Blame Pickers?

[jwm]

Evolution indeed. The impact of cable, and the internet has reached even relatively obscure hobbies like ours. And just to be clear-I am not really complaining, nor am I laying any "blame" on Pickers because some guy is trying to get a ridiculous price on a bicycle. The days when you could find a rare vintage bike for a few bucks at someone's garage sale are probably behind us. But so are the "good old days" when finding a single part meant spending months or years hunting yard sales, newspaper want ads, junk stores, and the like. Really, it's pretty darn cool to be able to find stuff for a restoration project, or even a complete vintage bike without leaving the comfort of your den.

JWM

 

[fasteddy]

What fills my heart with joy is being given a twenty seven day chance to buy the $500 bike for $1,250, for the third time in three months. Almost as if the seller thinks that if they dangle that treasure in front of you over and over again you will weaken and purchase it.

Steve.

 

[Talewinds]

What fills my heart with joy is being given a twenty seven day chance to buy the $500 bike for $1,250, for the third time in three months. Almost as if the seller thinks that if they dangle that treasure in front of you over and over again you will weaken and purchase it.

Steve.

Haahahahaha! Awesome.

 

[jwm]

What fills my heart with joy is being given a twenty seven day chance to buy the $500 bike for $1,250, for the third time in three months. Almost as if the seller thinks that if they dangle that treasure in front of you over and over again you will weaken and purchase it.

Steve.

Best laugh of the day award!
Way too true.

JWM

 

[BWbiker]

Western Flyer

Heres a funny story. I went to an auction to try and win some bike parts, they also had a 1930's Elgin motobike. I overheard folks talking about American Pickers, and thought to myself 'uh oh' here we go! Well they brought the Elgin up, then to my surprise they put a 1980's girls huffy, dirty and scratched, next to the Elgin and said 'choice'. If that wasnt funny enough they called the Elgin a Western Flyer, it was missing the headbadge but the tires said WF so thats what they called it. I figured there were other folks in the know, and it would still get bid up because of the numerous folks speaking of the 'Pickers' show. After a total of only 6 low ball bids I was surprised I won, then came the inevitable question from the auctioneer "which one do you want?".....so I says "I'll take the Western Flyer".

That is funny! Brad

 

[ozzmonaut]

The earlier post about Antiques Roadshow is true, as it started the rise in perceived value of junk in general. Everyone hit goodwill and yardsales buying stupid pictures hoping to tear them out of the frame and find a letter from Abraham Lincoln or Leonardo DaVinci. But American Pickers doesn't just affect junk in general. They seem to find a bicycle in almost every episode now. I believe that the problem is split 50/50. On American Pickers, if they find a true rarity, they explain why it is valuable, but maybe a disclaimer stating that results are out of the ordinary would help. The other half, however, is that people in general need to start doing research before they try to sell something with an overblown price. If you paid $20 for something ten years ago and you saw one sell for $10,000, maybe it would be wise to do some reading before you assume you have that same treasure. I'm not out trying to find a gem for a few bucks. But I do hope to see the market remain somewhat grounded. Also , the pickers usually have buyers in mind before they pick something. It adds to the value when you already have high-rollers on the speed-dial .

 

[partsguy]

It adds to the value when you already have high-rollers on the speed-dial .

DING! Thats why car parts, furniture, Hoover vacuum cleaners, and some bicycle stuff I have moves fast! I know what to look out for, I have buyers and dealers in all the above stuff. The other junk, it may sit for a couple weeks...I hope!

 

[Santee]

Its the curse of the "treasure hunter" shows. (Sigh.....)

 

[schwinnbikebobb]

Only have had a couple sellers mention "Pickers" but 99% no matter how remote you go mentions that "one just like this is on ebay for" whatever the highest one has sold for. The internet in general and ebay especially has driven the prices to where they are. Having said that as mentioned above it is nice to be able to find pretty much any parts you want. If it is too high don't buy. My train collecting buddy and I have a saying that some people must think it is the "last one on planet" or loopy for what they bid. Fact of the matter is even in these times LOTS of people still have LOTS of money. Maybe not as many as before but still LOTS.

 

[Djshakes]

What fills my heart with joy is being given a twenty seven day chance to buy the $500 bike for $1,250, for the third time in three months. Almost as if the seller thinks that if they dangle that treasure in front of you over and over again you will weaken and purchase it.

Steve.

Welcome to what eBay has become.