Do you have any specific model numbers, sale prices and sale dates of Ideale, Simplex etc. that you think tell a story of them coming down in price? Because I watch this stuff pretty darn close and I'm not noticing any real consistent downward trends in prices for components, even though common sense might make one expect to see that. I've seen more or less the usual mix of some items going relatively cheap and others hitting new highs But I'm certainly open to being swayed by actual numbers and specific examples.
One thing I have noticed is that the French guys seem to either be running out of or are holding back on selling some of the the really collectible French stuff on Ebay. You just haven't been seeing as much of the Juy 543s and Record 60s, Stronglight 57 and 63s, Herse bits, Prior Large Flange hubsets- the usual sort of stuff the Japanese go nuts over. Instead they are putting up a lot of less interesting or collectible stuff with pretty predictable results. It may well be though that the sellers and collectors are now linked up enough that paying Ebay fees by selling high cost items through Ebay no longer makes much sense. Once you've used Ebay to hook up with interested buyers or sellers in a market with limited players it makes less and less sense for both to go through Ebay and more and more to deal direct once both buyers and sellers are known to each other. Once the players are known to all, Ebay becomes pretty much a superfluous to the trade- the only value it really adds is to bring occasional new buyers and sellers to the table and to retest the market when that happens.
Kurt Sperry Bellingham, Washington USA
2009/7/12 <verktyg@aol.com>:
> Tom, Tony, et al,
>
> Good point Tony.
>
> Another possibility is the state of the economy. I know a number of eBayers
> that have stopped selling for now because they haven't been getting enough
> bids or money for their items.
>
> Japan is in worse economic condition that the US. There are a number of
> Japanese buyers that haven't been active for a while. Look under Ideale
> saddles and old Simplex derailleurs and you'ill see what I mean.
>
> It's a buyers market more or less. There are still some items that sell for
> exorbitant amounts but there are a lot of goods going on the block because
> the sellers are trying to scrape up some fast cash.
>
> Chas. Colerich
> Oakland, CA USA