70sSanO

I never thought I would see the day when cheap Dia Compe brake levers would command this much attention.

But, when the pandemic hit, I was forced to use my collection of unopened Chiffon toilet paper. It was tough watching those colors and patterns swirl down the drain.

John

RiddleOfSteel

Man, I was wondering when someone was going to reference UHF. Great movie.

RobbieTunes

If I were the seller of anything and a prospective buyer wanted me to do something I'd prefer not to do; I simply wouldn't. Pretty simple: no or yes. Buyer has same options.

Kilroy1988 

Yeah, there are plenty for sale in great condition out of the box already. Of course anyone can tear open a box of anything that they buy, whether it's a rare Star Wars toy or a rare derailleur - that's their prerogative. But that's one less still in the box - you can't put them back. So I'd suggest looking for a nice one that's already unboxed for use, yes!

-Gregory

CliffordK

Oh, my favorite past time... sitting around drooling over crusty old cardboard boxes... and imagining they don't have a brick inside.

And, say it was for $1000+... I'd have to be 100% certain the date code that the seller claimed was what was actually in the box.

Are Campagnolo derailleur pulleys Schrödinger's pulleys... they are both cracked and not cracked until one actually opens the box?

CliffordK

So, would SS-5S be "silver"?

Are there differences in lever design, and the place where the lever attaches to the pivot?

countalmaviva 

plonz , thanks for your response. I believe that future readers of this thread may find it particularly helpful. Indeed, I had already moved on when I started this thread, which might not have been clear from my OP. Frank knows this from our interaction through eBay messaging.

I confess I gave the thread a click-baity title. I wanted to start a thread for posterity, since I'm sure this situation, which was new to me, would be familiar to some of the more experienced folks here. This forum attracts a lot of new fans of the bicycle looking for expert answers to questions. I decided to become a paying member because I perceived value in the advice I was getting for "free."

I think your post sums up what I'll personally consider in the future, and maybe other folks may find this discussion helpful. I also want to add something which others have noted: The auction includes "sealed" in the description. Asking the seller to open the box would require the seller to change the terms of the auction, which is a big thing to ask (setting aside the matter that it's not a big dollar auction). Most of you said it wasn't necessarily bad manners to ask the question, but nearly everyone here agrees that the seller can do as he pleases. It's his auction, after all. As I said in my original post, I knew that, but I'm glad to know that most of you wouldn't consider it improper to ask.

I thought bark_eater makes a great point about the experienced seller's perspective:

"The seller may be trying to make a small profit selling an item at fair market value. To do that he may well be considering the value of his own time and efficiently processing the items for sale. So the item you are interested may already be packed in a sealed mailing carton. So if you are asking him to undo work and change the condition of the item resulting in more work for him in repacking and having to revise the listing. Why don't you offer him $5 to open the box?"

Last ride 76 makes a similar point.

This helped answer something that originally baffled me. Knowing this was not a high-dollar item, I imagined that the "sealed box" aspect might not be as valuable as it would with top value vintage parts. So, I thought that the seller could actually gain by opening the box, rather than lose. You point out that he loses time: he has to open the box and shoot more photos. I'm sure a lot of busy eBay retailers have to streamline their process. Still, on this occasion, Frank took the time to respond to my question, which some of you say you would have ignored ( thinktubes and onyerleft , for example). I appreciate that he responded, so I decided to move on.

I want say, again, that I make no negative observations here about FTW! If you're reading this thread, Frank, I hope you're grinning.

I also decided to post about this because I thought it might be a lively discussion...I'm only an active member for about a year, but I'm already aware that we love to...uh...discuss.

Cheers,
Oliver H.

CliffordK

Seller's choices can make them or lose them money.

This is an auction sale not a buy-it-now sale.

The seller gains by getting more interested buyers, and not pissing off potential buyers. So they earn X amount if the item sells for $20. They gain much more if they start a bidding war and the item sells for $40.

So, does "sealed" without photos make money or lose money?

Yes, perhaps prepackaged, ready to ship. But, I like to browse other items....

Let me close that "other items" page quickly before I get tempted.

Anyway, "combined shipping" helps the seller get more bids and sales, and it helps the buyer get better rates... maybe. Or, if it is free shipping, the seller makes bank, if they bother to take the time to repackage (SAFELY).

