http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...QfromZR8QQfviZ1

It can be done! This was an experiment. Actually I aimed this auction at Huntcart, but hey, somebody bought it. Yes, the bike is as nice as it looks in the pics, actually it's even more impressive in person. Yes, I think it was a good deal for the buyer---I'd have been happy with it at that price. No, I didn't make much on it. About 25 bucks maybe. I've seen beat up Raiders without the nice parts go for prices like this. I'm gathering parts for my next project already, similar in nature.
What do you think?

Well...looks really nice. Did you paint it yourself or did you have someone else do it? I have a bike that needs painted...can I send it to you??

that is a good thing? i think what has happened is your shiny paint job and Hutch stickers fooled a newbie into thinking he was getting a nice Hutch when instead he gets a cheap Pro Raider frame with bammer Mongoose fork, and a bunch of cheap cobbled together parts, all for a BIN price way over value. that is not a good thing, you are taking advantage of an ignorant, yet enthusiastic, buyer.

you have labeled generic parts (the bars, forks, more?) with Hutch decals, which you apparently feel is ok because YOU know the difference.

that is not good for the hobby. and i wouldn't brag about it either.

If you look at the description, everything is in there as to what that bike is, and the buyer isn't a "newbie" either, he is a collector. I don't believe that I would have spent over $350 (which I did) on "cheap, cobbled together" parts either. The bars still have the "tioga" engraved on them for all the world to see, and the forks are obviously not Hutch. I even went so far as to stamp the words "PRO RAIDER" into the bottom bracket in order to prevent someone else from being fooled. My point was keeping a sane price for a nice bike. And if you were to actually SEE the bike, you would know that. I had some of these parts laying around and got a good deal on the frame from a member here, so I probably couldn't build the same thing again for that price. Nowadays a roll of toilet paper could fetch a hundred bucks on eBay if it said Hutch on it, and THAT was my whole point. I respect your opinion, but I think you are jumping to conclusions. There are quite a few members here who know me and have dealt with me now, and they can tell you, that ain't how I roll. It's all about enjoying playing with old school bikes, I can't afford a collection so I build them and sell them, to finance the next, and usually I break even.

Bottom line - if the buyer didn't think it was worth $375, he wouldn't have hit the "BIN" button. Everything that Hutch is is clearly listed in the auction. As long as the buyer can read, he knows what he's getting.
-Bill

Very nice bike for the money, I really like it alot! I like the fact that it didnt cost an arm and a leg to build, and it turned out sweet looking!

Hey RicFlair, chill out! All the info is right there in the auction description, no "fooling" and no "taking advatage of"! I feel you were out of line slamming agentheinz on this one, but that is just MY opinion! Wooooooooooooo!

"Nowadays a roll of toilet paper could fetch a hundred bucks on eBay if it said Hutch on it"

that is MY whole point. you have taken non Hutch stuff and put Hutch decals on and then give the visual look of a "Hutch" bike. not just this one time, but apparently this is your new "sales strategy".

that is misleading, and when the customer calls/emails back because he is embarrassed after showing off his new "Hutch" to folks that know better, that is going to be a very unpleasant and awkward refund situation.

buyer beware indeed, but hows about a "let's not rip off the buyers" strategy.

folks complain about sheisters that bamboozle folks on fugazi bmx stuff all the time, and yet you are so proud of your new sales strategy, which is the same damn thing. and apparently, other members don't see the harm. this is a slippery slope, and you are already sliding.

why not just buy a bunch of pawn shop huffy's, rattle can them, and slap some of the widely repoed Hutch decals on them? i'm sure you could get sales with BIN listings, but that don't make it right. the guy that would buy such a setup is probably not going to be able to read between the lines and verbal silliness to REALLY understand what he is buying.

this type of strategy just lowers the integrity bar of the hobby, and that is a bummer.

if you want to sell a pair of bammer Mongoose forks, don't put Hutch decals on them, just sell them as used Mongoose forks.

The topic kind of confused me. Inflated Hutch prices are only on quality Hutch items. Granted the bike sold did "look" nice, but I doubt it would garner inflated Hutch prices. This is no stab at your build, just a bit of reality. Seems like alot of people have this "thing" against these high Hutch prices...lol. Try being the guy looking to get all these items. I am one of the main bidders of all stuff Hutch on eBay. I am willing to pay a pretty penny because I simply "Love" Hutch stuff. I am glad you and the bidder are happy, so in the end, that is all that matters. Peace!

RicFlair, what non-Hutch stuff, besides the bars and forks, has Hutch decals on it? He even says what the bars and forks actually are in the description, not in the least bit "misleading" as you say.
Also if this guys emails back upset at not getting what he thought he was, he either did not read the description and just looked at the pic and said "Hell yeah" and hit the button or he is illiterate and cannot read at all!

[ February 27, 2006, 06:00 PM: Message edited by: race_inc ]

RicFlair--I think you're tripping. At the very least, over-reacting. Agentheinz didn't spray paint a pawn shop huffy and label it Hutch...and if he did, then the buyer would be pretty much an idiot. He also didn't go the high-end, machine shop route and make unlabeled Hutch stems and cranks, as has been done. Nor is he repopping Rad Kaps and selling them as real. He took a real Pro Raider, made it look nice, and sold it for a reasonable price. Personally, with Rad Kaps going for $200 plus, Heinz built the only Hutch I'd buy.

He labeled everything correctly in the auction. No one would've purchased that bike thinking they had a Pro Racer with Hutch forks on it. You're freaking out over nothing. At worst, the vintage hobby is a bunch of old guys with too much cash on their hands building carpet queens to drool over...guys that never ride vintage bikes or any other. At best, it's a bunch of OG BMXers who still ride and race and keep the history alive. But I think there's nothing at all wrong with making the hobby accessible for people who aren't flush with cash for $2000 cranks and $200 valve caps, but who have a soft spot in their hearts for their childhood Hutch.

Some of the people into vintage stuff may as well be collecting Faberge eggs...it's not about soul or history, it's about "look what I bought." And for his part in not buying into that, I give Agentheinz props.

Moral of the story is..."Hey look, someone fell for it."

Right on Gooser!!!!

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I'm gathering parts for my next project already, similar in nature.
What do you think?

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Bring it on agentheinz, I'd love to see some more clean, low-buck builds!