How do you sell a bike.......

[brett4christ]

......that you built?

I'm relatively new to building bikes. All I've really done up to now has been to swap parts, paint a frame or two, and install new tires.....not really "building" anything new, just modifying/customizing. Even at that, I have cobbled together collections of parts to my liking, bikes that appeal to me.....that I want to keep! But, I don't have room for a huge collection! I've maxxed out at 5 assembled bikes, one in the works, and 6 parts/project bikes. I really don't have room for the parts bikes, but I'm getting by (until the wife finds the stash in the crawlspace).

How do you guys build bikes, then turn around and sell them! Is it all about the build, and not the ownership? Do you build "to order"? Where/how do you store parts bikes until you get to them?

Let's hear about how you manage your fleet!

 

[udallcustombikes]

Everything is for sale, but my emotional attachment can set some high prices. And no matter the price, I suffer seller's remorse every time one gets sold. I am blessed with an understanding wife that tolerates my bikes. As a family of five we have about 20 riders. Most have a spot in the garage but I have room for 5 in my basement bike cave. I keep my parts bikes in the backyard tucked out of sight.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Normally I only keep the best ones (Mostly Schwinn or something with an unusual frame style like my Spaceliner or Hawthorne twin top tube) but many times I seek enjoyment from the hunt and thrill of the sale. I find them at garage sales and scrapyards so I score them CHEAP. I repair what I can and pass it on to the next guy and it gives me more money to fix up the keepers. There are bikes I miss but you can't keep them all and I see what other treasures the money has gotten me.

 

[gcrank1]

A wise man once told me a 'collection' doesnt have to be a lot of mediocre stuff, but can be one nice example of something.
Regrettably I did not follow his sage advice..........

 

[schwinner]

i buy bikes i specifically plan on keeping. there are many bikes that i think are cool but would never buy,simply because i know i wouldnt have space for them as much as another model that i actually do collect.trust me.. im like a kid at the dog pound when it comes to bikes.. i want to take all of them home but i know i cant.for me the schwinn straightbar is my weakness..so knowing that i break it down further to exclude any of that frame made after 1953. i have criteria that has to be met for any bike to have a chance to come home with me. once i do buy one.i then go on ebay and buy the exact parts i know i want for the new bike.. then i sell the part i took off the bike. if for example.. i want a springer for a bike..i sell the truss set up it has on it, since one of my criteria is that it must have either one of those two set ups already. then its like i just trade front ends since i sell what i dont need and the money usually equals what i just bought for it. i am a hoarder of things so i really have to be smart with my bike purchases..they are to big and clunky to carry around 10 different bikes anytime i move. so i always have a managable stable of no more than three at one time.. if i want another one then one i have has to go on ebay and usually the money from the sold bike again equals what i paid for the new one so i dont spend as much.. i just see it as trading in a way.however you do it. have fun with what you have and dont let others opinions of what they think is to much make your decisions for you

 

[naturephotoboy3]

FIRST and MOST important.....the way to actually SELL a bike is to price it for sale. 99.9% of bikes listed for sale, no matter what forum you check, are 50% OVERPRICED. There is a HUGE problem in the bike world with the VALUE of these bikes. As the gentleman above said..MOST bikes have an emotional attachment to them that can not be bought. That attachment is not part of the cost of the bike. The person you are selling it to doesn't care about that bike and what you think of it. They just want a bike.

Day after day I check Craigslist for bikes..and day after day it's the same ol listings for the same ol HIGH unsellable price. Like a Typhoon for $800....????? In what world?? And this guy has been trying to sell these on the Craigslist Phoenix forum for months. He has 3 different ones..all over 600. I'd pay maybe 100 at best for one of them.

Check out my posting i started a while ago... " WHAT ARE YOUR BIKE REALLY WORTH" It drew some interesting comments. A bike is only worth what the selling price is when you actually SELL IT.

SO PLEASE..price bikes to sell..not to relist over and over. Museum's want history..bike buyers want a bike...plain and simple

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I am somewhat lucky, I am stuck in a mortgage for my home so no worries of moving. (So I can hoard all the bikes I want) I have a small storage shed that I pack full of bikes. I normally say my keepers have to have one of the following.
1. Be a pre 1979 CHICAGO Schwinn
2. Have a cool or unusual frame style (example Spaceliner)
3. Have been the deal of the decade (My Hawthorne twin top tube I got for $5)
4. Be the only one I have seen in person like it. (My Peugeot folding bike with 22" wheels)
5. Be more useful than the money I'd get for it. (My Royce Union MTB that pulls my bike trailer daily hauling more bikes home.)

