Things are really getting out of hand over at the 'bay
03-09-15 | 07:24 AM
#26
What I like is that he starts his auctions as, well, auctions. Six bucks to start and let her fly. That is becoming more rare every day on ebay.
I actually think it is a good strategy as compared with a high buy it now price. Gets people competing with each other trying to snag the item.
I actually think it is a good strategy as compared with a high buy it now price. Gets people competing with each other trying to snag the item.
03-09-15 | 07:31 AM
#27
Bidding like that suggests two possibilities to me. The charitable interpretation is that the chaser really doesn't know how the automatic bidding works, specifically: Just because someone's current bid sits at $X doesn't mean that's the real high bid, so chasing it incrementally is pointless except to stop bidding just barely above the competing bidder. But stopping just above the previous high bid is futile because the competing bidder can bid over it so easily. If you are willing to pay X then bid there. If someone else is willing to bid Y where Y > X, then you live with the result or be willing to go higher in the first place. There is no psychology involved like there would be in a real-time auction. To put it another way, the "if someone else is willing to pay" reasoning is misguided but the chaser doesn't understand that yet.
The less charitable explanation is that the chaser is a shill. The seller gave it a low starting bid but really didn't want it to stay there. If it looks like it won't hit the jackpot he is hoping for the shill nudges it up. Nudging has to be incremental because the intent is to stop just below the current high bid if he can guess it accurately, or just above if he is willing to gamble that the current high bidder will push just a little more. Which is to say, the shill exercises caution because he intends to lose.
I saw something like that on an auction I won where the chaser pushed the bid up. The chaser's bidding history showed he'd incrementally chased dozens of auctions over the previous six months or so and won none of them.
The less charitable explanation is that the chaser is a shill. The seller gave it a low starting bid but really didn't want it to stay there. If it looks like it won't hit the jackpot he is hoping for the shill nudges it up. Nudging has to be incremental because the intent is to stop just below the current high bid if he can guess it accurately, or just above if he is willing to gamble that the current high bidder will push just a little more. Which is to say, the shill exercises caution because he intends to lose.
I saw something like that on an auction I won where the chaser pushed the bid up. The chaser's bidding history showed he'd incrementally chased dozens of auctions over the previous six months or so and won none of them.
03-09-15 | 08:53 AM
#28
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 16,748
Likes: 138
From: Wherever
A legacy of the "great" recession. Prices did not collapse, but items that were not choice often got overlooked to the buyers advantage. Somewhere in there eBay went to no fee listings, that also changed the dynamic, just list it at a price that would make the seller ecstatic.
Haven't sold on ebay for several years but contemplating getting back into it. A little leery of doing so though, with so many changes to ebay's policies that affect sellers.
03-09-15 | 11:29 AM
#29
Banned.
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 12,292
Likes: 4,863
From: PAZ
A couple of my driveside crankarms ('73 and '74) opened at $50 and $30 respectively. No one even bit.
Wrong time of year?
DD
03-09-15 | 12:28 PM
#30
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 12,563
Likes: 2,739
From: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - burrrrr!
Bikes: 1958 Rabeneick 120D, 1968 Legnano Gran Premio, 196? Torpado Professional, 2000 Marinoni Piuma
Well I just paid $36+shipping $USD for a campy dérailleur hanger. Was it worth it? Absolutely not for a crummy piece of metal.
Is it worth being able to finally ride my bike with my Nuovo Record Rd instead of waiting weeks/months for the next one to pop up? Absolutely.
Is it worth being able to finally ride my bike with my Nuovo Record Rd instead of waiting weeks/months for the next one to pop up? Absolutely.
Some of us, including me, just might be willing to pay a lot for that last or special piece. For me, I have resisted paying $220.00 US plus shipping, plus import costs for an Ebay listed NOS C-Record seat post for my newly (actually last summer but too busy to get it out for rides) Waterford. But I just might spend the money - after all, the seat post has been listed since last Fall.
__________________
"98% of the bikes I buy are projects".
"98% of the bikes I buy are projects".
03-09-15 | 12:42 PM
#31
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
Ebay actually has a bidding history page for each buyer which makes it possible in many cases to identify someone bidding on his own item.
Bidding Details
Takes a bit of trial and error to find other item(s) the seller might have bid on himself. Here it is: RARE Campagnolo Nuovo Record Campy Vintage Crankset 170 Strada Crank | eBay
I tend to think this was for real though, and the bidder just does not understand the auction mode.
Bidding Details
Takes a bit of trial and error to find other item(s) the seller might have bid on himself. Here it is: RARE Campagnolo Nuovo Record Campy Vintage Crankset 170 Strada Crank | eBay
I tend to think this was for real though, and the bidder just does not understand the auction mode.
03-09-15 | 12:44 PM
#32
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
On a side note, why would someone bid 46 USD (!) on dust caps, but only 115 USD on the corresponding crank? Especially if they just payed 46 USD for the dust caps not 5 minutes earlier?
