A couple weeks ago my son and I were netting up bait at the local boat ramp, when up rides some dude in his 40's on a 26" CBR cruiser.

I spotted it from about 25 yards away and went up to speak to him..

I said "Ah..the old cook brothers rides again.." He was taken aback that I knew what it was: "Whoa! you're the first and only person to ever know what this is"
I told him that I knew when I saw the middle tube, but had it confirmed when I saw the part of the handlebars that turned down (crossbar).
It had the usual rust (I live in a beach community) but the best part was that it had a silver anno cooks stem, cooks cruiser bars, cooks f/f, cooks hubs, the whole shabozzle.

I asked if he would consider selling it, and he looked at me with a big smile and said proudly: "Nope!"

and with that he said he better get going, and rode off..

It would have been better had I never seen him
*sigh*

But hey, he loves his cruiser and he's gonna keep it. Can't fault a guy for that! Wish I'd been smart enough to keep my old stuff.

Just thought I'd share a close encounter with greatness.
Part of me wonders if he thinks I was talking like $75 bucks, and I wonder if I would have blurted out "I'll give you a grand for it" if he would have taken it.
I better let it go.. it's not healthy to dwell on it..

I made some simple business cards years ago just for this occasion, I even leave them on locked up bikes if nobodys around.

Reads,

BMX Collector
Paying CASH for old BMX Bikes
phone/email

Cost invested, about $10, yeild...priceless.

Sounds like an interesting idea, you got many from that. What are some of the best you've got from it.

I'd quickly be called a scammer if I gave details, so I won't.

Reality is, it works. You may get turned down initially but the dude has your number, sooner or later everyone needs cash. I saw his kid on a 79ish MX-II, the boy properly said not for sale, it's my Dad's.

Two years later Dad calls.

Free business cards, just pay shipping - VistaPrint

Nice one Randy.. you've got me thinking!

I was going to have some made for when I go to the local flea market and set up a booth just handing them out and having bikes on display and a few things for sale just to create a buzz..

Putting ads in the paper works too.

Gotta be creative and stay off of e-bay as much as possible.