Classic Bike Guide - Real rides, real riders

Not quite the spirit…?

I must admit I have bought and sold sundry worthless tat and there have been times when auction fever has grabbed me and I have quietly cursed, having gone over my pre-arranged ceiling. It’s all well and good but there is a fee for the initial advert, a further fee if you fix a reserve, a seller’s commission and if you pay securely online, there’s a further charge for the facility.

By the time you’ve finished you may well be 25 percent down on your selling price.

Of course, if you’re in the market for a classic motorcycle, the classifieds are still the best place to wheel and deal.

However, recently I came across what appeared to be a little wheeze in a journal, which circumvented the former situation with a rather unusual take on the latter.

A quality motorcycle was advertised for about half its current market value, with just an email as contact – thus avoiding a plethora of telephone calls and giving the vendor plenty of time to deal with each correspondence. A pal of mine immediately made contact, requesting details, images etc, which were duly forwarded. He instantly replied saying he would have it and could be there, cash in hand, the following morning.

Several days went by before he received a message saying out of the 70 or so responses the vendor had received, he had not made the shortlist of potential purchasers. My initial reaction and, judging from the disgruntled calls I received regarding the matter, that of others too, was the vendor had run his own little internet auction, vetting each potential purchaser and their offers before deciding upon a winner.

So, I took it upon myself to contact the vendor and it transpired that, without going into detail of his circumstances, it was not the case, merely his way of ensuring that his cherished machine, which he’d owned from new and, in an ideal world, would prefer not to sell, went to someone who would appreciate it rather than simply flog it on for a quick profit. He received many offers far in excess of the advertised asking price, but eventually chose against selling at this time.

So what’s the point here? It’s that we judge everyone by the standards of the trader, and I mean no disrespect, as the trader is in it to make a living, and hard cash is the bottom line. In this particular instance however, there is sentiment involved, which sometimes in human nature, makes a world of difference.

Nigel Clark
Editor