randyjawa 

Campy campagnolo S record NJS crank KEIRIN super record 3rensho from Japan Cycling

US $1,638.44 - Does this seem reasonable?

JohnDThompson 

It's not "worth" US$1,638.44 unless and until it sells for that price. I suspect that the seller feels that the "NJS" stamp makes it worth the premium price he is asking.

cudak888 

They might have brought $500 ten years ago by virtue of being actual track cranks with NJS markings.

These days, not sure. Don't recall if there's an expiration date for NJS-approved components in keirin racing either.

-Kurt

kunsunoke 

Might be for Japan. It's too expensive to own a car in places like Tokyo. Also, there are more OCD people there than anywhere else.

panzerwagon 

Holy smokes, time to break out the engraving machine.

Kabuki12

Yea I know a few CNC mills that can do that pretty easily. Seriously , the seller is in Japan and there are a couple of sellers there that are inflating prices. Check out the Brooks Saddles

clubman 

It was always thus. Some may remember the Juy derailleur frenzy when Japanese enthusiasts paid $2k for NOS gearing.
The bidders names were visible at the time and there were mighty battles.

obrentharris 

Yes. There are on ebay a couple sellers from Japan asking prices that are incredibly high, but almost all their stuff is pristine.

Brent

clubman 

Maybe the same guys that were bidding high decades ago. Or their kids...

Chombi1 

Just as I thought, the seller's from Japan.
Most bike stuff from Japan at eBay are priced ridiculously like this crsnkset.....
I always wondered why that is the case. Do the Japanese really want to sell their things??

Kilroy1988 

I used to follow the hot rod scene in Japan... Never considered what kind of money those guys were paying to put together period-correct rods with a bunch of vintage parts, but this makes me think it must have been a very different segment of society than typical guys into that stuff stateside!

Drillium Dude 

I've noted a number of Japanese Ebay sellers have adopted PB Bikes pricing in recent years. Outliers, unite!

DD

Robvolz 

Ok
number inside diamond 70s
number inside circle 80s
number inside square???

cudak888 

"...obscure, to keep you guessing!"

-Kurt

repechage

also 1980's

EMTSC2002

No they are not.

Chombi1 

It must be much harder to be a C&Ver in Japan. When everything you need is priced like gold!

xiaoman1 

some like the obscure and are willing to pay for it......Take the vintage big "E"'s on the Levis it was not uncommon for some to sell in the thousands...rips stains and all

Lattz

Japan is another planet when it comes to prices, and I guess neither Europe nor the states should compare prices to them. Some things common here are not that common there, or became "common" through cults, which mean hyped already. They are diehard fans of western things, no wonder the biggest collectors of everything which is cool here... but mostly the coolest of the cool things. If it is Colnago or Bianchi, Ducati or Harley Davidson, Lamborghini, Porsche or Ferrari, you can bet there are collector groups for those.

Even my LBS told me, he sold more C-record gruppos to Japan than here. Actually they are lucky, because for those can't afford the western exotics, the local market has nice things to offer on (for them) reasonable prices.

I will never forget when I attended the Mille Miglia historic car race in 2003 and 2004. A Japanese family brought 8(!!!) cars, each of them are top-shelf ultra rare or one off.... and next year another set of cars.

Back to the crank, for sure they see and use the reverse side of the hype. NJS is somewhat special there, the fixie cult over here and US made it bigger reaching the holy grail status, and among the already inflated NJS stuff Camagnolo must be hen's teeth. why would they sell for EUR 120 like a normal one, especially on a market which is full of collectors? Maybe I'm wrong, but this crank is eyepopping, blood boiling, but unfortunately rational.

Lattz

nlerner

iab

Why isn't this in whats this worth?

xiaoman1 

Because it's priceless....

nlerner

And why does @randyjawa think that asking price on eBay equates to value?

BFisher

Oh, come on! Ebay is indicative of real-world market value. None of these bargain basement, cheapskate shenanigans. Just look at what a meager $243.41 gets you, with free shipping I might add! Jeepers. already!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114657736559?hash=item1ab222376f:gKMAAOSwo~lgFPK2&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4AirHTRhU4y3POiFFAiQNQiXFzB WaSTq2cOabwrTRYwRiC9KY5mBx0T%2B4Yj76m0tUM1iAiQ7E%2Fg20n3pNEoCmZTsgDcmrw1rCxqgqYlkYCCN03D8UT4ysyLPv7w Rz%2Bum64O3eGBOUCqwcg0kRNudlyRNSRLgI%2B%2Bp2usIVJ4OoDHClAjBNIocFeYuYpdmOPlpW7KNwfiZpGxBKt7837jL%2Brw Gq10uswB7KtkRxkqtDlF0qUr6xtipB%2FlOukgnP5slSg%2F9e42UE3iMf89Eg15SgCYLghX%2FipFC23UdpLU%2B5ab3%7Ctkp% 3ABk9SR_Cm1IH2YA

RustyJames 

A few years back (10+), a friend of mine had an early 80s F1 car with legitimate pedigree that he thoroughly sorted including NOS camshafts that make unicorn-tears seem common and a collector in Japan paid an insane amount of yen/$$ for the car. My buddy was thrilled but hearing that V-12 wail at 11,000+ rpm has been deeply missed.

From what I have been able to decipher, collectors in Japan will pay a TON of money for unique, rare and finely crafted things.