Last edited by yipyipyip; 03-09-15 at 12:52 PM.
03-09-15 | 12:51 PM
#33
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
The odd thing is the same seller has another pair to sell, also starting at $5.99...
Vintage Campagnolo Crank Covers Super Nuovo Record RARE Patent Campy | eBay
Vintage Campagnolo Crank Covers Super Nuovo Record RARE Patent Campy | eBay
03-09-15 | 12:59 PM
#34
Ebay actually has a bidding history page for each buyer which makes it possible in many cases to identify someone bidding on his own item.
Bidding Details
Takes a bit of trial and error to find other item(s) the seller might have bid on himself. Here it is: RARE Campagnolo Nuovo Record Campy Vintage Crankset 170 Strada Crank | eBay
I tend to think this was for real though, and the bidder just does not understand the auction mode.
Bidding Details
Takes a bit of trial and error to find other item(s) the seller might have bid on himself. Here it is: RARE Campagnolo Nuovo Record Campy Vintage Crankset 170 Strada Crank | eBay
I tend to think this was for real though, and the bidder just does not understand the auction mode.
__________________
1 Super Record bike, 1 Nuovo Record bike, 1 Pista, 1 Road, 1 Cyclocross/Allrounder, 1 MTB, 1 Touring, 1 Fixed gear
1 Super Record bike, 1 Nuovo Record bike, 1 Pista, 1 Road, 1 Cyclocross/Allrounder, 1 MTB, 1 Touring, 1 Fixed gear
03-09-15 | 04:11 PM
#35
verktyg
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,034
Likes: 1,271
From: SF Bay Area
Bikes: Current favorites: 1988 Peugeot Birraritz, 1984 Gitane Super Corsa, 1980s DeRosa, 1981 Bianchi Campione Del Mondo, 1992 Paramount OS, 1988 Colnago Technos, 1985 RalieghUSA SBDU Team Pro
One other reason... SPITE! 
Back when you could identify eBay bidders, there was a particular Japanese buyer who bought classic French bicycle components for wealthy collectors in Japan.
These collectors weren't into cycling, for them it was a hobby like stamp collecting! At best, they were playing bicycle bingo, trying to fill in the boxes on their websites with one of everything a classic French component manufacturer produced, Once they fell into the maw, the items were probably hidden away in some dark, smokey temple of bike parts.
This was running the cost of buying C&V French components through the roof for everyone!
The buyer kept outbidding me so I started backing him up the price poll for spite. One time I got him to up over $300 for a saddle not worth more than $100 then bailed.
After a number of rounds of those games, he dropped out of an auction any time he saw my name!
verktyg
Chas.
Back when you could identify eBay bidders, there was a particular Japanese buyer who bought classic French bicycle components for wealthy collectors in Japan.
These collectors weren't into cycling, for them it was a hobby like stamp collecting! At best, they were playing bicycle bingo, trying to fill in the boxes on their websites with one of everything a classic French component manufacturer produced, Once they fell into the maw, the items were probably hidden away in some dark, smokey temple of bike parts.
This was running the cost of buying C&V French components through the roof for everyone!
The buyer kept outbidding me so I started backing him up the price poll for spite. One time I got him to up over $300 for a saddle not worth more than $100 then bailed.
After a number of rounds of those games, he dropped out of an auction any time he saw my name!
verktyg
Chas.
__________________
Don't believe everything you think! History is written by those who weren't there....
Chas. ;-)
Don't believe everything you think! History is written by those who weren't there....
Chas. ;-)
03-09-15 | 05:14 PM
#36
Not to mention record crank are not all that rare and these have been stripped and polished so to a restorationist they are definitely not worth the sale price. I have stripped and polished a few record cranks but I got them cheep because of rub marks etc.. so it made sense to add the value with my own labour and make them look good because I refused to pay the high prices for examples in truly excellent original condition.
03-09-15 | 05:20 PM
#37
It had been a couple years or so for me, too. Just listed my first few items in the past 60 days. Mixed results. A pair of black anodized (used, not in perfect shape, but very good) Campy brake calipers sold for only $81 and the buyer hasn't even bothered to leave feedback even though they were delivered over a week ago.
A couple of my driveside crankarms ('73 and '74) opened at $50 and $30 respectively. No one even bit.
Wrong time of year?
DD
A couple of my driveside crankarms ('73 and '74) opened at $50 and $30 respectively. No one even bit.
Wrong time of year?
DD
As to orphan crank arms, orphans are needed when they are needed, not bought as an item for potential use. You need to do a bit of marketing in your copy or sub header… "Check your Campagnolo cranks… see any cracks starting at the root of the arms adjacent to the crank?, if so, you NEED these, ready to go"
03-09-15 | 05:23 PM
#38
Randomhead
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 25,930
Likes: 4,825
From: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
yeah, I would never use them, but they are too cool to throw out. I might even have some of the crummy Sugino ones, which is pretty pointless. I sold some a couple of years ago, I recall it being worth my time. Really hard to take a good picture of them though.
