eBay - the good, the bad and the ugly.

First, the good... check out eBay item 330132790082. I can't verify that it's genuine (though the frame number is clearly visible on the seat tube). If it is, it is quite rare indeed. The production of most Moulton frames was outsourced, but Alex Moulton employed the legendary Jack Lauterwasser to run the "S Works" which produced high spec, limited edition versions of several Moulton Models, such as the S Safari, the S Deluxe, and the very very rare S Speed.

The gorgeous and mysterious Moulton AM Speed S that was for sale on eBay and then disappeared, apparently appeared again last week, only to disappear again. I have heard it alleged that this is an attempt at a scam. The original listing several months ago was probably genuine and the bicycle probably has a very happy owner, However, a common scam on eBay is to clone a previous listing for an expensive item in the hope of swindling an unsuspecting buyer out of their hard earned cash.

There has also been a red Mark 3 (f-frame) on ebay several times over the last year or more. The seller has more than likely seen Mark 3 models going for high prices and is keen to cash in. The trouble is that he has been putting very high "Buy It Now" price tags on the bike. He started at about £500 and it has slowly dropped after several listings to about £250. But there have been no takers! Part of the problem is that he will not ship the bike abroad, so the buyer must pick it up.

Anyhow, a couple weeks ago it seemed that the buyer had learned something when he listed the bike for auction, with a 99p starting price and no reserve. Bidding started off slowly but with 4 days to go, the bidding went over £100. I thought that this bode well for the seller, as Moulton prices usually rise exponentially over that last few hours of the auction, so I thought he must be rubbing his hands. Not exactly... he posted an addition to the item, telling the bidders that they should stop wasting his time, and if the bidding didn't reach £200 he was going to withdraw it, which he duly did a few hours later.

Now, I have seen several Mark 3 models going for over £200, but in my view, the secret to getting high prices for Moultons on eBay is firstly to have a low starting price, to get lots of people interested. Then as the bidding heats up, they bid more than they sensibly should.

Secondly, if you want to sell rarer models for big money, you must be willing to ship abroad, and in particular to Japan. Buyers in Great Britain are a thrifty bunch, they know the values of each Moulton model and they know where they can get bargains. Additionally, there are lot and lots of Moultons that have been sitting in sheds for 30 years and they pop up at jumbles and in small advertisements all the time. The foreign buyer, however, has to try much harder to get his hands on a Moulton, and is usually more willing to bid more on eBay. And of course, patience is required. The most bidding occurs in the last few hours, so pulling it out with 3 days to go is very very silly indeed.

I was really keen to see how this bike was going to sell... looks like the saga is going to run on a little longer!