1914 racing yardlong limited copies now available

[Mr. Big]

I don't think Barry was trying to justify his pricing as much as he was trying to defend himself against a pointless, and mean spirited attack.

Pointless? I would not call a spirited discussion pointless. Mean? Barry certainly seems to be taking it in stride except when he called the responders ass***es and then thought better of it and deleted it. Thank you for that Barry. I'm sure we have reached the point where we just agree to disagree.

[exeric]

Barry, who are you trying to convince? After numerous posts, we get that you think you're price is justified.

I don't think Barry was trying to justify his pricing as much as he was trying to defend himself against a pointless, and mean spirited attack.

[Mr. Big]

Barry, who are you trying to convince? After numerous posts, we get that you think you're price is justified.

you have finally said something that makes sense! you hit on the difference between a professional copy and a run of the mill one. that combined with the original quality and subject matter
and consultation with others in the business and potential buyers were what lead me to my price. the first 2 buyers are very happy with their copies and neither of them are fools
IF I sell all 10 my profit will be substantially less than your math would imply. if you read back through the thread you will see that I purchased this from my friend only recently and believe me
he does not need any money and did not want to let it go. my after tax profit ( Canadian taxes !) will be about $5500 IF I sell all 10 which is doubtful but I don't really care as part of the objective was to maintain
a degree of exclusivity unlike J&P 's or Walneck's prints. If someone can't afford it well that's tough . c'est la vie.

[Chris Haynes]

If I remember correctly there was someone selling those copy prints at either Davenport or Wauseon years ago. He had the original there and the difference in quality was amazing. On the original you could actually read what it said in the rectangular box and as you can see you can't in the copy.

I have many more bargain priced yardlongs but the price of the crown jewel of all yardlong reprints is still $1500 despite the pathetic clamoring of the disenfranchised masses .

detail [img][/img]

here's a cool "yardlong" very good detail however it is shot with a panoramic camera unlike my racing photo so has the inevitable few blurs where faces moved. it also has the common screw up
which I think would reveal an amateur photographer in that the subjects were lined up in a straight line rather than a curve resulting in the riders on the ends appearing further away. There are 68 Harleys in this photo.
I had it professionally framed 20 years ago . no racers, no Bob Perry, no Gene Walker , no pro photography, no Cyclone see the difference??? $300 plus shipping ( real glass not plastic)
[img][/img]

come to think of it I should have charged more because that damn American dollar is in the toilet. About 5 years ago our dollar was as low as 60 cents to yours which would have meant over 20,000 profit!
. walking around Hershey last week all I could hear were foreign accents as buyers from all over the place were scooping up cars and filling containers.
that's what has driven the price of knuckleheads through the roof, Chris, no need to be bitter , drink more saki and chill out It's Oriental demand. why not move to the Orient , maybe they like complainers over there!
on the subject of fools , there has never been a shortage, you must know the one about the 2 fools who met over a bike deal!

[Mr. Big]

you are right Chris. I should have charged $15,000 each. That would give me enough profit to put a down payment on the Crocker I sold too cheaply years ago .
You are quite the little working class spokesman hero chris. maybe you should run for the communist party.

[Chris Haynes]

If there are 10 fools out there who pay you $1,500.00 each for your copys you will have made $15,000.00. About $14,900.00 of that would be clear profit. You can't deduct the price you paid for the original because you are keeping that.

Great idea Chris. The photo was probably taken for the Milwaukee journal so a newspaper magnate like Hearst probably owned the rights, Should i just send a cheque to the residents of Hearst castle ? Ever been there? Maybe it would be a good venue for an AMCA meet.
I did a lot of dealing with a great character from Kenosha, an AMCA member since 1954 and a prolific collector ( had over 300 bikes at one time) John Giorno. I would always try to beat him down on prices
never with much success,which is another aspect of American capitalism , right??? His response on one occasion made me laugh " we don't deal with poor people" Since you are such a benevolent philanthropist yourself why not
buy one of my prints and get as many copies as you want made at Kinko and pass them out . Forget it, I don't deal with poor people. Greed is good!

[Chris Haynes]

Other than my daily rider '95 FLHTCU the last H-D I bought was my '73 Servi-car. I bought it in '89 or so for $750.00. All of my other Pans and Knucks cost under $1,000.00 or came home one piece at a time. Personally I never wanted a pre '16 machine myself. But with the amount of money I have spent on factory and aftermarket literature along with other collectibles I am sure I could have bought one. I too was a member of CAMA and loved the meets in Visilia and Tulare. At that time as well as now Knuckleheads were/are my love. In 1983 I was only making 20 G's a year. People who have money seem to think that if they have it everyone does.
All of that is ancient history though. I am talking about today. I have had a lot of copy negatives made. They aren't expensive. Contact prints on Kodak paper are also not expensive. You are simply digging for gold out of the pockets of fellow collectors. Some can afford your price. Most can not. Signed numbered edition? Who's signature? I am sure the photographer that owns the rights to that photo has passed. Perhaps you have located his heirs and will pass your excessive profits over to them.

Hey Joe ! finally some thoughtful commentary! I will see how it goes and then maybe change my tact or just forget the whole hornet's nest
The thought also crossed my mind about your age Chris. That chopper photo sorta dates you and if you have been around that long you have no excuse for not having at least one pre 16 bike in your collection ( if you like them that much as you profess to ) as they were relatively cheap back then. I joined the Classic and Antique Motorcycle Association headquartered in Visalia California in the early 1970's as I was totally unaware of the AMCA . If you were an enthusiast for as long as I surmise you must have had ample opportunity to acquire a pre 16 then at a very reasonable price or were choppers your thing. I have no time for Johnny come lately tears.
I am 61 and bought my 13 Harley circa 1983 for 10K and everyone thought I was nuts to spend so much. If i sell it in 2010 at what price would you say I am making a reasonable return or becoming the greedy capitalist pig you so detest.
It's pretty cruel but have you ever heard the saying "the difference between the men and the boys is the price of their toys" Not something I agree with but good for laugh as is this entire thread!