verktyg 

After re-reading the re-worded eBay listing, The seller valued his collection of 100+ bikes at $250k. Allowing for parts, components, tools and such, that's about $2000 to $2250 a bike - debatable.

At $50k for the whole lot that comes out to ~$450-$475 a bike which seems very reasonable. The terms of the sale are not. There are probably only a few buyers who could chunk down that much $$$ and meet the requirements of the fire sale!

An old out of state friend passed away back in January. He had quite a collection: 3 Lance Armstrong Team Motorola bikes with provenance, an Alexi Grewal Crest Team bike, A number of track bikes raced in the 1936 Olympics. a REAL Draisine, some penny farthings plus a lot of other old bikes that could be valuable to the right collector. There's also stacks of junk like cheap old 1970's sewup wheels and so on.

He had no beneficiaries. His former paramour is his executor. She's been a cyclist and is in town to liquidate everything. I put her together with a well known collector who was prepared to fly in, lay a bunch of Uncle Bens on the table, rent a truck and haul everything off. She did a video walk through call with him and was reading off a list of retail prices my friend had put together. The potential buyer was polite but never got back to her....

I told her that yes some of the bikes are worth a lot but unless a buyer is well connected to the right collectors much of it is just a pile junk. I also suggested if someone offered her $15-$20k and hauled everything off, take it! It cost her ZERO!!! All the $$$ is going to her... She's a bit of a mule head...

My benefactress thinks that she may be in the same situation. Except, everything is in a trust except my bike collection. I told her what it could be worth and she started pushing me to get rid of all of them.

We had a come to someone meeting where I explained that the bikes were MY COLLECTION that I would sell off as I saw fit and that I would give her the names of at least 3 people who would come in and give her $.20 to $.30 on the dollar if I checked out.

They cost her NOTHING and it would be free $$$ to her!!! Take the money and run!

Moral of the story: keep an inventory with what you paid and what you think your bikes are worth (good for insurance too). Then hope your significant other doesn't sell them for what they thought YOU paid for them...

verktyg

joesch

Yes make the potential buyers pay to investigate the inventory that should have been listed or spreadsheeted and shown with many good pictures (photo share). Dont think this seller went to business school or has much sales experience.

jdawginsc 

Of course, it could be he is a collector who had no clue he would have to sell the collection and had to scramble.

$50000 for 100 bikes is 500 a pop, right? More likely it also includes frames since we can only see about 40-50 bikes.

its just weird.

joesch

and probably not on ebay

velomateo

Personally, I find collections of this size a little...excessive. I would be more inclined to switch bikes every so often as opposed to hoarding 50 - 100 bikes. I honestly get a little exasperated keeping my five bikes all ready to roll. For me I guess it's just the amount of disposable time...or the lack of. I would just rather ride the bikes.
As for the sellers stipulations of removing the bikes on the day of the sale, that looks to be quite the under taking. Not only should the potential buyer factor in the cost of a semi truck they'll need to haul the collection away, but also a team of people to inventory, move and pack. That's a lot of bike boxes to round up.

BFisher

Forced to sell quickly, but the stipulations don't seem to indicate so. Seems narrowed way down to find that one perfect buyer who may not exist. Hope it sells.

cudak888 

"Investment" opportunity.

"Investment" suggests a potential for profit after acquisition. Not happening.

This is an opportunity for someone with the money to burn to acquire all their grail bikes at once, complete with a seller that will present a maximum level of high-stress frustration for them. Good luck (?) to them all; no amount of money-no-object will avoid the fact that this will be a bumpy ride no matter how you slice it.

-Kurt

branko_76 

This listing will not sell as-is.

If he or she needs to sell fast, just list each bike individually as a 10 day auction with a starting bid of $100.00, they will all sell, local pickup only. Campy tools could be shipped.

joesch

Lazy sellers dont want to do this kind of work.
They are looking for a fool that will buy lot as is, and then realize the nightmares ahead

gugie 

So, how does a prospective buyer find out where seller has the bikes? eBay has strict rules on sharing that kind of info, as one could just end run the eBay platform, and they don't make a dime. I'm surprised the listing hasn't been taken down.

The amount of vetting of the bikes (how many are stolen?), and the person (how do you transfer tens of thousands of dollars to someone in a trustful manner?) would take much more than a day.

The odds of this not being a scam are non-zero, but that's as far as I'd go.

gugie 

I've been to Bob Freeman's house. I know Bob Freeman. I consider Bob Freeman a friend. Dude, that doesn't look like 100 bicycles.

joesch

This ebay seller has a good track record and not a newbie

kwashabc (2008)
100% Positive feedback

Pickup:
Free local pickup from Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

bamboobike4

rccardr is not off the mark.

