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It's tough out there folks....

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maybe they thought that was all it was worth. are they a bike seller?
Probably not. That's the reason for the cheap price. On the other hand, I have been trying for THREE MONTHS to buy a copper tone 1967 Schwinn typhoon from a guy in Colorado who wants $199.00 for a incomplete bike . PLUS he won't budge on the price or shipping at all. Must think it's worth it's weight in gold. He's not a bike guy at all. Just a junk dealer in my thought. His loss. Razin.
 
As the title to this thread states, "it's getting tough out there". The pool of collectors who remember Schwinn and other U.S. bike manufacturers as builders of quality bicycles is growing smaller by the day. Where I used to sell exclusively on Ebay I now utilize every venue available to me, including Facebook groups, Forums, etc. I draw the line at Craigslist though, I'm not willing to open myself up to all of the negatives of that avenue of buying or selling.

As an aside, I am extremely appreciative of the "Veteran" comment which appears at the end of Freqman1's posts, and I have never heard a more eloquent explanation of the word "Veteran". I never considered myself to be "writing a blank check to the United States of America", I was simply too afraid to burn my draft card or flee out of country. With time I have come to be proud of my service in the Army and in Vietnam instead of ashamed, and I honor all of the brave men & women who have served in the Armed Forces of this great country. God Bless America!
Right on Brother!! I was a desert storm veteran with 21+ years of service and was on active army during the panama invasion. God bless all our veterans and their families for giving so much and making the ultimate sacrifice so we all can live free in the home of the BRAVE!! Razin.
 
I have to agree with what Blackbomber said - I would never list a bike with a low starting bid, no reserve and pick-up only. Years ago I was the only bidder on a beautiful, like new 66 Coppertone Starlet that I won for $20. It was only 45 minutes away, and I ended up giving the lady $50. because that is what I had bid in the last 3 seconds of the auction.
That's cool. I was working in marshall minnesota a number of years ago on 3rd shift, and wanted to buy a cheap bike to cruise around town on. Went to the local bike store and was ready to buy a couple old bikes and the cheapest he had was 50 for an old monark that i offered him 40 for. He wouldn't take it. So i went to a christian thrift store and they had one three speed Murray girls bike with a basket in the store. I asked what the price was and they said to just "take it along". So i gave them a 20 for a donation. God bless these awesome people. Razin.
 
Hey, this is not too complicated to figure out. As the old guard dies off we are not being replenished with a new younger interested generation. Young people today only care about their telephones and computer games....... not old bicycles. Many areas of collecting are noting declines in values not just bicycles. Its only going to get worse as time marches on. My cousin bought a 1928 Rolls Royce Picadilly Roadster paid $150,000.00 for it many years back. In his mind he thought it would bring him some notice in this old world. It didn't. Fact was people were aggravated at having to pass around an old car going too slow on a 2 lane highway. In order to spark interest today you have to have the newest and greatest electronic gizmo.
Does 35 count as the younger generation? I'm guessing not. When I was a kid you couldn't get me off my bike. Not even the nes or super Nintendo did much in the way of keeping me from riding the neighborhood for hours. Today's kids have the very electronic gizmo I'm typing on now the smartphone - which probably prevents them from outside play even more so than the Playstation 4 or Xbox whatever. But I still see lots of kids in the hood on bikes. Eventually they too will realize that Walmart bikes are garbage and want something more. Many will turn to a 1500 dollar road bike but surely a few will join our counter culture and find appreciation in the beauty style and joy an old bicycle brings. I'll use the term counter culture because of the crazy looks and response i get from people young and old when they see my 1930s bicycles. Even more so when they hear '' i like the rusty patina look '' as clean and shiny seems to appeal to the masses. The old bikes in my area are not typically priced cheap and good deals have to be sought out. Perhaps this is because Colorado promotes the bike culture keeping it alive and passing it along to the younger generation. Or maybe the old guys are buying em. :)
 
i don’t think the bike hobby will die anytime soon but I think bmx’s will gradually take over more than the prewar ballon tire bikes. Theres already a lot of high end bmx’s from the 80’s that are clearing 1k sometimes 2k and are pretty cool looking. One of my friends has a se 26 inch bmx bike and its pretty cool and rides nice and 3 days after riding it he threw out his walmart mongoose cause he just couldn’t stand it anymore since it was so cheap and always breaking. We play xbox for 2 hours then go outside and ride where ever we want. An old prewar bike with fenders isn’t ideal for curb jumping and riding down a hill so I usually take my mountain bike, since it has shocks and is just easier to go up hills on and grass. If i’m riding on a flatish trail though I’d never take my mountain bike over one of my prewars. Walmart bikes will never be worth anything I bet cause everyone knows there junk and most people would rather have something a little pricey if rides good, looks good, and is made well. Quality will always be worth something
 
I pulled nearly everything I had for sale down. I figured everyone is out enjoying the summer and will be back in the buying mood when the weather gets bad again.
 
I was out riding one of my Radiobikes, and I had Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” playing...

....a man and his boy were following me, then pulled up....

“I love the RETRO LOOK!”

Retro? RETRO?! That implies the item you see isn’t authentic. It’s sad that Walmart and Target, along with other retailers, have flooded the market with so much mass produced garbage from manufacturers producing knock off cruisers in communist China, that average folks can’t recognize a REAL classic when they see it.

Retro. That really got under my skin and chapped my arse.

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I for one can say that the classic bicycle hobby is GROWING! Most folks my age (25) like the middleweights, balloon tires, BMX, and road bikes. In that order. We usually like age, and do not necessarily go for fully restored or mint bicycles. We do not hoard bicycles. We buy, rebuild, ride, and usually sell and rotate our collection. There are MANY vintage bicycle enthusiasts and collectors in my area, many under 40.

We are trying to grow this hobby beyond buying and stock piling. We want to bring these bikes out for some exercise, put their tires to pavement. Here, there’s cruise-in’s and car shows with bicycle categories. Matter of fact, a big one is coming up next month.

The hobby is alive and well, just shifting.
 
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