WDB
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Post by WDB on Oct 5, 2019 16:57:06 GMT
The last of our three Isla bikes had been in the garage too long — since Boy2 got too big for it, four years ago now. A few weeks back, I finally got it cleaned up and checked over and advertised it for sale.
This afternoon, a nice dad and little lad came over from north London to pick it up. They paid what I asked, loaded up and went away. Deduct what they paid from our purchase price in 2010 and you get...
...£54. For six years’ regular use. And I know that there’s plenty of life left in it, so a good deal all round.
Fish and chips and beer for tea tonight!
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Post by Humph on Oct 5, 2019 20:12:49 GMT
Well done !
I have some I should sell. It's hard though y'know... 😬
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Oct 5, 2019 22:44:42 GMT
I should start on my film camera kit next. It’s fashionable at the moment and can fetch good prices. And I have five SLR bodies, of two incompatible systems, and 16 (I think) lenses of various degrees of quality and usefulness. And I have a Yashica T4, for which people are paying silly prices for what, nice Zeiss lens and all, is still a plastic ‘90s point-and-shoot; probably worth more to someone else than to me.
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Post by bromptonaut on Oct 6, 2019 17:18:51 GMT
Isla Bikes are superb bits of kit. Hold value as well as Bromptons....
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Oct 6, 2019 18:03:49 GMT
Yes, and it's delightful to see it going somewhere it'll be enjoyed. This one is for their No1, freeing his present Isla for No2 to move up a size.
I feel confident in saying that our three Islas made cyclists of Boys 1 & 2. The lightness and simplicity made them easy and fun to ride, and gave them confidence on the road because they weren't struggling with the hardware. We should have sold the first one privately too - we unwisely accepted Isla's trade-in offer, which was far from generous. But even with that mistake, three bikes and 11 boy-years of use cost us barely £300.
New prices have crept up, and the equivalent to the one I sold yesterday is now £440 against £299 in 2010 - which gave me scope to set a price I was happy with that still looked like a useful saving. But I reckon even a new one is still good value. I'd recommend them to anyone introducing children to cycling.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2019 21:23:05 GMT
I should start on my film camera kit next. I should really get rid of my film camera kit as well, I'm unlikely to ever use it again and I don't have the developing and printing facilities anymore. Two Olympus OM4 bodies with about half a dozen lenses and a Russian Lubitel TLR. Pretty sure that I still have a Kodak Instamatic somewhere as well - it must be worth £thousands by now. I should really think about what I want to do with my old HiFi gear too.
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Post by tyrednexited on Oct 6, 2019 21:38:10 GMT
I should really think about what I want to do with my old HiFi gear too. ...I have a few bits of old HiFi gear around. My second system includes a pair of immaculate Rogers LS3/5a speakers, tatty versions of contemporaneous ones regularly go for £1500 on eBay (roughly 5 times what I paid about 40 years ago). Likewise an Ariston RD80SL turnatable with ADC arm, probably £500 plus (and double what I paid around the same time). The contemporaneous A&R A60 and T21 which are in the loft would just about go for what I paid for them, but they are such a good sound, I don't want to get rid. (BTW, if you get more than one buyer for the Instamatic, put them on to me).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2019 8:21:09 GMT
Luckily for me my father was a real HiFi addict having produced opera recordings in his early years. I know he produced recordings of Joan Sutherland in her early years and was a pioneer in the transfer of 78 to LP in the 1950s and early 60s.
So we have large amounts of equipment still here and two of my children have started to discover it, including vinyl. So its not being sold anytime soon, despite the value.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Oct 10, 2019 23:06:20 GMT
I have a dSLR and a M4/3 camera I don't really use. The dSLR though is Sony's first attempt after they took over the Minolta business.... so an Alpha 100 (a100). So worthless now and for some time. So might as well keep I guess for now until I find someone who wants it.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jan 18, 2021 8:44:25 GMT
I did sell the Yashica camera. In fact I sold two, as I also had the one my parents bought after borrowing mine. They were £130 each in 1993-4, and I got more than twice that from an Instagram type who wanted to use them for a fashion shoot. Who knows, but he paid on time, so that’s all right.
And last week I offloaded the Pentax K1000 that I bought for the lens attached to it. I couldn’t resist putting a roll through it, and it worked entirely as designed, but that’s not a design I particularly like, so it’s better to let it go.
Next job is to prune the Nikon flotilla, if that’s not a mixed metaphor — which it is. The FG will be first to go. Neat little camera but no way of locking the shutter release is a design oversight too far for me. Important to maintain the momentum.
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Post by Alanović on Jan 18, 2021 9:09:43 GMT
I sold my lad's old Decathlon bike last summer for £25 after several years use. The purchase price was £80 I think. So cost of ownership also about £55. So higher percentage depreciation by a massive amount than the Isla at the top of the thread, but in pounds shillings, pennies and farthings, no difference. I didn't have to find £500 to buy it and then worry about it being stolen. Not trying to be contrarian, each to his own, not starting an argument, but I think I prefer the cheaper-to-buy option in this case. As usual with me.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jan 18, 2021 9:27:04 GMT
Valid enough in its place. I’d argue that Islas are a bit of a special case, as they have design features that translate directly into being more usable for children’s hands, feet and legs. Yes, they’re relatively expensive, partly because their small components are made in small volumes — although, as we know, adult bikes can cost a lot more.
But I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the Islas made my sons into cyclists, because they enjoyed riding them so much. Yes, I encouraged them, but I can think of plenty of examples where encouragement from me has not been enough!
(And aren’t we here to argue anyway, provided we do it nicely?)
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Feb 2, 2021 21:23:37 GMT
My cost of ownership increased rather rapidly today. The bike was due a second-anniversary service, but ended up getting a complete new transmission to replace the one apparently ravaged by two years of grit and mud. Which means I've spent more on bike maintenance than car maintenance in the last 12 months. I'm trying not to begrudge it, because I've been very glad to have it, but - ouch!
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