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Real world values

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Freqman1

Riding a '37 Dayton Super Streamline
A lot of discussion recently on parts and bikes cost/value. No doubt some bikes and parts have risen drastically in the last couple of years as some well heeled collectors have got in the hobby. From my observations this tends to be cyclic and at a certain point some of this will cool off. I've already seen it happen to a few parts but others seem to keep setting new highs. The reality is there are only a few people who can play at those levels and once they get their fill you will see things come down. Quality, high demand parts are never cheap though so if you think your going to score that original fender bomb for $200 or that Shelby Speedline for $3k you're dreaming.

The part that I really find entertaining though are the "what's it worth" posts mostly from one hit wonders looking to cash in. While we have seen Aerocycles, Evinrudes, and quite a few other gems the majority is common or project level stuff of minimal value. I've seen people chime in with values of what I call a $100 bike of two or three times that. Here are a couple form Monroe this past Sunday that I thought were realistic and as far as I know were still for sale when I left. The girls is a pretty decent '41 Huffman ($100) and the tricycle looks to be a nice, early post war Colson ($20). I actually saw quite a few pretty nice girls bikes both pre and postwar for $100 or less. Sure they could be parted and in some case you may double your money but the trouble it takes just to make $100 just ain't worth it in my book. These real world examples are what I base my valuations on not just some number I pulled from my backside. V/r Shawn
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I am not a fan of the newly joined member immediately striking with the "what is this worth?" post. The motive is only commercial with no informational or educational purpose. Many never come back after they hear what they want. Worse, some ask the question then argue with people who answer when they don't like the answer (why ask then, if you already know everything). Frankly, I think appraisal inquiries should have their own sub-forum away from discussion areas. If you want to just come out with "what is this worth?", it should be in its own area where people enter and deal with it by their own accord.
 
I am not a fan of the newly joined member immediately striking with the "what is this worth?" post. The motive is only commercial with no informational or educational purpose. Many never come back after they hear what they want. Worse, some ask the question then argue with people who answer when they don't like the answer (why ask then, if you already know everything). Frankly, I think appraisal inquiries should have their own sub-forum away from discussion areas. If you want to just come out with "what is this worth?", it should be in its own area where people enter and deal with it by their own accord.
Some forums actually ban people from asking for appraisals. For most of it people could do a little bit of research and find the answers for themselves. The ‘pickers’ are the ones that irk me. If you’re trying to make a living at picking then learn how to use the internet. V/r Shawn
 
agreed. rather than get information about an old bike they have found they should just put it out by the curb on trash day.

""If you’re trying to make a living at picking then learn how to use the internet."" uh,,, the Cabe is part of the internet, do an internet search for any American bike and the Cabe will be one of your choices that pop up.

I am more than happy to give advice to non bike people who come here. a month or so ago a guy came here asking about his dad's old B-6 Schwinn. he ended up selling it here. I am really at a loss to come up with anything negative about that.

bike did not get set by the curb.
did not get made into a planter.
now it is in the collector world.
all good in my book.
 
agreed. rather than get information about an old bike they have found they should just put it out by the curb on trash day.

""If you’re trying to make a living at picking then learn how to use the internet."" uh,,, the Cabe is part of the internet, do an internet search for any American bike and the Cabe will be one of your choices that pop up.

I am more than happy to give advice to non bike people who come here. a month or so ago a guy came here asking about his dad's old B-6 Schwinn. he ended up selling it here. I am really at a loss to come up with anything negative about that.

bike did not get set by the curb.
did not get made into a planter.
now it is in the collector world.
all good in my book.
By using the internet I mean doing a little research to actually find your own comps instead of being lazy and just hitting the "easy button". I try to offer a lot of help but we're talking specifically about the valuation here not what it is or other information about the bike/part. V/r Shawn
 
there is no better place on the internet than here to get information on an old bike. you can't look up a bike that you have no idea what it is. the average person knows about Schwinn and maybe Huffy. everything else is a mystery. as stated, most vintage bike searches comes to the Cabe. the Cabe is not the "easy button" it is a part of the search for information. you can't even find the Cabe with out starting a search of some sort.
 
I am not a huge fan of the way BikeForums runs some of their stuff, but I will say when they made the "Classic and Vintage Appraisals" sub-forum, it was helpful in the general Classic and Vintage discussion area because it took the "what is this worth" posts to a separate area from the more in-depth discussion.
 
Whenever I need info on a bike or a bike part I go into Google and I search "Thecabe bike or part" but including the thing Im looking for and it rarely takes me more than about 10 minutes to figure out a fair value on something. People that find a bike in a scrap pile and make a "what's it worth" post before they even dust it off is just lazy and stinks of opportunistic natures I hate in people.
I use to be a moderator on a forum and if someone did that we booted and banned em.

As far as values of bikes and parts.....there are alot of good guys out there willing to put valuable parts into the right hands for normal, under-the-moon prices so dont believe some of the bullsh&t prices you see here and ebay. Be patient, put the word out, be kind and wait and good things will happen.
The best things you will find, you wont find online.
 
It probably would be nice if all the Cabers were on the same page and didnt answer the "How much is it worth" question there will always be somebody who will respond.Some will say a low price ,hoping to land a deal and others will say a high price so the low ballers wont score.There will be a few who will be honest.Maybe we should have a standard answer like"Depends what someone will pay" This would apply to the new person who joined just to get a price not a usual contributer.
 
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