Another ebay special.

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Hog54
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Re: Another ebay special.

#16

Post by Hog54 »

RUBONE wrote:Wolfe made those wheels before H-D ever offered a 16" option. Some serious collector of early stuff wanted it bad. I don't see what all the whining is about with you guys. You weren't bidding on it so who cares what someone paid for it. And obviously the sellers are not as dumb as you would make them out to be. They are selling their parts while you guys are wasting time about stuff that doesn't matter one bit!
Lets try to keep this forum as it is intended. For helping each other keep old iron on the road. If only complaining about prices is your interest there are other sites you can post on.
Robbie
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I guess people selling junk goes right over you guys heads.Why would a serious collector want a piece of rusted unfixible junk for $1250?That wheel could never be restored or used on any bike ever nomatter how much money he put into it.I just think its a big ebay scam.
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Re: Another ebay special.

#17

Post by RUBONE »

I guess people selling junk goes right over you guys heads.Why would a serious collector want a piece of rusted unfixible junk for $1250?That wheel could never be restored or used on any bike ever nomatter how much money he put into it.I just think its a big ebay scam.
I guess you just have never seen what a real craftsman can do! I bet that wheel is on a bike and roadworthy again. It is far from junk!
Robbie
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Re: Another ebay special.

#18

Post by caschnd1 »

You think this is an ebay scam? Seriously? Ebay simply provides a market for placing items up for sale. Do you think there is some kind of consipiracy going on here? Ebay isn't out cornering the market on antique motorcycle parts so they can drive the prices up. Having a world wide market and the ability to market your parts to a huge number of people drives the prices up. I wouldn't have bought that wheel for that kind of money. But someone did and that defines it's value on the day it was sold. Put the same wheel up next week and you may not find a buyer.

-Craig
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Re: Another ebay special.

#19

Post by Robert Luland »

Hog, You're not thinking like a metal smith. You wouldn't believe what people send me with a little note saying can you repair this. Compared to some of the stuff I run though here that wheel is in great shape but what it comes down to is dollars and sense. Could I make that wheel look brand new? Damm right I could but I'm going to get my pound of flesh to do it. The hardcore restorer never sees a dollar sign just a thing of beauty in front of them. If ya got to rack up the plastic so be it. You deal with it later. Life goes on and it's a damm short trip. Like the spot light bar I put up a while back. The wheel is an aftermarket accessory. They didn't make a zillion of them. I agree that the price was a little steep but that's in the eye of the restorer. As I related to Rob a while back. "It's not the guy with the most toys that wins but rather the guy with the coolest toys" Bob L
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Re: Another ebay special.

#20

Post by Hog54 »

The minute you hit that thing with a sanding pad it will disintergrate.You can already see thruogh the metal in a few places.And I dont care how good a metal smith you think you are,you will never get them rusted pot marks out of that rim without grinding it down to nothing.
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Re: Another ebay special.

#21

Post by Robert Luland »

Hog54 wrote:The minute you hit that thing with a sanding pad it will disintergrate.You can already see thruogh the metal in a few places.And I dont care how good a metal smith you think you are,you will never get them rusted pot marks out of that rim without grinding it down to nothing.
I don't grind shit! I fill and polish!
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Re: Another ebay special.

#22

Post by RUBONE »

Bob,
Don't waste your breath on him. He will never get it! Save your experience for those who appreciate it.
Robbie
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Re: Another ebay special.

#23

Post by Huck »

Dragging ebay stuff here to bitch about it is pretty lame. 2 bits.
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Re: Another ebay special.

#24

Post by CaptMike »

I find it interesting. It brings forth the Good and Bad. Sometimes it's funny, other times is really sad.

Not being one that knows everything, at 56 I still enjoying learning something everyday.

Now, to stay a "Nice Guy" I won't reveal what I see as a waste of time or what I get tired of. Many times I write things and never post it. I considered not posting on the Mint '57 yesterday but I saw it as comical (and sad at the same time). I know you've all heard the stories about the Mint, 2 Owner Bike That Was Sold/Bought for $200.00 (or $5000.00). I always envision it as the person says, "MINT" but "Mint" today is not the mint of years ago.

That's the First of those wheels I've seen for Sale Anywhere.
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Re: Another ebay special.

#25

Post by mr. z »

RUBONE wrote:Wolfe made those wheels before H-D ever offered a 16" option. Some serious collector of early stuff wanted it bad. I don't see what all the whining is about with you guys. You weren't bidding on it so who cares what someone paid for it. And obviously the sellers are not as dumb as you would make them out to be. They are selling their parts while you guys are wasting time about stuff that doesn't matter one bit!
Lets try to keep this forum as it is intended. For helping each other keep old iron on the road. If only complaining about prices is your interest there are other sites you can post on.
Robbie
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I was gonna let this one go, but it has to be said.

