Alright thenÂ…
I was going to sit back and remain mute in anticipation of pondering the further wisdom and insight (...incite?) proffered in response to Mike Schmidt's original post on this subject. However, at this juncture I think that I will go ahead and chime in here.
First of all, the initial assumption that it was "...four bidders from the land of the rising sun" who "Â…slugged it out and made some seller from Santa Rosa, CA a happy camper" is simply incorrect. The truth of the matter is that I happened to be the first in line under bidder for this auction, and I can assure you that I maintain my domicile smack dab in the middle of the good ol' U.S. of A. So, while there may well indeed have been some "disposable yen" involved, that top bid was most definitely driven by disposable dollars. For whatever it may be worth (...and that would be $207.77 by my way of thinking), my final bid number was selected specifically in consideration of eBay's latest "security feature" wherein any auction closing for an amount over that of $200 USD will no longer detail eBay names of the respective individual participants other than that of the ultimate winner. I had originally thought to tender a bid only just under the $200 threshold when it suddenly occurred to me that if I were to snipe within the final seconds with a bid over that amount, assuming that I had not tendered an earlier bid, my anonymity would thereby be assured in the event I did not prevail (...an interesting new wrinkle for you eBay-o-philes out there). Obviously, it has been my own decision to subsequently "out" myself to the CR List based upon comments posted to this forum.
Secondly, it just so happens that this is PRECISELY the front derailleur I have been looking for to use on a project bike of mine. As both Joel and JBZ have already pointed out, Huret Success front derailleurs in any form are somewhat sought after and rather difficult to come by these days - even more so those that are NOS versions. In fact, I can personally attest to the truth inherent in that observation to the extent that an appropriate one has most certainly proven difficult for me to acquire. Over and above the general rarity of this model, the particular eBay auction in question featured an early variation having the pre C.P.S.C. Jubilee type, open style, long cage without the forward "hood" found on most examples that do come available for purchase. That is because Success front derailleurs such as this one which were "trimmed" to match their Success Titanium rear derailleurs debuted in 1976 and were only produced in this configuration for a little over one year before being superseded by subsequent C.P.S.C. compliant versions, all of which have that instantly identifiable forward "hood". Inasmuch as my own project happens to be an early 1977 bike, that would make this the ideal iteration of an otherwise already rare Huret Success front derailleur and the exact one that would have originally been fitted. But beyond those purely esthetic/cosmetic subtleties, these Success / Duopar front derailleurs (...they were actually one and the same part number at that point in time) happen to be an excellent unit with respect to performance - able to produce clean and crisp shifts under load across a wide range of front ring sizes on double or even half-step plus granny type triple cranksets without suffering from the frailty and/or durability issues often associated with their Jubilee counterparts.
Finally, while I certainly applaud Michael's good fortune in apparently finding one of these very same early Huret Success front derailleurs at a recent swap meet, quite frankly, that does not do me one bit of good in my quest to obtain same. As of matter of fact, my personal circumstance is now such that I no longer have easy access to that type of buy/sell venue after having relocated from the Puget Sound out here to the "Frozen Flatlands" (...a.k.a. fly over country). Were I to consider the expenses involved in a round trip flight or drive out to even the closest such sizeable cycling related event, the overnight accommodations required, incidental meals at a restaurant or two along the way, other miscellany, PLUS the actual cost of that "bargain" derailleur, I could drop two bills in a flash (...and no, I will not factor in any monetary value with respect to the "value" of my own time involved since I would consider that to be offset by the immense personal enjoyment derived from combing through volumes of vintage cycling paraphernalia and talking with similarly cycle afflicted individuals). Of course, the aforementioned scenario also assumes that I would actually find the particular and peculiar variation of NOS Huret derailleur that I was looking for in the first place - and sadly, history has proven that is likely not to be the case (...which means that the remainder of my sunk cost overhead went for relative naught).
The bottom line here is that while others may not share my perspective or circumstance with regard to this potential purchase, I had absolutely NO qualm in tendering the bid that I did.
So, all of this would seem to beg the logical question, "...and just how much is Robert willing to spend in order to purchase Mike's heretofore known only as that $3.00 Huret derailleur?" (...cha-ching!!!). Fortunately for me (...and perhaps, unfortunately for you), the seller is someone with whom I have dealt before and who has been involved in the "bike world" for quite some time (...trivia question: what do Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly, Joe Breeze, Craig Mitchell, Charlie Cunningham, Doug White and the eBay seller himself all have in common - besides more than a passing interest in bikes in general and mountain bikes in particular?), and it just so happened that he had (...yes, count 'em), THREE of these NOS babies squirreled away for future consideration. And while it is his intention to retain one for a Rene Herse project of his own currently undergoing paint work at Ed Litton's shop, he was more than happy to offer the second one to me for that amount of monies I had originally bid.
...and I was more than happy to pay said amount.
Arigato gozaimashita,
Robert "Bidder 6, yes - but not from Nippon" Broderick ...the "Frozen Flatlands" of South Dakota Sioux Falls, USA
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>From: Michael Schmidt <mdschmidt@patmedia.net>
>To: classic rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>Subject: [CR]Huret front changer on EBAY went for 2 c-notes
>Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2007 03:53:31 -0500
>
>Four bidders from the land of the rising sun slugged it out and made some
>seller from Santa Rosa, CA a happy camper buy paying $210 for a Huret
>Success front derailleur. Auction number is 280076624124
>
>What is so rare about this one? Long cage?, Was used as a roach clip by
>Paris Hilton?
>
>Mike Schmidt
>Stirling, NJ
>USA