I just discussed it with my +1.
The topic is quite active.

Were I retired, and the $50,000 would get me north of 75 bikes plus all I see pictured, would be a done deal.
Pretty sure I could convince another amigo to take from 1/5 to 1/2.

bamboobike4

Look at it another way. It's just another listing.

A lot of listings get sold outside of eBay, and perhaps the seller is using the listing as a free ad.
It reached here, right? eBay knows what it's doing, and builds this stuff into their process and pricing.

As far as vetting, that's pure overreach. So far, the NICB isn't tracking bikes.

As far as the transfer, a friend bought a $50,000 Mercedes convertible, from Atlanta, via eBay.
They did everything via eBay, and he flew there to pick it up, with a check. Said it was smooth.

cinelliguy 

Right now, there are some actually trying to figure out a way to buy this collection. Very interesting indeed! Right now, there is a decent supply of good bikes available on the market, plenty of buyers who are of an age to appreciate what is available, pricing is pretty solid.

So, a somewhat related question. There are many of us with 10 or more nice vintage bikes, maybe some of them are show quality. There are some of us, that have 50 or more. Most of us are older, 65+. Fast forward 15-20 years when the majority of us who hold many bikes decide to sell or we die and our executor sells. What happens to the vintage bike market ages out there when there is a steady stream of vintage bikes being sold off in the short term? Very high supply, low relative buyer age demand, short timeline.

repechage

I see a lot of dusty bikes. Better now than after neglect becomes complete abuse.
The seller's user name made me recall a prior offer, the 53cm Sachs Masi restoration.
My hunch is most of this was purchased at top value or beyond, how the potential value was conjectured.
It will end off ebay in some way or another.
The embedded offer to view for a price is probably outside of ebay policy. A transaction within an auction. Weird.

The timeframe mention, "get them out of my sight lest I change my mind"

Wildwood 

@Bianchigirll - I was a buyer of 'your' collection until I realized = no Ugly Betty included. Oh, well, ... my loss isn't your gain.


regarding bicycle collection:
wrong size, likely some bent forks and GLWS

and I hope everyone's speculation is accurate. But what I was to know is "the rest of the story.".

BFisher

Bargains Galore? Maybe even open up the sickness to those who couldn't/wouldn't afford this stuff? Then another gradual increase in demand/prices?
Cycles.

Or, it just wanes. It all depends on how many people decide they want to collect hoard something.

CliffordK

There are many reasons for a large sale including settling an estate, settling a divorce, medical bills, new purchase of something better, closing business, retiring, county or city violations, etc. Gambling?

Almost all of the feedback was as a buyer. Only 23 as a seller (all more than a year ago), including one negative, and one neutral. Those two had complaints about communication.

I wouldn't call foul just yet. But, there are plenty of shenanigans that a seller can do including waiting for a listing to expire before making a sale, or even cancelling out a sale if they don't like the bid.

What are the E-Bay and PayPal fees on $50K? $100K? Sales Tax for out of state buyers?

It is possible the seller would only accept bids in excess of $100K, or the seller, if motivated enough, would take in person offers down to $30K.

Chuck M 

This would be my jam if it was 100 boomers and $500. Plus it is encouraging that the seller didn't list them as "fixie conversion" candidates.

James1964 

Re the Mother's Day gift suggestion, even my wife laughed at your comment. She's just glad I ride a 57cm frame.

repechage

This won't end with an ebay transaction, too expensive. Sales tax? a savvy buyer would have a resale permit and business license.
Notice almost all have Speedplay pedals?

gugie 

Reminds me of @Andy_K's Great Hermiston Bike Heist writ large(r). Same kinda deal, lots of cool stuff, great price, but it was an all or nothing sell.
If this collection was all 57cm, Andy would probably be figuring out how to rent a large U-Haul to drive the haul coast to coast, possibly stopping on the way back to the PNW to deliver 2-3 of them at a time to pre-arranged buyers.

I'm thinking odds are this is legit. Once you contact the seller negotiations can start.

Yeah, something I don't want my family to deal with as well. Maybe time to plan for some döstädning.

uprightbent

Kinda reminds me of the entrepreneurs on Shark Tank trying to get Sharks to pay $200k for a measly 2% of their company barley turning a profit. Nobody buys in, the entrepreneur walks away empty handed, but with free and wide TV exposure likely to spawn a side deal. Isn't that why they went on Shark Tank in the first place. As others have said, the exposure on eBay is likely to culminate in an off eBay deal.

northbend 

...and it doesn't cost nuth'n but your time to see Bob's collection.