Topic: stupid prices for "priceless vintage parts"

[754]

There has to be a balance.

The trouble with selling parts real cheap is, the buyer then expects everything to be so cheap.

You have to factor in supply, demand, time spent getting part off  bike, wrapping part to survive shipping, things like that.

There is a difference between having a few parts bikes behind your garage, and paying overhead for a shop to store your stuff in.

I know the local wrecker here probably had at least 3K a monthin overhead, so you cant give a lot away..

Nobody is forcing anyone to buy anything.. dont like the deal.. walk..

[moham]

There has to be a balance.

The trouble with selling parts real cheap is, the buyer then expects everything to be so cheap.

You have to factor in supply, demand, time spent getting part off  bike, wrapping part to survive shipping, things like that.

There is a difference between having a few parts bikes behind your garage, and paying overhead for a shop to store your stuff in.

I know the local wrecker here probably had at least 3K a monthin overhead, so you cant give a lot away..

Nobody is forcing anyone to buy anything.. dont like the deal.. walk..

I hear what you are saying. Cheapskates aside, there is a reasonable value to most of this stuff. I don't think demand/supply for 550 carbs warrants a $150 price tag, though. If you're talking about "sandcast" or something comparable, obviously the demand coupled with the actual rarity of the items comes into play and I'm not surprised at some of the prices for truly collector items.

As far as the sellers go, most retailers know that inventory does you no good sitting. It only takes up space in your storeroom and on your balance sheet. 25% of something is a hell of a lot better than 100% of nothing...

[tortelvis]

All I can say is that a new one would cost $279.50 (if it was not a discontinued item). Average at a salvage yard is 50% of retail, so a decent used one would go for $100 to $150. So what do you think happens when a part is obsolete? The price goes up! Have you seen the price for a CB350F exhaust lately? NOS for $1300 at current exchange rates!

[swan]

Patience is the way to go. I never pay more then $1.00 a CC for Honda bikes and I just picked up my third CB400f for less than $100.  I bought my CB550f for $150 and after a bit of cleaning and restoring it runs beautifully. I you don't like the price from someone, don't buy it. Many people think just because its old it is valuable. Hundreds of thousands of old Hondas are sitting around North America, so nothing is that rare. If you want sticker shock, try sourcing older British bike parts.

Do you homework before buying parts or bikes. Look up and print out "completed" listings on E-bay for the parts you seek. When a junk dealer says "oh, those are easily $150 on E-bay" you can show that completed listings are much, much less. Always flash cash when making an offer. People's psychology changes when they see actual money in your hand, works every time.

The parts section of this forum is great way to find and sell parts. Somebody must have the parts you need.

[A Grove]

I've gotten TWO amazing deals...

'75 cb550k... $120.  took me two hours, new plugs, and a splash of gas later to get her running.. oh and charging the battery.
'78 cb550k... $50.  Came with brand new mac2 h/e, dyna s ignition, accel coils/wires, a set of '79 carbs, new emgo pods, and new cables all around..

I got super, super lucky. 

Oh and both were completely random, and a week apart.  I also bought them both before knowing what gems I had found

[moham]

Patience is the way to go. I never pay more then $1.00 a CC for Honda bikes and I just picked up my third CB400f for less than $100.  I bought my CB550f for $150 and after a bit of cleaning and restoring it runs beautifully. I you don't like the price from someone, don't buy it. Many people think just because its old it is valuable. Hundreds of thousands of old Hondas are sitting around North America, so nothing is that rare. If you want sticker shock, try sourcing older British bike parts.

Do you homework before buying parts or bikes. Look up and print out "completed" listings on E-bay for the parts you seek. When a junk dealer says "oh, those are easily $150 on E-bay" you can show that completed listings are much, much less. Always flash cash when making an offer. People's psychology changes when they see actual money in your hand, works every time.

The parts section of this forum is great way to find and sell parts. Somebody must have the parts you need.

That's great advice. And you're absolutely right, the members on this forum are almost always stellar about their parts. And for that matter, I've had many good experiences buying ebay and CL...I guess it's just fun to b**ch and moan a little bit...

[d3buttz]

moham and all- i agree with everything,  ultimately im just cheap.found a 750 tach locally for 35$-gonna roll with that. i get all the parts i need to finish my motor build this week in the mail, and i just wanna ride so 35 bucks to expedite a weekend ride is totally cool with me .  the weather here in denver has been a teaser....55-65s all week!

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

there are not a lot of used bike parts places here in colorado springs. there is one but, I don't want to give them any free publicity, since I have not done business with them, yet. I have noticed that there are a bunch of people who own "vintage" vehicles, motorcycles and otherwise who have outrageous prices for their items. It is no wonder that this stuff is still sitting there, for sale. People want to be on the good end of a sale, no one wants to get ripped-off. However, these vintage parts/vehicle owners would rather let their stuff rust away and depreciate even more, than allow a potential sale to someone who would actually get some use out of the item.

Curtis is a good guy but he is a business man first. He does all bikes not just SOHC4s. If you need something for a SOHC4 you'd better have your list because his space is limited and he keeps most of our stuff elsewhere. He does have some loose stuff on site but you'll probably be dealing with his employees.

[fuzzybutt]

very true, anybody want hub caps to a 1979 ford pinto? theyre vintage! only 10,000 bucks!

nope but i DO want the pinto 

[masonryman]

Pinto with a 289 or 302