tricky 

The seller isn't listing the specific inventory that he's selling? Sheesh. Prime for a bait and switch. Not saying this person would or has plans to do this, but you don't have anything approaching a specific bill of goods at this point.

Vintage_Cyclist

Fork looks bent

justcynn

really dig this sellers storage system. I could prob buy and store another 5 bikes with this idea or at least get my current collection more organized to please my wife

repechage

my take, reversal of fortune or health.
Either sad.
there were two attempts to sell one bike he had earlier, the Sachs restored 53 cm Masi. A chance that was considered a premier item, that did not sell at the original asking, and probably not at the halved price. At least not within eBay. Prob a hit to confidence of valuation.
time unfolds, energy diffuses.
The majority appear quite dusty.
a third attempt to be done with the endeavor complete.

formidable amount of work to enjoy them or make a profit.

bamboobike4

In many cases of red houses, there are morons.
No one claimed that anyone who lived in a red house is a moron, but the possibility exists.
That is not the same as saying anyone who would paint their house red is a moron.

Rage

No need for animosity here.
Anybody thinks they can realize a profit on a fifty thousand dollar investment in that collection is welcome to try and win the auction.
Good luck!

bamboobike4

I think it depends on your grasp of actual grammar, without the underlying bias driven by an emotional reaction to a perceived slight.
Or did I assume an incorrect implication? Assumption works both ways. Imagine.

"informed interested" means having both qualities.
One must be both informed and interested to be in that subgroup.
Nothing is "equated."
Sort of like 1+1=2, but not 1=1

"informed" and not interested are free to recommend or not.
"interested" and not informed are free to recommend or not.
No one was shuffled off to moronhood if they were outside the "informed interested" subgroup.
No one assumed that those who are not "informed interested" are morons, but you took that bait.
The statement says "the informed interested" are different.

My point was about the ad. Many listers are looking for a specific qualified buyer.

Drillium Dude 

Because it was too hot to ride during daylight hours here today (96 degrees!), I decided to look at the auction pics at length and do some addition. Was able to ID most of the bikes in the photos, too. I counted 40 complete/nearly complete bikes and around 25 bare frames. If the seller's photos are generally representative of the collection in that space, that adds up to less than 70 bikes/frames.

I did not bother to count the wheels/rims. Damn, those are gonna go for pennies on the dollar. Talk about a money pit

An attempt at listing an inventory of the bikes/frames I was able to positively ID from the supplied photos follows.

Complete/nearly complete bikes:

5 Serottas
2 Fusos
2 70s Colnago Supers
1 80s Colnago Super
1 Chrome 80s Colnago Super
1 Colnago Master
1 Eddy Merckx Titanium
1 Eddy Merckx steel
1 Pogliaghi
1 Bella
1 Branca
1 Chrome Fiorelli
1 Fanini
1 80s Bianchi Specialissima
1 60s Bianchi Specialissima
1 Croll custom
1 70s Schwinn Paramount
1 90s Schwinn Paramount
1 Nagasawa
1 Alex Singer
1 Pinarello Montello
1 Raleigh Professional
1 Uppadine
1 60s Olmo
1 70s Masi Gran Crit
1 Chrome W. B. Hurlow
1 Columbine custom
1 Viscount (partially built)
* 1 Phillips (partially built)
1 Cervelo (modern CF)
1 DeRosa Merak (modern CF)

Frames:

2 Carltons
2 Serottas (this guy had a soft spot for Serottas, didn't he?)
1 Batavus
1 Medici
1 Masi Prestige
1 Late-70s/early 80s DeRosa
1 Chas Roberts
1 Dave Moulton
1 Hobbs of Barbican
1 DeRosa Merak (modern-ish alloy)

As noted above, there are a total of around 25 frames, but I couldn't ID all of them, so a dozen or so I have no clue about. Same goes for about half-a-dozen of the built-up bikes; couldn't ID the magenta one with the fancy lugs/lugged stem or the black one next to it, along with a couple others hanging next to the Viscount. But I'm pretty certain the count - at least in the room pictured in the auction - contains less than 75 bikes. Certainly less than 100.

Also, after re-reading the auction "details", it sounds like spare parts are limited to bars, stems, saddles, rims/wheels, a few special hubs, and chains. Nothing about derailleurs, seatposts, chainsets, or brakesets. So spare parts don't seem to add a whole lot of value to the whole IMHO. As most of us know, the dood's gonna take a bath when it comes to the wheels/rims unless someone with a very specialized vision comes along.

Anyhoo, hope this helps. Even if it doesn't, it appealed to my sensibilities to take an hour, scrutinize the photos, pay attention to the details, and report back.

There are worse ways to spend an afternoon

Cheers!

* After looking long and hard at the head badge of the purple/chrome bike predominantly displayed in the maintenance stand, I've come to the conclusion it's a Phillips (unsure of age, tho). Here's the photo from the auction:



And here's a pic of the head badge I found on the interwebs:



DD

Drillium Dude 

Many appear to be repaints, too. Another detail to be determined, and of course, one which will surely affect value(s).

DD

Kilroy1988 

Actually, every other person who's directly responded to your post here has made that assumption based on the language you used, so maybe you're the one who needs to reconsider how to structure a sentence without implying insult. However, you're welcome to keep backing yourself into corners, not my problem really.

