Advice for selling a bike

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RankAmateur
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 4:14 pm

by RankAmateur

Hi, long time UK follower, first time poster. Just wondering where people think is the best place to go to try and sell a reasonably high end bike. I've sold a few things on eBay instead of throwing them away over the years but have nowhere near the user history to list something in the thousands. Plus my experience is that eBay is good for selling things quickly so long as you're willing to accept a low price but I'm in no rush to sell.

As for the bike itself, sorry to be a bit vague but as soon as I start going into specific details the discussion usually veers off track and I'm only look for general advice on where to sell. Here's some general info though:

Frame & fork 5yrs old so no internal cabling :( , electronic shifting requires external battery, 11 speed drive train 2yrs old with some parts brand new, never been crashed, regularly serviced, 54cm with high end wheels & finishing kit.

Main issue is that even at third/half of the price I paid orginally you can still get a pretty decent brand new bike these days. Bike manufacturer not one of the big names, would rarity count for or against a sale? Would prefer to sell it whole rather than by parts. Any thoughts are welcome, cheers.

grouk
Posts: 232
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:29 pm

by grouk

to vague to give opinion,

frame manufacteur
wheels
group
pictures
????

by Weenie


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BeeSeeBee
Posts: 490
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:00 am
Location: Bay Area, CA

by BeeSeeBee

Part it out. The likelihood that you'll find someone that wants some of what you've got? Pretty high. The likelihood that someone wants everything you've got? Not so high.

I typically get a lot more selling things individually than selling bikes whole. People buying higher end equipment tend to be a bit more discerning in what they want (see: this site, and all of our hand wringing over slight differences). So if you sell it whole, you'll get people who will offer you less because they're mostly looking for a good deal and don't care that the wheels are Zipp instead of Enve or whatever else, or rarely, the one in a million person that just so happens to want your frame size, gearing, crank length, bar width/shape, groupset, etc.

Ilyabol
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:17 pm

by Ilyabol

New to forum, but old to bike selling. I'd recommend listing on multiple websites.

I'd run a long term "Classified Ad" listing on Ebay UK, put the bike on gumtree with firm price in description, and see if you can get a "for sale" post on the Phoenix or Dynamo's site (assuming you live in London).

Having lived/sold in the UK and in the US, I found that in the UK, the resale market for "parts" isn't as strong as it is in the US.

I'd sell the bike as whole, as long as you're not riding a 64cm frame, haha. All subjective and all my opinion, btw.

Ilya

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synchronicity
Posts: 2027
Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:41 pm
Location: Moruya, Australia
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by synchronicity

Depending on what bits it has, consider breaking it up and sell things separately.
Ebay is great for selling small or lightweight items.
Not so great for selling large bulky things like entire bikes and furniture (for example).
I'd recommend listing it on some forums first if you aren't in a hurry.

Ebay is kind of the last resort. Keep in mind that it's only worth what two people are willing to bid.
I've found that titanium components tend to keep more of their value than bits made of other materials.
It's great for getting rid of things if you're not worried about the price you'll get.

The more quality pictures, the better.
Also, take the time to list all the details including features, imperfections.
And sometimes telling a story helps.
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RankAmateur
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 4:14 pm

by RankAmateur

Thanks for the feedback. The reason why I don't want to sell it in parts is that in all honesty I'm not too rushed to sell the bike, it still rides fantastic and I enjoy it, it's just that I've got too many now and figure that if I want to buy an aero road bike I need to offload one I have. I reckon it'll be easiest to sell the wheels or gruppo first, which would just leave me with a frame hanging on my wall which would be of no use. If I could sell the frame & fork first then I'd consider keeping the other parts for a new build (though the wheels aren't very aero), but selling the frame I reckon would be much harder.

Suppose I'll just have to post it in various outlets and wait and see, could be a while I reckon, ah well, 1st world problem I guess.

by Weenie


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