[Azbikeslondon]

Hi!  New here.  Looking for advice on how to sell my sadly very little used cannondale synapse from 2015.   Some life changes made it tricky to get much use from the bike and now I’m looking to make space for an ecargo bike to transport myself and my 4yr old son around.   Is this a forum for selling bikes?  Or can you offer advice on where I might find a market for it?  I’ll look at gumtree, eBay etc but just wondered if there was a good place for road bikes.  Also any advice on how to best reassure the buyer that it’s not stolen also welcome (show the original documentation, receipt I guess).  Thanks! 

Topic

[Rendel Harris]

Sounds sensible in view of

Sounds sensible in view of the hassle you’d get for no return. Would there be potential for an “I’m selling” thread/section where nobody puts up contact details, just a link to where it’s available on eBay, Gumtree etc?

[Simon_MacMichael]

We did used to have a For

We did used to have a For Sale section on the Forum, but we discontinued it because it turned out a lot of readers who used it to try and sell bikes etc were being targeted by scammers, eg phishing (asking for bank details etc) and for the volume of items being put up for sale vs the headache this caused for all concerned, we decided the best thing to do was discontinue that part of the site.

[Grahamd]

Simon_MacMichael wrote:

Some really good advice in there, couple of things:

– Paper £20s are no longer legal tender (but as with paper £50s can be changed at a bank or Post Office.

Almost correct, can be paid into a bank or changed at the Post Office. 
 

[kil0ran]

Also a good tip if taking

Also a good tip if taking cash is to have them count it for you whilst you hold the bike. And if you’re like me ask them to be quiet whilst you count, it’s easy to get distracted. Definitely count twice and don’t trust. I don’t consider myself to be a particularly good judge of character or body language but I guess I’m experienced enough to spot a scammer, it’s a question of listening to your gut sometimes. 

What I have found recently with eBay sales is a lot of people waiting a couple of days before paying, much like my earlier post I think this is cashflow-related. 

My next door neighbour had his Golf R32 stolen in exactly the scam you mention, it was later used in an armed robbery and burnt out. Fortunately insurace paid out

[Rendel Harris]

Careful too about the person

Careful too about the person who turns up with partner or mate and says, “I’ll just take it for quick spin, so-and-so will stay here with you,” know of one (mate’s) sale and heard of others where the rider doesn’t come back, so-and-so says “I wonder where they’ve got to, I’ll just go and look round the corner…” never to be seen again.

[kil0ran]

Good point on the test ride,

Good point on the test ride, personally I don’t offer them when selling.

I once sold a car for around £2k, the future owner turned up in his Porsche GT3 (c. £90k back then) and gave me the keys to that whilst he test drove mine. And was gone over an hour so I thought I’d best see if the keys actually worked with the Porsche – which they did. Soo tempting to take it for a blat.

One of my recent bike sales I did allow a test ride, future owner left his 8yo daughter as collateral! It kind of reminded me of the infamous Sean Kelly bike/car/wife conversation. Admittedly only went once round the block but even so…

[Simon_MacMichael]

Some really good advice in

Some really good advice in there, couple of things:

– Paper £20s are no longer legal tender (but as with paper £50s can be changed at a bank or Post Office.

– Beware the test ride scam if bike being handed over in person, where ‘purchaser’ takes it for a spin and leaves say rucksack as collateral “with my laptop inside” … which you discover an hour or so later when you realise he isn’t coming back is actually a book, catalogue or magazine etc.

[kil0ran]

One other thing – depending

One other thing – depending on the groupset and condition you might get more for it by parting it out. It’s winter bike build season and used groupsets get decent prices. Likewise the Synapse is a good frame. Disc or rim brake?

If you decide to part it out sell the bars and shifters as a unit – some people stress over installing bar tape, aligning shifters, etc and a complete bar unit is easy to transplant to a new bike. I’m sure I’m not the only one – I remember my first self-build and I bought bars and shifters together because I wanted to save money on my LBS taping the bars. Now it’s gone full circle and people pay me to do their bar tape 🙂

[kil0ran]

eBay works for me, I’ve sold

eBay works for me, I’ve sold 7 bikes in the last three years with no issues, and two in the last month. Top tips.