I'm not sure about demanding quick payments. For me, I'll browse a seller's other items until I'm done bidding, then send in the payment. Then generally go away and never see that seller again. So, if they want to keep me interested, then keep an open tab.

Kilroy1988 

I recently asked a seller of a frame to get me a head tube measurement. He said it was already packed for shipping so he couldn't do that. It deterred me from making the purchase. Different story entirely, but it's like CliffordK says above... Sellers can do things that make or lose them money. That frame is still not sold after being advertised for several months, though the price is not unreasonable. *Shrug*

dwing

And how do you what's in the box is really what's supposed to be in the box if you don't open the box?

Kilroy1988 

Well, it's a bit harder for cycling equipment than classic toys, which is what I have a background in collecting. Usually the figures are on a card and you can physically see the toy through the plastic. Obviously not so with a box, but the same problem applies to larger toys.

Typically if a box that is decades old is truly sealed, it has old tape to match that hasn't been tampered with. A thorough inspection is usually necessary and anyone advertising unopened collectibles should know that photos of sealed areas are critical to valuation.

branko_76 

Posterity, .

Maybe this thread should be a sticky?

The Golden Boy 

My thought is anything being sold in its original sealed box is sold in its original sealed box.

If you un-seal that box, you've just devalued it as an item in its original sealed box. Which, to me, makes a return tricky- that value has been removed from them.

In this case, IMO they're not anything that I'd look at as particularly desirable to have in an original sealed box... and might, in fact, benefit from pix of the levers themselves... But then again, I'm not a hardcore collector of things like this nor am I looking for these levers or levers like these. (at this time)

CliffordK

robertorolfo

Add my vote to the list of those that think the term "y'all" should never be used in NYC.

I don't agree at all. I'm a firm believer that these items should be used and enjoyed as intended (so used as a bike part, or as a toy...) I'd go as far as to say that those who prefer to keep these items unopened for all of eternity have some issues to resolve. Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with having some unresolved issues. We probably all have them. But I think the "don't ever open the packaging" people need to be honest with themselves.

I think we have the same taste in movies (as already established in another thread)... so have you seen The Wraith yet?

Last ride 76 

Priceless.

CliffordK

My brother ended up with my uncle's toy trucks.

He lets kids play with them as part of his Christmas display/activities in his store. Little do the kids know that those toy trucks are worth about $1000 EACH. Built to last in the 1940's or 1950's, they've survived generations of kids playing with them.

I can remember going to my grandmother's house as a kid, and the first thing would be to head into the garage and get out the trucks!!!

I'm glad they weren't kept in a box all these years.

RobbieTunes

Troll thread.
Simple question. "Will you open the box?"
No. Simple situation.
Bid to find out....or not.
Sell....or not.
No big deal.
Children understand "yes" and "no."

Kilroy1988 

Ever collected something as an investment? If not, then I understand why you don't understand. I've bought things in their original packaging and resold them a decade later for many times the price. The value of any collectible item is usually linked to it's scarcity, and it stands to reason that there are typically fewer of whatever left in the original packaging than not, hence value is added for that.
​​​​
If you think buying and selling things with a value attached to packaging means someone has "issues" then I can only suggest that you broaden your perspective a bit.
​
Or evaluate why we think a first generation Super Record RD is worth however much in or out of the packaging when a contemporary Suntour mech is still technically better. Same reasoning - value assigned to scarcity, contemporary perspective, county of origin, etc... I'd still rather ride with my long-cage Cyclone.

And again, obviously there are already plenty to purchase that are out of the packaging. So I struggle to see why anyone would adamantly argue that all of them should be removed from the packaging. It's not necessary to meet the demand for useable ones.

-Gregory

RiddleOfSteel

I did see it! Man, it's been a little while. Certainly no Oscar winner, but it was an amusing watch. I want to watch Gone in 60 Seconds again (the Nicholas Cage one)--one of my all-time favorite car movies.

3alarmer 

.
...I use my original. still in the box, Star Wars action figures of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as brake levers on my bike.
I find that the Yoda figure does not have enough reach to work comfortably for me with my larger hands..

CliffordK

Why does Yoda need the cable from the lever to the calipers?

clubman 

This has become a waste of bandwidth. Remember that was actually a thing?

Siu Blue Wind

I think I'm going to go for it. Thanks for the lead.

polymorphself 

I keep checking this thread waiting for someone to tag the seller, I just don't want to be the one to do it