03-09-15 | 06:03 PM
#39
I know full well that the final price may not even reflect the actual value added (I have done it enough times to know), but this is a DIY community and if I am paying that I want excellent original condition.
__________________
1 Super Record bike, 1 Nuovo Record bike, 1 Pista, 1 Road, 1 Cyclocross/Allrounder, 1 MTB, 1 Touring, 1 Fixed gear
1 Super Record bike, 1 Nuovo Record bike, 1 Pista, 1 Road, 1 Cyclocross/Allrounder, 1 MTB, 1 Touring, 1 Fixed gear
03-09-15 | 06:20 PM
#40
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 11,128
Likes: 39
Bikes: 1986 Alan Record Carbonio, 1985 Vitus Plus Carbone 7, 1984 Peugeot PSV, 1972 Line Seeker, 1986(est.) Medici Aerodynamic (Project), 1985(est.) Peugeot PY10FC
Oi!, I'd like to find a set of NOS dust caps for my Stronglight 106 cranks, the caps for which I foolishly threw out in an impulse to match what the pros were doing with them back in the 80's when I installed the crankset on my PSV ( I suspect their mechanics threw them straight in the trash too!)......
Today an NOS set of those plastic, chromed Stronglight dust caps cost over 40 bucks and sometimes even higher at eBay and most used ones are either badly tarnished or all mangled up at the removal slots...... I have not bought any of the nOS ones yet because it just feels crazy to me to spend so much on two pieces of frankly, cheesy looking, chromed plastic, NOS or not!
At least the Campy caps being discussed are metal....right?
Today an NOS set of those plastic, chromed Stronglight dust caps cost over 40 bucks and sometimes even higher at eBay and most used ones are either badly tarnished or all mangled up at the removal slots...... I have not bought any of the nOS ones yet because it just feels crazy to me to spend so much on two pieces of frankly, cheesy looking, chromed plastic, NOS or not!
At least the Campy caps being discussed are metal....right?
03-09-15 | 07:14 PM
#41
Oi!, I'd like to find a set of NOS dust caps for my Stronglight 106 cranks, the caps for which I foolishly threw out in an impulse to match what the pros were doing with them back in the 80's when I installed the crankset on my PSV ( I suspect their mechanics threw them straight in the trash too!)......
Today an NOS set of those plastic, chromed Stronglight dust caps cost over 40 bucks and sometimes even higher at eBay and most used ones are either badly tarnished or all mangled up at the removal slots...... I have not bought any of the nOS ones yet because it just feels crazy to me to spend so much on two pieces of frankly, cheesy looking, chromed plastic, NOS or not!
At least the Campy caps being discussed are metal....right?
Today an NOS set of those plastic, chromed Stronglight dust caps cost over 40 bucks and sometimes even higher at eBay and most used ones are either badly tarnished or all mangled up at the removal slots...... I have not bought any of the nOS ones yet because it just feels crazy to me to spend so much on two pieces of frankly, cheesy looking, chromed plastic, NOS or not!
At least the Campy caps being discussed are metal....right?
03-09-15 | 07:48 PM
#42
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,854
Likes: 5,375
From: NW Burbs, Chicago
Oi!, I'd like to find a set of NOS dust caps for my Stronglight 106 cranks, the caps for which I foolishly threw out in an impulse to match what the pros were doing with them back in the 80's when I installed the crankset on my PSV ( I suspect their mechanics threw them straight in the trash too!)......
Today an NOS set of those plastic, chromed Stronglight dust caps cost over 40 bucks and sometimes even higher at eBay and most used ones are either badly tarnished or all mangled up at the removal slots...... I have not bought any of the nOS ones yet because it just feels crazy to me to spend so much on two pieces of frankly, cheesy looking, chromed plastic, NOS or not!
At least the Campy caps being discussed are metal....right?
Today an NOS set of those plastic, chromed Stronglight dust caps cost over 40 bucks and sometimes even higher at eBay and most used ones are either badly tarnished or all mangled up at the removal slots...... I have not bought any of the nOS ones yet because it just feels crazy to me to spend so much on two pieces of frankly, cheesy looking, chromed plastic, NOS or not!
At least the Campy caps being discussed are metal....right?
03-09-15 | 07:58 PM
#43
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 11,128
Likes: 39
Bikes: 1986 Alan Record Carbonio, 1985 Vitus Plus Carbone 7, 1984 Peugeot PSV, 1972 Line Seeker, 1986(est.) Medici Aerodynamic (Project), 1985(est.) Peugeot PY10FC
I could just buy the black plastic version of the Stronglight caps at around 20 bucks and just spray them with chrome paint. But still sound like too much money and work for what they are in the end. Maybe I'll just wait to chance upon older metal Stronglight caps in good condition. Not sure if they will thread in OK on the later model 106, but I should be able to figure something out to make them work.
