If I were selling a 25.000$ bike I'd do it through a renowned seller of vintage bikes to provide credibility without baring it all. Like they do with art galleries and independent controllers that check for looted and forged pieces. Maybe the bike world has something to learn from the art world in this case. Who knows.

So if it is one of the bikes that he rode what sort of value would it be?
What is the value of a professional race over a shop race bike, and how much does it effect the price if it was rode by one of the big names?

I cut and pasted the URL in his answer to a question on the $25k bike but the photo set I think was a different bike. That does not help the presentation.

As to the value of a "famous rider's mount" for me, that is such an intangible and so in my view fraught with error or fraud that I personally would not pay extra for it.

Galleries will take 50-60%. And galleries have been known for shenanigans. You have to pick your poison.

What is interesting to me is $25K is squat compared to other collectibles yet is a very difficult sell for a bike ridden by the Babe Ruth of cyclists. btw, a Babe Ruth game bat can run you $86K.

And then there's Eddy's bat. Friggin' priceless!

They were both clearly De Rosa
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1.../aIMG_2312.JPG

But were they all with diamond shaped chain stays ?
The seller is also selling another one somewhere else and this one (also presented as Molteni team) does not have them.
The "Merckx" (I verified and it was also presented as Eddy's bike in the Stalen Ross) has the diamond shaped but not so well shaped
Here : https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K.../aIMG_2313.JPG

Having examined all détails, they were clearly rebuilt. I seem to remember one with the wrong year crank.
I've seen much better quality Kessels

Another De Rosa where you can see this shape
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--...%2520Copie.JPG

(My bike of the day in background)

Jordan game-worn shoes, up to $100K.

Plenty of people with plenty of money.

win some, lose some. Apparently the market doesn't support it yet.

ah well.

doesn't this look like the Falcon Eddy Merckx RobbieTunes posted a while ago?

Falcon eddy bikes are not highly regarded.

also I would pay 25k for eddy's quads and cardio vascular system. his bike, nah.

Please name me one renowned seller of vintage bikes... There are many renowned "buyers" but no renowned sellers that I am aware of.

I was going to let that one go, Notorious might be a better description in some cases.

There are a number of sellers who have developed a decent reputation for accuracy of description and straightforward dealings. A few who others routinely find desirable bikes and have built a reputation on that.
And more than a few characters.

I would suggest Stefan of Speedbicycles.ch as pretty straightforward, my transactions with him have beed businesslike and honest. I think that he would not promote a claim as to a bike's history unless he could really prove that claim. I have noticed on his site he is quite conservative with any mention of who owned a bike, and proving if it was used in a race or races is really difficult and I don't recall reading anything of that sort.

Maybe not, he had heart surgery a while back. The problem was considered a long term thing that if I read the english language reports correctly could have done him in long ago.

I agree. One of Jimmy Hendrick's Fenders used in a concert just sold for 225,000 British Pounds. So $25,000 for a proven Merckx race bike doesn't seem unreasonable.

De rien, mon vieux. It was late on Le Weekend anyways!

Do we know what size that silver bike is in his auctions, by the way?

Auction houses don't charge that, though. More like 10% to the seller, and a 10% buyer's premium to the buyer, on large items....

I would concur about Stefan Schaffter. Then there's the well-known Rene Herse finder/seller in France, whose name escapes me at the moment, sorry.

Edit: post #1000 , baby!

I would also concur regarding Stefan Schaefter - and not just because he owns more of my drillium work than anyone on the planet and is an FB friend, to boot

The guy is top-notch, period.

DD

Copake has a 20% buyers premium. Don't know the seller's, but I'd guess it is similar. Adds up compared to a private cash deal.

People complain about ebay but their 10% plus the 5% a paypal is a pretty good deal.

Id like to see one of those Confente bikes Merckx rode...I hear Mario made bikes for him...how many...for which team...I wouldnt have a clue...oh..I forgot...sorry about the periods!!!!!

Correct. If the price you acheive is 50% more than you would otherwise (which I think eBay often can be), then you are still ahead after paying their fees. Look at the "Barry Scott gambit" for example.

...and PayPal isn't 5%. As a heavy user, I pay 1.9% plus the 75 cents or whatever. So maybe 12% total in fees when selling on eBarf.

I think Barry gets it right. The problem with an auction format is your maximum is only a little above what the loser will pay. You never know what the winner is really willing to pay.

indeed. ebay was a terrific deal, now it is still a deal.
Reserves, initial bids, hidden reserves can all potentially change the next nearest bidder dynamic.

The seller's and buyers premiums can distort the published auction price quite a bit. But I guess Copake does not have the eye candy waltzing around drumming up interest of the bidding crowd too like at Barrett-Jackson…

Alex March is the Rene Herse / Alex Singer frequent ebay presenter. I would place Stefan ahead of him.

Allegedly #8 from my notes of the Los Angeles built bikes.

Yes. Alexander March. Thanks. Yes, he is a bit, uh, eccentric, shall we say? He finds some nice Herses and Singers, nonetheless.