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Advice on what price to sell a bike for

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  • March 20, 2014 at 11:59 am #20990
    Sdadswell001

    Hi. First time posting so please be gentle.

    I’m selling a bike in order to buy a new one. No advice needed for the new bike, thanks – I’ve already decided what to get.

    However, I am new to the business of selling. I have a 3 year old Giant Defy 3.5. I plan to sell on eBay (other options welcome, including whether such a bike would be attractive to the road.cc classifieds audience), which is another first for me, as I haven’t sold through that market before.

    Where I need help issue setting a price. I don’t want to be left with a spare bike, or give it away for too little. The current equivalent is the Defy 3, RRP is £600 but last year models seem to be available on the internet for £500. Mine is in good mechanical order, with a few paint chips here and there. I would chuck in the Giant designed mudguards worth £25 as well.

    There’s currently an exactly similar one on eBay for £400. That seems wildly optimistic to me. Do you think I could get away with asking for £300 or go lower for a quicker sale?

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  • March 22, 2014 at 6:19 pm #781987
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    joemmo

    Neil753 wrote:@DaveE128
    Re;

    Neil753 wrote:
    @DaveE128
    Re; what time is best for selling on Ebay.

    Best time for an auction to finish, at least for bikes aimed at guys, is when “corrie” is on ;)

    IME Sunday night is best, between about 9 and 10pm. Most people are in, kids are in bed, bugger all on telly.

    March 21, 2014 at 9:52 pm #781985
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    Neil753

    @DaveE128
    Re; what time is
    @DaveE128
    Re; what time is best for selling on Ebay.

    Best time for an auction to finish, at least for bikes aimed at guys, is when “corrie” is on 😉

    March 21, 2014 at 9:03 pm #781983
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    Stumps

    I’ve bought and sold on ebay
    I’ve bought and sold on ebay for years now and thats included 5 bikes of varying conditions and to be honest once you have the back up of paypal its easy to sell.

    As per other contributors you can search on ebay for similar / same products and see what they sold for.

    If you want a certain amount do the buy it now route or set a reserve albeit this will cost you more and dont forget that ebay will take 10% and paypal take their chunk as well so factor that into any sale.

    I’ve always used paisleyfreight.com, they will ship a bike for £20 provided its all wrapped up and they include insurance.

    March 21, 2014 at 8:37 pm #781981
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    matthewn5

    Dare I say it, Bikeradar’s
    Dare I say it, Bikeradar’s classifieds are good too, you need to set a fixed price though.

    March 21, 2014 at 2:51 pm #781979
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    DaveE128

    If you use ebay, my previous
    If you use ebay, my previous experience selling used photography gear on there (a few years back, admittedly) suggests that this approach gets good prices:

    -search for sold items (completed listings) to get a feel for the range of prices similar items have gone for recently. If you’re comfortable, proceed with an auction with no reserve. If not, don’t. Remember to take into account whether the items are “collection only” or the delivery charges as both of these will impact the selling price.
    -prepare a listing with a detailed and accurate description, excellent photographs, including closeups of anything of particular interest, including scratches, etc. If people can see you’re being very honest and there are only minor scratches they will bid more. Make it obvious you’re a keen cyclist from the way you describe the bike. If you have the receipts still, say so and pass them on with the bike.
    -Make sure the listing title includes all the sensible search terms and double-check your spelling.
    -Accept paypal, despite the fees. Not doing so may hurt you more in selling price.
    -Provide guaranteed shipping charges up front (work out the boxed size and weight, and get a quote) and offer a buyer-collects option with no charge.
    -Have the auction end at a time of day when you think most of your bidders will be able to access ebay quickly (evening perhaps).
    -Set the auction length to the maximum you can afford to wait for the sale.
    -Don’t panic when the price is still low with 12 hours left to go. All the bidding activity (at least from those that know what they are doing) is done in the last few minutes. Hold your nerve.

    Be aware that the final price is binding on you – you can’t pull out because you didn’t like the price. However, setting a reserve price will usually significantly reduce interest in the item.

    March 21, 2014 at 12:38 pm #781977
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    Neil753

    Don’t sell it, just hire it
    Don’t sell it, just hire it out a few times instead. 30 quid for a long weekend should do it. A thirty day “Buy it Now” listing on Ebay will cost you just 40p.

    March 20, 2014 at 10:07 pm #781975
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    drfabulous0

    Stick it on Gumtree, it’s
    Stick it on Gumtree, it’s free. If you get no interest stick it on again cheaper. Although a lot of people on Gumtree will waste your time.

    March 20, 2014 at 9:49 pm #781973
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    joemmo

    I would try classified first.
    I would try classified first. Is cheap or free and low risk of you are sensible, remember that eBay will charge you 10% of the final price and postage as a fee and you are looking at least £20 to post a bike.
    You’ll then pay 3.4% fee on money received through PayPal so it can eat into your return.

    However EBay does give the buyer and you some protection and gives you a bigger market so you have to decide on the benefits and costs.

    March 20, 2014 at 3:52 pm #781971
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    harman_mogul

    +1 for what KiwiMike said.
    +1 for what KiwiMike said.

    March 20, 2014 at 2:25 pm #781969
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    Sdadswell001

    Thanks KiwiMike. Really
    Thanks KiwiMike. Really helpful.

    March 20, 2014 at 2:22 pm #781967
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    KiwiMike

    After 3 years, with new ones
    After 3 years, with new ones selling for £500, I’d say you’ll be lucky to get £200. Any purchaser with half a brain will be factoring in an immediate need to:

    Replace brake blocks £20
    Replace all cables and outers £20
    Replace chain £15
    Replace tyres £50
    Replace BB £20

    Near-new in London recently eBay’d for £255. *immaculate* with loads of extras sold for £300.

    I’ve purchased a bunch of bikes like this for friends getting into road cycling. Personally I’d probably pay £200-220 as a by-now eBay price if the photos were close-up enough. If you offer to ship mainland UK inside a proper bikebox for £25 you’ll greatly increase your bids. Also clean it up real nice, polish, then take tons of close-up well-lit hi-res photos and go for the Gallery Plus option that lets them enlarge. You want to give bidders confidence, not a blurry one-pic sell that is a total turkeyshoot. Good luck.

    March 20, 2014 at 2:04 pm #781965
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    Sdadswell001

    I has imagined using BIN on
    I has imagined using BIN on eBay to avoid lowball offers. But if its not used for used goods, then sounds like its best avoided.

    I’m very grateful for all the suggestions of other sites.

    March 20, 2014 at 1:35 pm #781963
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    harman_mogul

    eBay is an auction site and
    eBay is an auction site and the only way to ‘set the price’ is to use ‘Buy It Now’. An eBay sale is a nuisance to revoke, so most buyers won’t use BIN unless the goods are new. That said, 50% of new price is fair if the bike is all good and documented. But do not forget that shipping a complete bike is quite a big job for you, and also costly, which eats into your eventual selling price.

    March 20, 2014 at 12:50 pm #781961
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    I_like_bikes

    I used GoingGoingBike – a
    I used GoingGoingBike – a bike specific online classified site before and sold through that. They also have a pricing service.
    Alternatively there is Preownedcycles which charges a really low admin fee i think £1 but no valuing service.

    I sold my Sirrus through GGB and can’t fault the service apart from the sting of their cut.

    March 20, 2014 at 12:09 pm #781959
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    PJ McNally

    Good mechanical order,
    Good mechanical order, meaning not too many 000s of miles on it? If so, £300 sounds reasonable. But I’d wait and see how that one on ebay sells – maybe £400 will turn out to be reasonable, too.

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