49autocycledeluxe
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
you have some odd ideas about other peoples motives in this bicycle hobby of ours.
""The Collector sets out to get one of each bike they ever wanted as a kid but could not afford""
I wanted an Apple Krate like my best buddy had when I was a kid. the only reason I would buy one now or any Stingray for that matter would be to resell for a profit to someone who likes them. (I like Stingrays, but just other peoples Stingrays) you complain that people collect the parts with no intention of putting them on a bike. parts, ephemera, books, pictures, everything bike related is part of collecting. the prices are not as high as they are because of this, they are high because these parts are all at least 50 years old and 97% of the population thinks they are garbage to be tossed out.
you are confused about investors. I would guess there are very few bicycle "investors" who are only adding to their portfolio, if there is such a person, they are not investing in anything I could afford and would have no effect on my hobby. investors would not be buying $1,000.00 bikes. (neither do I can't afford them.)
my favorite part is complaining about other peoples purchases. well, get up at 5:00 on a Sunday and get to every swap meet you can before 7:00 at the latest. know what you are looking for, don't go with buddies because you will miss half the stuff, search every box in a guys spot. I used to do this with 37-54 Chevrolet parts and resell on ebay. I also went estate sales and garage sales every weekend looking for just regular old stuff with some value. buying and selling old junk is labor and time intensive, you have to invest more than just money to get the good deals, they won't be left on your doorstep by the bike fairy. buying and selling is a BIG part of the hobby for me.
before my job blocked Craigslist on my work computer I was on there 3-4 times a day. missed a few great deals by one phone call but scored two post war B-6 Schwinns with a front brake and lever worth more than I paid for the whole bike among other good finds. I still look every day after work.
you speak poorly of people who make money on this hobby and hoarders at the same time. I just bought out a hoarders stash of bikes and parts he had for 30 years doing nothing at all with them. they were all on his patio under covers rotting. so I will make some money and end up with a "free" Schwinn Phantom for my troubles. 19 bikes total and 5 tubs of parts. how many would still be around if this guy had not hoarded them when they were cheaper?
that's how I got it figured anyways.
""The Collector sets out to get one of each bike they ever wanted as a kid but could not afford""
I wanted an Apple Krate like my best buddy had when I was a kid. the only reason I would buy one now or any Stingray for that matter would be to resell for a profit to someone who likes them. (I like Stingrays, but just other peoples Stingrays) you complain that people collect the parts with no intention of putting them on a bike. parts, ephemera, books, pictures, everything bike related is part of collecting. the prices are not as high as they are because of this, they are high because these parts are all at least 50 years old and 97% of the population thinks they are garbage to be tossed out.
you are confused about investors. I would guess there are very few bicycle "investors" who are only adding to their portfolio, if there is such a person, they are not investing in anything I could afford and would have no effect on my hobby. investors would not be buying $1,000.00 bikes. (neither do I can't afford them.)
my favorite part is complaining about other peoples purchases. well, get up at 5:00 on a Sunday and get to every swap meet you can before 7:00 at the latest. know what you are looking for, don't go with buddies because you will miss half the stuff, search every box in a guys spot. I used to do this with 37-54 Chevrolet parts and resell on ebay. I also went estate sales and garage sales every weekend looking for just regular old stuff with some value. buying and selling old junk is labor and time intensive, you have to invest more than just money to get the good deals, they won't be left on your doorstep by the bike fairy. buying and selling is a BIG part of the hobby for me.
before my job blocked Craigslist on my work computer I was on there 3-4 times a day. missed a few great deals by one phone call but scored two post war B-6 Schwinns with a front brake and lever worth more than I paid for the whole bike among other good finds. I still look every day after work.
you speak poorly of people who make money on this hobby and hoarders at the same time. I just bought out a hoarders stash of bikes and parts he had for 30 years doing nothing at all with them. they were all on his patio under covers rotting. so I will make some money and end up with a "free" Schwinn Phantom for my troubles. 19 bikes total and 5 tubs of parts. how many would still be around if this guy had not hoarded them when they were cheaper?
that's how I got it figured anyways.