception as I've only bought a couple of items to be used as maintenance replacements. My builds almost always have modern bits and bobs and these items are fairly easy to source. I've also concentrated on reducing the number of parts in my parts bin because I see fewer builds in my future as I now have just what I want in my little fleet, well, for now anyway.

Brad

If something is interesting and inexpensive, yes...I'll buy it just because. It's amazing how often I end up needing, or wanting, that part. I bought a c-record seat post without the cradle or bolt - just the shaft - for $5 once. Ended up inheriting a 26.6 post with a parts bike, swapped the shafts and have it in my 35th De Rosa. The plus side is I'm often able to save on parts - the negative is having tons of parts.

Yeah, that pretty much describes my eBay habits.

"Oooh shiney! I need that!" "Oooh that's all precious looking! I need that!"

Never!

This ^^^ I buy parts that I know I can use... eventually, or I buy things that I may or may not decide to use. Especially IGH stuff, quite a bit of it not readily available on a regular basis.

Aaron

If I am already placing an order for something I actually need, I usually check the clearance bin for any deals. Since I am already paying for the shipping, the extra parts don't add much to the cost.

Strategic purchasing of course. Normally I remember what I buy... yesterday I opened a USPS box to find two 8 speed Campagnolo 32 hole freehubs and a full cog set... and extra skewers... I am slipping, I forgot about those.

When I can find a chain or some other consumable on sale with free shipping - I buy.

I made a decision a while back to stop doing precisely that sort of buying. Saves a bunch of time and money.

My wife thinks brake sets last about 3 months.

My last ebay purchase was two boxes of spoke holes. They were supposed to contain 36 each, but were mislabeled because they had only 32. Since I'm working on wheels with 36 spokes they won't do me much good this time. But eventually I expect to work on another bike that needs 32 spoke holes per wheel, so I'll hang on to them. Sometimes collecting is good.

Of course if any of you have an extra 8 spoke holes laying around that you aren't using, we may be able to work out a trade.

Not from Ebay. Bike swaps. Locally we have one in March, and there are two per year in Trexlertown at the Velodrome and the swap in Westminster, Md. My buddy and I go to all of them.