In a message dated 2/23/2003 10:50:38 AM Eastern Standard Time, PBridge130@aol.com writes:
<< Ha. "Japanese collectors"? Shouldn't that read, "one or two Japanese collectors, with apparently unlimited hobby funds, and maybe more money than brains?" Exceptions do not define a market.
To amuse myself, I occasionally bid against them, just to drive the price up. I know that a counterbid will virtually certainly click in promptly, to relieve me of any obligation to buy the item. >>
This continues to amuse me -- Kauzo is treated as though he is invincible. On at least 3 occasions I have bid against him and won -- even for the much coveted 49D Stronglights. Like Kauzo, I am also prepared to bid high for something I truly want -- your basic supply and demand laws combined with what one is willing to pay. Does this inflate prices? Sure, it does, but if Kauzo (or I or anyone else) is willing to pay premium for something they desire, who are we to say otherwise? May the best man (or woman) win! I'd much rather see Kauzo, who is a collector and will preserve the bike/part, win than someone who will take the bike apart and turn around and sell it again the following week in bits.
Is it a shame that prices have, in some cases, gone out of hemisphere? Yes, of course it is, but if anyone has a solution to price controls, I''m sure they will be very popular. Many of the true vintage bikes are ceasing to exist. I have seen so many of them cannibalized for parts, or being "restored" into something they never were in the first place. While not a purist, I am glad to see anyone who undertakes true stewardship of these classics -- even if it is a few high-spending Japanese. At least these bikes will survive a few more years. Afterall, I don't believe that we really get to own them, but get to pass them on to the next generation. Hokey? Maybe, but it is my few cents worth...
Amanda Graham
Copake NY