cost of bike parts

[john.k]

Since I decided to go through a couple of bikes and fix the basics ....Ive been amazed/shocked by the prices of spares .........and the scarcity of spares in general for 70 year old British  bikes ............if it was Harley or Indian bits needed ,then there are plenty of suppliers at reasonable prices (post from the US is a killer ,though),but UK stuff seems to have run out .........a couple of things I bought ,were listed as 'last one' ............and ,would you believe an Amal carby slide at nearly $100 ?.........I think the last one I bought was sixpence.

[R]

(post from the US is a killer ,though),

I'd comment that that situation is almost entirely a figment of sellers imaginations ?
(and is similar to UK postage)

Sure, during covid most passenger planes were idle, so postage capacity was almost nil.
But since things have returned to 'normal', many sellers are still choosing THE most expensive postage option.
Delivery in 2 or 3 days sure costs, even more so with UPS and other private carriers. Who add customs charges.

USPS still offers std or economy international post - delivery times are reasonable.
And costs a mere fraction of the expensive options. No customs fees.
Convincing sellers of this can be a challenge. !

Was chuckling about a dual seat someone in US was offering - private carrier to Oz for a mere A$997
Hmmmm !

[R]

And yes, spares are getting expensive.
I marked some prices in pencil in a spares book for a project.
10 years later, I notice that everything has been doubled.
Looks like across the board.
And they weren't especially cheap back then.

My fav-o-rite was the itty bitty grease nipple in a brake lever for a project.
The first example I came across wanted US $42 + $44 post.
Found it locally for $1
(and he said that folks are a little leery if you make things too cheap !)

Shop around is the moral of this story ?