I wonder if the buyer(s) were just a couple of people who really wanted that particular model when they were younger...and couldn't afford it at the time? I know that I would overpay for a bicycle that I wanted when I was in high school and couldn't afford - I just did technically overpay for a 1987 Gitane Team Pro - but it was my high school dream bike, and finding one today in good condition is rare. I would suppose that a 1960's Peugeot...with white plastic shifters...would be even more rare, and therefore likely to be bid up if there were two people who just "had to have it." The value of an old bike...or anything for that matter...is what the market will bear. Based on that, the PX-10 that sold the other day for $3,500 was worth $3,500 on that day. Who knows, maybe Jerry will be able to pick it up for $200 next year!
I know that most of this is common knowledge, and I certainly am not meaning to lecture on the free market, but all of this talk of what a bike is worth sometimes doesn't factor in the personal appeal that some bikes have, which drive the prices up ridiculously. If there is ever a Gitane "Delta" bike available on ebay, there will be some bidding wars among the people that I know. Who knows what those are really "worth"..... Never discount nostalgia: Just look at the "value" of a baseball card!
Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA http://www.GitaneUSA.com
Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
[I agree with everything Peter says about the importance and quality of the PX-10. But $3,500 seems way high...."]- Jerry Moos, Big Spring, TX