Appraisals;

  Due to several factors, I do not give appraisals.
 
 One reason is I am getting too many requests. I just cannot keep up any longer. Another reason is the difficulty in giving appraisals on bikes sight-unseen or with just a picture. The market on old bikes also fluctuates quite a bit. What's hot today is not so hot tomorrow. Prices do not always go up and often go down as quickly as they rose.

  I realize that knowing the value of their old bicycle is important to many people.  Whether one is attempting to purchase or sell an old bike it's good to know what it is worth. This value can be tricky at best. Make, model, year, condition and accessories all come into play and can be the difference between a $500 gem or something that belongs in the dumpster. 

 I can give some basic advise here. Condition is very important but it needs to be combined with a bike style and year that is collectable. Too often someone finds a bike from the 70's or 80's in perfect condition but there is no collectable value. It's worth what someone is willing to pay for a good riding bike. Many people are looking for a good riding American Made Bike. Your local Graigslist is a good place to sell a bike like this. Often a bike like this is worth the same or less than it would cost to ship it so listing on eBay is rarely a good choice.

 In the past few years there have been several TV shows putting values on antiques including bicycles. Please remember, these prices are often "Top end auction prices". Also, values are often inflated to make it sound more exciting for TV.  To get the top end price for your bike you need to travel the country selling at the antique bicycle swap meets or put your bike in a top bicycle auction like Copake (there is a link to the Copake auction house on my links page).

 Another thing to note in the bicycle collecting hobby; Girls/Ladies bikes are almost always worth less than Mens bikes. This is due in part because there is less women collecting old bikes so there is less demand for them. Also, girls in general kept their bikes in much better condition than boys. This makes girls bikes in good condition more common and brings the price down.
 
 I ask again...Please! Do not ask me what your bike is worth. $$$ is not everything in this world, or at least it should not be in my opinion.

 I will continue to help all who ask with identifing their Columbia bicycle. I have never charged for this and I plan on keeping it that way. With my collection of Columbia catalogs I can find the identity of most bikes made by Columbia. I have also provided free downloadable catalogs for the later Columbia years, 1981-1999 on the "Research Material" page. Please feel free to use them all to search for your later model Columbia Bicycle. The "Old Roads" website has a forum that can be a good source for value estimates and selling old bikes. The "Cabe" is another site with a fine bicycle forum. Please use the links to those fine sites on my links page. When asking for help please send pictures and the serial number including the letter just in front of the number. This is realy the only way to find the identity of your bike. Too often I get "it's a blue bike and has a bell" or "someone told me it's realy old and it says Columbia" as the only descriptions. Without more information and pictures I just can't help.

 One more note on bicycle identification. Often times a bicycle is "Just a Bicycle".  If your bike is complete and original there may not be much to say about it besides the year it was made. Yes, there is important bikes out there or some with historical significance. Most however are products mass produced by companies to make a profit. A wide variety of styles and colors would be made to appeal to a wide range of consumers. I by no means say this to take away from the beauty of an antique bicycle. This diversity is what makes old bike collecting exciting. It's just the answer to the types of questions asked of me often such as "why did they make this model ?" or "what was the significance of this bike ?" 

 Sorry for the rant but it needed to be said.