First of all, no one is whining, bitching, or anything else about this. Please get off your high-horse, sir.

What Hog54 and I are trying to point out is this: No, the sellers are not dumb, I believe they know full well what they are doing and the game they are playing, pointing out the obvious to whats going on here is not a waste of time, however to some of you it is getting pointless. Maybe to you it is, but its not. Check this out, and try to follow with all due respect. We've all been around around the block a few times, most of us older dudes have built bikes, maybe quite a few bikes. And have done restorations. We've hit the swap meets, bought parts from our friends, hell, we've found parts in barns, old shops,old garages, etc. What concerns me are the guys who are new at this, probably only reading here what people are talking about at this forum, try to learn, and never post. Lurking ya might say. I want them to know that they CAN have a succesful rebuild(or repair) of that new(to them) machine, and they don't have to bankrupt their family doing it. I know that there are guys at e-bay and Craiglist selling substandard parts at an enormous markup. I can fukkin' gar-on-tee the guy with the stupid wheel probably got it free, or it came with another parts-lot buy, whatever. He then played on the weaknesses of the gullible, hyped it up and got $1,200. You new guys(and old dudes) don't have to kill yourself to build that machine of yours, it can be done, and it can be done with oem parts-reasonably. If the more experienced among us don't point out the bullshit, and steer them to a better place of purchasing wisely, then what good are we? There are good deals at E-bay, and then there are the bullshitters that couldin't care less if that much needed part a guy could use to make it live again on his machine will ever see the light of day again, unless he gets his huge markup. And yeah, I know its his part, and if the market dictates, and blah, blah, blah, spare me, I know, I'm a conservative capitalist myself, I get it. I just want as many of these machines to live again as possible, I'd like to see so many pans, knucks,Indians, and shovels on the road that the traffic is clogged with them. But how will that happen if guys can't get their rides going because the parts prices are so artificially prohibitative? To me, that is the point of this forum.
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Re: Another ebay special.

#26

Post by FlatHeadSix »

All valid points, and I agree with at least some of what everyone has to say on this subject, but that's not why I'm posting right now.

What I thought was interesting were some of the other ads on that March 1939 page that Robbie posted. The ad just above the Wolfe Wheel ad is for Judson Pistons. Back in the mid-sixties having a piece of Judson Power equipment on your machine was a real bragging point. Maybe not so much for a Harley but a Judson Supercharger on a '63 Corvair made them go way faster than they needed to. I wonder what one of those would be worth now?, maybe I'll run a search on ePay....

just rambling
mike
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Re: Another ebay special.

#27

Post by Huck »

I’ll stand by what I said. I didn’t post to call any individual out. It was a general statement. I did find the old ads interesting. Flame away, it’s your right to do so.
My definition of riding a high horse would be… Well just reread your posts, I’ll stop here.
I really don't know what sparked me to post my opinion in the first place.
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Re: Another ebay special.

#28

Post by Lynrd »

Oh, hell, I'll jump in on this.

I'm sort of in the middle - I buy stuff on eBay, Craigslist, JP, small websites, swap meets, junk yards, independent shops...just about anyplace but a dealership, unless I need a t-shirts or a hitch cover for a pickup truck.

In ALL of these locations - not just eBay - the buyer honestly should make some effort to educate themselves about what they are getting into, and at least get a read on the other party they are dealing with. I can't tell you how many times that I will see a repro part listed on eBay that has been bid up - and then find it is for sale at JP for less than the starting price. Does that make the seller on eBay a bad person? No, but maybe a bad business person.

In the case of these wheels, there were four individual bidders vying for those, all with high enough reputation numbers to make me believe they are capable of making an educated purchase decision. The seller, well, I doubt I'll ever conduct business with him because to me his initial values seem inflated, and I don't dig on a "No return" policy. The purchase decision is ultimately mine, not the sellers. He can do whatever he wants, and it honestly doesn't have ANY EFFECT on any aspect of my life. So, apparently, Buco wheels in rough condition are worth over $1000 to some people. Good to know - if I find a stashed one somewhere for the right price, I'll likely sell it and make a buck - because I think they're ugly and therefore worth less than a nice set of spoke wheels to me.

That's different from someone who is listing something with an attempt to defraud - we've all seen those restamped cases, misidentified parts, RARE NOS parts made in Taiwan, etc, etc. That's the stuff that should be brought forward in a forum like this...so the lurkers , newbies, people who don't sleep with the Palmer book under their pillow, etc can recognize a scam - information like what shape of the factory number dies look like, how to tell that repop part from the real deal, etc. That kind of info is gold on this forum.

But just posting that some stuff is overpriced on eBay - well, in other news, water tends to be wet and my ex-wife is still a bitch. No new news here...

My $.02
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