Communications Breakdown

   The Atala bicycle I finished rebuilding this summer finally sold to a nice Greek gentlemen who now lives in Chicago. He told me he used to ride a bike just like it back in his homeland. This sounds like the perfect home for a beautiful bike that I enjoyed working on!

   Unfortunately, the Colnago project at this point has proven not to be so fun. After discovering the missing parts and damaged handlebars, I contacted the seller to explain my disappointment. I also mentioned the packaging tape issues, and how some of the decals were affected by removing the adhesive.

   To his credit, the seller was very apologetic at first and said he would accept a return, if a solution couldn’t be found. He said all items should have been in the box and mentioned that he was rushed preparing for a business trip, which made me think some carelessness may have been involved. I mentioned how I have in the past absentmindedly left something out of a nicely-wrapped package, only to have to undo all my worked in order to insert the missing piece. I explained that the gaps in the box seams would not have allowed larger items like a saddle or pedals to slip out easily.

   From my past experiences browsing and buying on eBay, I feel that I have a good grasp on the value of vintage parts, but not wanting to scare off the seller in my attempt to have my money partially refunded, I actually set the bar a bit low when mentioning prices to replace the individual parts that were missing. I felt bad that if indeed someone tampered with the package, that the seller was now on the hook for what was missing, and I told him that I wouldn’t include the shipping costs for the replacements.

   Despite what I thought was a reasonable proposal, he apparently didn’t like what he was hearing, because his tone became accusatory, with talk of filing police reports. He insisted that he would “find out if it was me or a FedEx employee involved in this theft”. He became more adamant about the return of the bike, which I thought might be a case of his new understanding of the true value of the bicycle, but I had no intention of sending it back. I had invested a good deal of time researching the bike and had already ordered some parts in anticipation of building it up.

   The seller then attempted to bring up the cost of the frame, which he learned from me was incorrectly listed as a “Super” and was really a “Nuovo Mexico”, a potentially more valuable frame. I mentioned that he didn’t have to accept my offer, but he did, and the real issue is that everything included in the auction was not delivered to me. I went into a detailed description of each part as I would conduct a search for them online, and included the prices, inviting him to do a bit of research as well.

   The next few exchanges became frustrating, as the seller kept switching between his repeated expressions of disbelief that the items were missing and his estimations of value for the missing items, which were WAY off. I told him in a friendly manner that I would really love to know where he shops, but instead of arguing in circles, I told him that I would provide receipts for anything I paid and return any money that I overestimated.

   I don’t think he understood the value of “piecing out” a bike for resale – in other words, selling off individual parts, instead of a complete bicycle. People will often buy a frame, new or old, and choose to outfit them with their favorite components. When dealing with vintage bicycle restoration, you are dealing with items that wear out and just aren't available anymore. If someone needs a specific detail - large or small, simple or complex - they are willing to pay much more than normal for that rare piece to complete their project. High-end Campagnolo parts are a gold mine! I knew ahead of time that one of the brakes on this bike was missing the barrel adjuster (see red circle in photo on left), a part which can be found on eBay from anywhere between $20-60. OH MY GOD!

   After yet another request for a return of the bike, I called FedEx to see I could find out what the original shipping weight of the package was. I then put all of the packaging materials in a bag, grabbed a large box from the basement and stood with everything on the bathroom scale. Subtracting my weight, I found that the materials were three to four pounds lighter than the package shipping weight – something had definitely been removed in transit!

   Sharing this information with the seller seemed to change his attitude a bit, and although it was only about two-thirds of my dollar amount, at least he made a reasonable partial refund offer. I was then caught up in a circle of misinformation, with very little help from the seller, involving eBay and FedEx policies and who was responsible for filing a claim. Finally, after several phone calls, I had all of the details straightened out and received final word that the seller had to file the FedEx claim.

   Reminding him that the damaged handlebars were still involved in this discussion, I accepted a partial refund of $180 dollars. I have a feeling the seller is going to use my value estimates when he files the claim with FedEx, but I’m not going to worry about that. I’ll just be happy when (if?) I get my money back.

   When I took my Atala over to Bikesport today to have it professionally packaged for shipping, I also gave them the Colnago frame to have the Dura-Ace headset cups popped out. I don't have the tool to do that, and I can't justify the expense of getting one, since headset cup removal isn't a process I undertake very often. I also needed the aid of their conditioned mechanic muscles to remove the fixed-side bottom bracket cup. I feel somewhat guilty when I take troublesome tasks to them, but when those jobs are specifically for me and not a client of mine, I feel a little better. By the way, while I was there, I found out that one of the barrel adjusters from the Tarmac bike project has been completely cleared out - whoopie!