1. Take good photos, showing any defects. It’s a 7yo bike so people will expect wear and tear, minor marks. Give it a gear cable service if you can – I spent £20 servicing both bikes myself. Clean it if you can before taking photos. 

2. Check prices for a similar model and price using Buy it Now with Best Offer enabled. This has always worked well for me. There are two types of buyers of bikes on eBay. Type one is “bid on lots, hope to get a bargain, don’t mind waiting”. Type two knows what they want, and want a bike quickly, and don’t worry too much about price. Try to deal with Type 2. I’ve had more hassle selling cheap bikes to the bottom of the market (£200 and under) than I have with selling bikes for over £1k. 

3. Time listings to coincide with monthly pay days – both of my recent sales completed on October 31st, despite being listed for most of October. Cashflow is tight out there, and the price your Synapse is going to command means that it will be a purchase out of monthly earnings rather than savings.

4. Make your listing stand out – there are loads of Synapses for sale, what makes it worthwhile for the buyer to buy yours? Being in London is helpful – offering to meet someone at a tube station etc is a good idea. I actually prefer this to selling from my home because you don’t want people casing the joint. Avoid the temptation to say “I’m selling my bike because my new Trek Madone Project One eTap has just arrived” because if you do it won’t be in your shed for long.

5. Cash is king, and there’s really no reason why they shouldn’t pay cash given the likely price you’ll get. If using eBay Payments and offering collection they’ll be given a barcode for you to scan. It’s absolutely vital you scan this code on collection as its your proof of delivery. Without it they can take the bike, claim they’ve never received it, and eBay will refund them. Lots of sellers aren’t aware of this and as a buyer I’ve had to tell them how to use it to protect themselves. If they’re paying by cash only accept polymer notes (I think paper 20s are still legal tender? And definitely don’t take paper 50s)

6. Buyers likely won’t care if its stolen, or even if its yours. I’ve never been asked this, and no-one has asked for documentation.

7. Be communicative. This is a great way to build your spidey sense as to whether the buyer is a fraudster. Use bike language in your listing, see if the questions they ask are sensible/knowledgeable. You’ll get a feel for whether the transaction is likely to go sideways. I’ve had a few non payer bidders on things (not bikes usually) – if you sell it auction format then tick the “immediate payment required’ option. People buying a 7yo Synapse are likely to know what they’re looking for and their seatstay from their chainstay.

8. Wait for an eBay reduced fees listing offer – I get these every couple of weeks and it makes a big difference (70% of 13% vs 13% of the sale)

For an example of what I consider to be a good listing here’s one I sold earlier.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125575769893

 

[Azbikeslondon]

That’s really helpful to know

That’s really helpful to know.  Thanks for posting this.  I’ll have a look on those sites.

[matthewn5]

LFGSS (London Fixed Gear &

LFGSS (London Fixed Gear & Single Speed) is very good, but you’ll be expected to set up a profile and contribute to other forums before selling stuff at friendly rates, not maxing out your profit. They’re not only about fixies despite the title.
BikeRadar has a cycle sales forum, that used to be very lively.
Finally, CTC has a good forum focusing more on the touring and practical side of cycling (so probably not ideal for your Synapse).
Ebay will take over 12 1/2 percent, so be aware of that, and for shipping a bike you’ll probably need to use ParcelForce Oversized, which will cost around £35 or more.

[Xenophon2]

If you sell and request

If you sell and request payment by bank transfer, make sure that YOU check that the money is actually in your account on YOUR smartphone before handing over the goods.  Don’t trust any ‘screenshots’ or apps purportedly showing payment to your account by the buyer who’s on your doorstep as there’s a chance you’ll be shafted.  

For those transactions, cash is king (but check the bills).

[Azbikeslondon]

Good to know. Thanks!

Good to know. Thanks!

[Azbikeslondon]

good to know.  Thanks for

good to know.  Thanks for this.  Offering all this upfront sounds like a good way to reassure a potential buyer

[Azbikeslondon]

Thanks for this. Yes, London

Thanks for this. Yes, London-based.  That’s really good advice.  Will have a scout around on Facebook and pinkbike.  Thanks!

[Author]

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