[CR]Re: Classicrendezvous Digest, Vol 14, Issue 59

(Example: Framebuilders:Dario Pegoretti)

In-Reply-To: <000601c3f56a$e9fbaef0$190111ac@bourke>
References: <CATFOODh1jYhAOylhgn000005ef@catfood.nt.phred.org>
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 07:41:08 -0800
To: "Stephen Barner" <steve@sburl.com>
From: "joel metz, ifbma/sfbma" <magpie@messengers.org>
Subject: [CR]Re: Classicrendezvous Digest, Vol 14, Issue 59
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

>I don't think it's nonsense for a seller to charge for boxing the bike. It
>does take time to do it right, and I don't think it is appropriate to
>critricize someone for refusing to give their time away. There is room in
>the sport for those who want to treat it as a hobby and those who want to
>make it a business (the secret desire of many hobbyists, after all). Let
>market forces do their thing.

whats nonsense is charging $35 to box the bike - but if the customer wants to pick it up in person, refunding them $10 to take it back out of the box, therefore charging them $25 for you to have boxed and unboxed it needlessly. telling someone youre gouging them while youre gouging them doesnt make it right.
>$35 does sound a little steep for someone who has boxed a number of bikes,
>though I personally would not want to do it for a living, even if it were
>profitable. I am more leery of selling people something that just doesn't
>work, and that's a category in which I place any fixed gear created by
>screwing a cog onto a freewheel hub, whether or not a lockring is used.
>It's a recipe for trouble. I know, because that's how I made my first fixed
>gear back in 1971, with a threaded cog donated involuntarily by my Hercules
>3-speed and a BB lockring when I found how quickly the cog could spin off.
>The lockring needs to be left-hand thread in order to work properly over
>time, unless the rider is a wimp. Perhaps locktite and really reefing on
>the LR might work, but a real track hub or engineered conversion unit solves
>the problem.

exactly. loctite *can* work, but its not a permanent fix either - and could just simply break free at any time. you could always jb weld the cog, but then youve got a whole nuther mess there.
>I don't think he is terribly accurate in his descriptions, either. For
>example, I don't recall that this particular bike ('75 Motobecane Grand
>Touring) used butted tubing. I think it was straight-guage.

check his auctions - its a form posting - he just inserts the bike brand, the gear ratio, and a few other variables, and posts the sale. everything else is a constant, and does not neccessarily describe the item being sold. im always surprised he has such a good feedback percentage, based on the often inaccurate descriptions, let alone that many of these bikes probably near-immediately need new rear wheels if you *really* want to do any downtown fixie riding on them.
>I wonder what he does with all the derailleurs he takes off his conversions.

sells em on ebay.

-joel
>----- Original Message -----
>> Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 17:01:19 -0800
>> From: "joel metz, ifbma/sfbma" <magpie@messengers.org>
>> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>> Subject: Re: [CR]53cm Ebay Moto Classicbeater
>>
>> oh, this guy. hes the same one selling the legions of hoopdy "track
>> bikes" to the hordes of messenger groupies scanning ebay for anything
>> remotely resembling a cheap fixie. hey, i know! ill take a freewheel
>> hub, respace it and redish it with wacky tension so itll work as a
>> single-speed hub, throw a fixed cog on without a lockring, and sell
>> it to someone as their first fixed gear! and *then* charge them $35
>> to put it in a box, even if they come pick the bike up! oh wait, if
>> they come pick it up, ill only charge them $25, but only if they
>> leave the box.
>>
>> i sense someone buying bikes from the local police bike auction, and
>> turning them around on ebay for $100 a pop - or more, depending on
>> what fools are willing to pay for janky fixies.
>>
>> bummer is, he has a fiorelli/magistroni headset up right now that i
>> could use for a bike with a problem headset, but i refuse to buy from
>> him. $4.95 shipping for an item thatll cost $3.85 to ship in a free
>> box from the post office, and mandatory insurance aint my bag.
>>
>> and yes, i know multiple people whove gotten fixies from him and had
>> them go wonky in the rear wheel department. waste of time buying
> > half-ass fixies off ebay when they could do just as well buying a
>> used bike from the thrift store and doing it themselves.
>>
>> oops. did i mention that i detest this crap? :) but damn if it aint a
>> moneymaker! $35 to drop a bike in a box. genius.
>>
>> -joel
>>
>> >http://ebay.com/<blah>
>> >
>> >Looks pretty clean. A comfy ride based on the may I sold.
>> >
>> >Beware this professional seller's professional $35 boxing nonsense. I
>have
>> >never charged boxing on any bike I've sold- but I'd love to box bikes all
>> >day at $35 a crack.
>> >
>> >Joe Bender-Zanoni
>> >Great Notch NJ
>
>
>_______________________________________________

--
joel metz : magpie@messengers.org : http://www.blackbirdsf.org/
bike messengers worldwide : ifbma : http://www.messengers.org/
po box 191443 san francisco california 94119-1443 usa
==
i know what innocence looks like - and it wasn't there,
after she got that bicycle...