Charles,
I agree, there's a big difference between a 1980 and a 74/75 twin-plate. And how about Spanish Blue? That's my favorite color, except maybe Faema. And $4500 will not pry my original Spanish Blue Carlsbad twin-plate from my grubby little hands.
George Allen Lexington, Kentucky USA
Charles Andrews wrote:
> Mark wrote:
>
> So, I think it'll be a stuggle to get $4-5K for a 70's Masi in the
> current
> market. In fact, I've never seen them sell that high at all. A typical
>
> price is in the $2000-2500 range for a nice complete example. But if
> our CR
> friends do get $4-5K, more power to them. Masi's are my favorite. I
> own
> three 1974/75 Gran Criteriums, one of which I bought brand new in 1975.
>
>
> ********
>
> Nice as that 1980 Masi may have been (and it looked nice enough), you
> cannot compare the price of a 60cm 1980 GC with the price of a 56 or
> 57cm 1974 or 1975 GC. Two completely different animals. And leave us
> not forget the italian GCs.
>
> I certainly agree the market for 70s bikes is softer than it was. But I
> have trouble believing that if a clean, original-paint, twin-plate
> Carlsbad GC from 1974 or 1975 showed up on ebay tomorrow, with all the
> correct parts, in a 56 or 57, in a good color (tomato, sammontana, dark
> metallic blue, champagne, Faema for instance) that it wouldn't close in
> on 3K. An italian GC from the same period, or a little earlier, would
> likely go well over 3K, even now.
>
> I actually think the seller of the aforementioned 1980 GC set his
> buy-it-now about right, or maybe slightly low. The later cast-lug Masi
> GCs are very nice bikes, but they simply do not have the appeal of the
> earlier bikes. I've owned both, and I never had much love for the
> later GCs.
>
> Truth is, you simply don't see early Carlsbad or early italian GCs on
> ebay very often. Not now, not two years ago. And when you do, there is
> generally a lot of interest in them. I know I have no interest in
> selling mine, and I suspect others who own them feel the same. Unless
> it was to finance another one that was nicer than the one I have. So,
> until we all die, I expect those bikes to be uncommon on the market.
>
> Charles Andrews
> Los Angeles