People are so irritating

[rusty513]

I posted an ad on craiglist wanting bikes from the 40's, 50's or 60's, 26" single speed bikes. All I get is people wanting to sell me there 10 speeds from the 80's or there old girls 3 speeds. Then I get a guy who sends a pic of a 80's Schwinn bike sitting in the basement with tons of crap piled around it & he said it is a 1949 & he didn't know what he wanted for it. Then he e-mails me back & told me he saw one just like it on ebay for $275 & his is nicer so he wants $350.

 

[Markm]

pfffft!!! humans..... :mrgreen:

 

[deorman]

If only 1 out of a hundred people is a stupid jerk, that's MILLIONS of stupid jerks. :roll:

 

[Floyd]

Yeah.....but when you get the one call for that 40s somethin ballooner, it'll all be worth it! 8)

 

[Slick Rick]

Most people are not "in the know" when it comes to bicycle age. We have a local guy here who has been trying to sell an early 90's Schwinn Cruiser as a "1977" for about six months now. The price keeps getting a little lower every month, its almost where it should be now. I e-mailed this guy to let him know that $375.00 was way too much for that bike no matter how nice it is! I also let him know he certainly did not have a 77 model so selling it on E-bay as such would be mis-representation (His intention if a local sale was not possible). So he asks what I am baseing my conclusion on. I tell him I have owned several Chicago Schwinns, have seen probably a thousand or so in person, and there were some mfg techniques apparant on his that screamed China! He replied that Pacific Cycle had confirmed his ser.# as 1977 and they have seen millions, so I will listen to them! Now his adds are asking why people want to tell him his bike is not what he claims it is. Most people are simply clueless. :mrgreen:

 

[theVULTURE]

i just smile, and shrug it off, and think to myself "the guys on the website would be snickering at this ya-who" :lol:

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Most of those people that are wrong on years on a bike will not be swayed from their opinion. I tried to explain to a guy that he had a 60's Spaceliner and he was convinced that his rusty girls bike was a 51 and worth $300. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Its best to save your breath. :wink:

 

[rusty513]

I told the guy what his bike is really worth & he writes me back & told me that he's not that stupid & I should try to scam someone else, ha ha

 

[IronSpadeCycles]

I know where there is a prewar skip tooth Columbia leaning against a trailer and has been for the last year and a half. About a year ago I asked the guy if I could buy it and he said he didn't want to sell it cause it was his only bike he just needed to put new tubes in it and it would be perfectly ridable, even thought it has 60 years of rust on it. But the bike has not moved from the same spot ever since. One of these days I'm just going to stop by his trailer and pin $50 to the door with a note saying your an abuser of fine craftmanship and just take the thing!

Its funny cause I see adds all the time on CL from guys wanting to buy your older rare and very desirable motorcycles. Its very frustrating because you know that guy is only in it for the money he's going to make after reselling it to some collector with wads of cash. They'll lowball you to death telling you what you got isn't worth snot, even though its exactly what he's been looking for all this time. Truth is, it might not be worth much in a totally unrestored and ratty condition but once you've seen the Antiques Road Show a few times all the junk in your garage or attic is now worth a fortune to someone.

I don't know man, my though on it is if your going on a fishing expedition for rare 40's, 50's and 60's bikes you really should expect mostly dumb sharks while looking for that illustrious 100lb tuna. It comes with the territory. I've got a friend in Denver who travels around to dozens of bike swaps a year. All over the country dragging along 20 or 30 bikes on a trailer to sell and swap for other more rare resto projects. He once told me that just in the last 10-15 years the number of well informed hobby collectors and bike builders has quadrupled and he's seen many prewar junk bikes that should be thrown in the trash selling for over $1000, and guys are willing to buy a very rough project at that price. But then again he's scored a few Hawthorns for the trade of a few 60's Schwinn's. I guess it's all relevant, some times you get the bull, but most of the time the bull gets you!

Later Travis

 

[rusty513]

Yeah these people see that someone is interested in there old bike that they've had sitting out in the yard for years & suddenly now think it must be worth something so they look on ebay & see one similar (at least to them) even though there's doesn't have a tank or springer but there's must be at least worth a few hundred, ha ha

 

[Highridah]

had this happen a few times

 

[CCR]

i love it when "grandpas old bike he had as a kid" turns out to be a murray monteray. those aluminum wheels, reflectors and vinyl decals just scream prewar.