Drillium Dude 

You might want to step back, read the room. This is pretty much what you're doing with each subsequent post:



DD

GhostRider62

The complete campy tool kit is the most value single item. I don't see $250K in those pics

But, I keep being called crazy and a moron.

repechage

a small fortune in vintage bikes starts with a larger one.
from DD's list, it does not appear the market would support the big evaluation.
there probably are bikes not imaged, total guess as to what is possibly there.
I would think a big amassment of bikes would include a Richard Sachs and a Confente, maybe a Gloria.

icemilkcoffee 

Has anyone received any responses from the seller? I asked him for a list of the bikes and sizes but still waiting for a response.
I think this is the ultimate group-buy for those of us who ride 53-55cm

SoccerBallXan

I'm definitely not in the running for any $50K collection of bikes, let alone a $1K collection, and I don't mean to cause hostility with my posts.

I do want to say, for all those who see this as "money to make" I'd start charging yourself an hourly rate now for the work this'll be. Money is money, but how valuable is the time it'll take to argue about this lot on BF, get involved with the seller, pickup the lot by the specific deadline, and then sell everything you don't want? Unless you have have connections or run a shop, I'd likely be able to bike across the country and pick up a few resales (maybe even repeat this process a few times) by the time any "pickup deadline" headache starts to recede.

BTW my garage of too many bikes looks about the same as this (minus a fancy rug). I've always thought I spent too much on innumerable gruppos and bikes... With a few shifty photos and a $50 non-refundable viewing fee, I wonder how much I could make?!?

bamboobike4

It can be filled with snowflakes.

Drillium Dude 

You do you, BB4...

...and that's all I have to say about that.

DD

jdawginsc 

Attempting to steer a more positive direction.

Great observations DD...He has some really cool marquees you don’t hear from (I haven’t). One way or the other, it’s a shame someone has to part with a great collection that probably took great care to put together.

There are 5 bikes in there that would force me into considering them grail bikes.

I am betting he has some pristine wheels and parts in there.

gugie 

All this calamity is conflating with the main event we'd like to see.

That event would be someone actually buying this collection, preferrably someone on BF who would share the largess by selling off some of these beauties.

I doubt it will happen, however. Unresponsive seller, no list of what's actually there requiring our Super Sleuth @Drillium Dude to create a partial listing, the odd request to pay $50 to view the collection and cart away the same day (how that works around eBay contact rules is beyond me)...we're guessing at what's going on here.

Kabuki12

I think the whole thing is unfortunate . Unfortunate for the present owner and what ever is forcing this sale. Unfortunate for perspective buyers that may be interested given more information , and unfortunate for the collection itself.

majmt 

https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_p...75.m3561.l2560

Sellers feedback profile does not show much, if any, recent activity. On eBay since 1999 with over 2000 feedback entries. Listings are too old to see but there seem to be few, if any, bike-related buyers or sellers going quite a way back as far as I can tell. For that kind of collector, I’d expect to see more evidence of past bike transactions. Maybe “kwasabc” is selling the lot for someone else. Perhaps, sleuthing that out could be another job for ace detective Drillium Dude

repechage

Very often, Most often? a repaint solves a problem and reduces value.
I have done a few, saving nice bikes from powdercoat, but not a way to make a profit.

icemilkcoffee 

Great work id'ing the bikes!
I hope the seller has the forks stowed away somewhere, because most of the bare frames are missing their forks and seriously diminishing their desirability.

cudak888 

Just want to remind everyone in case you missed my post on the first of April in the Sales subforum, but my esteemed collection of highly admirable British junk steel is also for sale (who would have thunk it?)



Since there has been limited interest in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire this pile of literal ex-barn finds museum-quality collection, I can only assume that I have underpriced these overweight city commuter bicycles fine machines of quality.

As such, I'm raising my price from $15,000 for the lot to a more reasonable sum of $25,000, which will naturally attract a higher class of clientele - because, you know, the extent of how turned up Benji's nose is on the bill is always of significant importance in such matters.

All interested parties are requested to call {contact information removed} with their highest bid, because do you really think I'd accept such a paltry price of $25k? No, I'm going to make you collectors work for it with a sham auction - just like the ones that sellers of classic cars would try on Hemmings in the 1990s. You know these bikes mean the world to you and you'll do anything to get them. After all these years as a seller, I've come to know these things. How? Well, because I'm King Arthur, and as a king, you have to know these things, you know.

Western Union, Venmo, and all other non-traceable, non-recoverable forms of payment are gladly accepted, but arrangement must be made in advance for immediate pickup exclusively between the hours of 3:26am and 3:28am on March 28th - of the year 2017. A DeLorean may be required for pickup. You must pick up all four bicycles at once during this time period or you will forfeit your ownership of the remaining bicycles in addition to all future Social Security payments.

Buyers are encouraged to express their desires for this collection and express extreme prejudice towards collections of lesser stature to prevent me from hanging up on your unworthy call.

Respectfully yours, with exception to plebs,

The Honorable Sir Kurt J. Kramholen von Arsènlupine III

Narhay

Joking aside those are fine set of a gentleman's stable.