When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Antique Schwinns at auction.

-
I think age makes it an antique, like vintage (mid-century) is a style or design. Age dosen't make it rare or valuable. If a bike is 50 years old (1970s) I would call it a classic, still not worth much.
 
How to properly use terms while selling a bike online

Antique = bike was produced more than 12 months ago and has any amount of rust on it.
Barn find = bike was found in any sort of building in a county that has at least 1 farm somewhere in the jurisdiction.
Collectible = seller prefers the bike take up your garage space rather than his.
Custom = fenders cut down 50% and parts from differently sized bikes added.
Classic = bike resembles a bike that any Google image search will show.
Deluxe = A broken bell and plastic headlight have been added.
Lowball = offering more than 25 cents below seller's listing price.
One owner = seller owns the bike and the previous owners are dead or unable to testify.
Original = bike has random rusty parts on it.
Picker = any person who has Googled "old bicycles".
Professionally repaired/restored = seller looked at Google and then tried to fix something on the bike (whether successfully or not).
New-Old-Stock/NOS = rust hasn't quite made holes in the frame yet.
Rare = seller's brother/friend told him he has never seen one.
Relic = a pile of rust that may or may not have once been a bicycle.
Restored = like "original" above except less rust and more Rustoleum.
Safe = bicycle has a less than 70% chance the brakes will fail on the test ride.
Tire-kicker = anyone who has more than 1 question about the bike.
Vintage = similar to "antique" above but seller saw one on Google.
 
Last edited:
How to properly use terms while selling a bike online

Antique = bike was produced more than 12 months ago and has any amount of rust on it.
Barn find = bike was found in any sort of building in a county that has at least 1 farm somewhere in the jurisdiction.
Collectible = seller prefers the bike take up your garage space rather than his.
Custom = fenders cut down 50% and parts from differently sized bikes added.
Classic = bike resembles a bike that any Google image search will show.
Deluxe = A broken bell and plastic headlight have been added.
Lowball = offering more than 25 cents below seller's listing price.
One owner = seller owns the bike and the previous owners are dead or unable to testify.
Original = bike has random rusty parts on it.
Picker = any person who has Googled "old bicycles".
Professionally repaired/restored = seller looked at Google and then tried to fix something on the bike (whether successfully or not).
New-Old-Stock/NOS = rust hasn't quite made holes in the frame yet.
Rare = seller's brother/friend told him he has never seen one.
Relic = a pile of rust that may or may not have once been a bicycle.
Restored = like "original" above except less rust and more Rustoleum.
Safe = bicycle has a less than 70% chance the brakes will fail on the test ride.
Tire-kicker = anyone who has more than 1 question about the bike.
Vintage = similar to "antique" above but seller saw one on Google.
you left out old ….. thats someone who drools over something not because he likes it but because he cannt control the slobber in his mouth and wouldnt know what your talking about when u mention google ….that qualified about 95% of the guys at Ann Arbor and Memory Lane when i got started 30 years ago …….. i brought a girl 25 years younger than me to Copake and Memory Lane she was the legs for gues jeans bill board adds when I talk to any of them now if they are still alive thats all they remember they couldnt tell you if there were even bikes at that show Mike fallon and Mike Fitzimmons argued over was going to sit next to her at the dinner i took everyone too….. or better yet are more interested in the stories of me and my california buddies they told when we opened and closed Scarlets strip club in Toledo …… that classifys as …….. memorable …… hail to my mentor Don Vaughn …… when you learn the importance of “FUN” rather than arguing about if those lights have the correct lens in them …… even the youngest guys in the hobby the Herns brothers of Dayton Ohio will tell you a thing or two about what they learned about collecting …. California Collectors dont put much weight on age

image.jpg
 
you left out old ….. thats someone who drools over something not because he likes it but because he cannt control the slobber in his mouth and wouldnt know what your talking about when u mention google ….that qualified about 95% of the guys at Ann Arbor and Memory Lane when i got started 30 years ago …….. i brought a girl 25 years younger than me to Copake and Memory Lane she was the legs for gues jeans bill board adds when I talk to any of them now if they are still alive thats all they remember they couldnt tell you if there were even bikes at that show Mike fallon and Mike Fitzimmons argued over was going to sit next to her at the dinner i took everyone too….. or better yet are more interested in the stories of me and my california buddies they told when we opened and closed Scarlets strip club in Toledo …… that classifys as …….. memorable …… hail to my mentor Don Vaughn …… when you learn the importance of “FUN” rather than arguing about if those lights have the correct lens in them …… even the youngest guys in the hobby the Herns brothers of Dayton Ohio will tell you a thing or two about what they learned about collecting …. California Collectors dont put much weight on age

View attachment 1782247
I have never in my 60+ years on this earth believed that diamonds are a girl's best friend did'nt work for me, so I lived by the words"A fool and his money are dearly departed"...
 
Wrong.......you would have a truckload of seat post clamps, head sets, crank arms, and some small parts.
John
I learned a long time ago that you can have tons of parts and they just take up room. bring a trailer full of 70;s parts to a show and you may sell a few but will be leaving with a trailer full of parts.lol Not a lot of demand for Schwinn Varsity parts when you can find a nice one for $20 at a garage sale
 
I learned a long time ago that you can have tons of parts and they just take up room. bring a trailer full of 70;s parts to a show and you may sell a few but will be leaving with a trailer full of parts.lol Not a lot of demand for Schwinn Varsity parts when you can find a nice one for $20 at a garage sale
Exactly, I see it in my other hobbies as well. I have stopped taking "Free cars and trailers" because the few useable/sellable parts you can salvage, seldom pays for the time and cost to dispose of the junk left over.

It's better to just complain that reproduction Sting Ray seats are now $400., then buy it.

It takes a real man, with enough experience to know "when to walk away" from the Great Deal!

John
 
Back
Top