 

[naturephotoboy3]

I am somewhat lucky, I am stuck in a mortgage for my home so no worries of moving. (So I can hoard all the bikes I want) I have a small storage shed that I pack full of bikes. I normally say my keepers have to have one of the following.
1. Be a pre 1979 CHICAGO Schwinn
2. Have a cool or unusual frame style (example Spaceliner)
3. Have been the deal of the decade (My Hawthorne twin top tube I got for $5)
4. Be the only one I have seen in person like it. (My Peugeot folding bike with 22" wheels)
5. Be more useful than the money I'd get for it. (My Royce Union MTB that pulls my bike trailer daily hauling more bikes home.)

I too am lucky to have a grage that store 11 bikes. I usually keep what i make..and if i do get rid of a bike i mostly trade it for something. You get more back in a trade. Selling is a complete loss of money.

 

[heyslugger]

I'm not gonna say I do this as it could be used against me in a Court of Relationship:

Some people who don't really want to sell but want it to appear to their significant others that they are TRYING to sell a bike may list them for astronomical prices on CL knowing full well they won't sell. On a totally unrelated topic anyone want to buy a $400 Beater Coppertone Typhoon? PDX CL has one! :roll:

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I'm not gonna say I do this as it could be used against me in a Court of Relationship:

Some people who don't really want to sell but want it to appear to their significant others that they are TRYING to sell a bike may list them for astronomical prices on CL knowing full well they won't sell. On a totally unrelated topic anyone want to buy a $400 Beater Coppertone Typhoon? PDX CL has one! :roll:

Bingo, I'm lucky too My fiance understands my bike addiction.

 

[naturephotoboy3]

I'm not gonna say I do this as it could be used against me in a Court of Relationship:

Some people who don't really want to sell but want it to appear to their significant others that they are TRYING to sell a bike may list them for astronomical prices on CL knowing full well they won't sell. On a totally unrelated topic anyone want to buy a $400 Beater Coppertone Typhoon? PDX CL has one! :roll:

Bingo, I'm lucky too My fiance understands my bike addiction.

my wife is happy that my habits are bikes..photography and nature..could be worse. Our habits could be alcohol and drugs

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I'm not gonna say I do this as it could be used against me in a Court of Relationship:

Some people who don't really want to sell but want it to appear to their significant others that they are TRYING to sell a bike may list them for astronomical prices on CL knowing full well they won't sell. On a totally unrelated topic anyone want to buy a $400 Beater Coppertone Typhoon? PDX CL has one! :roll:

Bingo, I'm lucky too My fiance understands my bike addiction.

my wife is happy that my habits are bikes..photography and nature..could be worse. Our habits could be alcohol and drugs

Yeah for me once I turned 21 drinking was no longer fun.

 

[kingfish254]

For me, there is a difference between flip bikes and build bikes. Now, I have only "built" two bikes since hitting this forum, but I have been flipping bikes for a few years now. My wife doesn't put up with too many bikes around the house, but I am lucky in the fact that my dad has a very large covered storage area for me to keep my extra bikes and parts at. I have been kickin butt on the sales side the past couple of weeks, but I have also found some great deals, so my inventory still increased a bit.

For flip bikes, it's all about making a smart purchase price. Your profit is really made when you buy a bike. Some are no brainers, like $30 for a Specialized. Others take a little research. I bought a Cannondale for $100, but I searched CL nationwide and know I can get around $300 for it. Use ebay (completed sales, not silly asking prices) and national craigslist (there is a free craigslist reader) to do your pricing research. This is obviously easier for modern bikes than it is for custom old bikes. Take your time with the sale though. People assume that anything you post of CL, you are just trying to get rid of. When you are selling for profit, the bargaining ball is back in your court. I love it when someone low balls me and tells me they will take it off of my hands if I get stuck with it. I quickly explain that I don't get STUCK. If you buy right, you can sell right. My customers walk away happy in the deal they got (regardless of my profit margin).

In regards to emotional attachment. I really didn't have a problem letting go of BEER RUN (my RRBBO6 bike). I had already had a blast with it and got free Craft Brewfest entry with it. Plus I was already building and riding Fugsley when I sold it. Fugsley is just too much dang fun, so I don't see myself selling it anytime soon. If the time comes, I already have people lined up for it though.

I get the biggest rush from deal hunting, and the sale. It's not so much about the actual cash. But my hobby more than pays for itself and now that I discovered the joy of building cool bikes, I have built up a cool collection of future frames, bikes, and parts.

EDIT: Holy smokes. Can't believe how long this post was. Sorry for rambling on so much.

 

[snydur]

usually on craigslist for half my asking price, after it has been listed for a months and i have reduced the price afew times. but thats just me :mrgreen:

 

[kingfish254]

Here is another tip for both craigslist and ebay.

Use HTML to display your high res photos from PhotoBucket in the ad. That way they see nice full photos rather than thumbnails and also you don't have to pay extra for more photos on ebay.