Bike selling advice

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bladesman73

Über Member
Hi, I am looking to sell one of my racing bikes and as I have not done this before I wondered if any of you guys could offer some advice please. My main issue is how to sell it, for example is Ebay a good way of selling a bike worth over 2k? Are there any better platforms I could used to sell a bike? I am concerned with safety in that I dont want someone coming to my house to view the bike, say they are not interested and the next thing I know I have come home to find my bikes stolen. Or am I being paranoid? Any help would be appreciated.
 
Advertising it on here would be my first port of call, may as well advertise it to like minded people, too many dodgy feckers on ebay now for my liking , that and the last lot of rule changes means i personally wouldnt consider ebay,
 

Buck

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
Agree that here is the first option. @biggs682 sells a few bikes doesn’t he? Not sure what he recommends.

eBay is safe if you are careful. I would also suggest local Facebook groups or Gumtree. Regardless of what you use, just be sensible and careful.

ignore any stupid questions or offers and you will be able to sense serious interest from the rest.

When viewing, I wouldn’t for example say “let’s go to the shed where I keep my bikes!” I would have the bike in the house ready for inspection and if they want to ride the bike then get them to show some ID and leave their car keys with you etc.
For payment, make sure the money is in your bank and fully cleared (I normally wait 24 hours) before letting them take the bike.
 

Kingfisher101

Über Member
For payment, I'd say cash on collection only and they put all the money down before they have a ride on the bike. With Facebook and Gumtree you get a lot of people being very silly, with stupid low ball offers and demands etc.
Also I wouldn't do any postage, if someone is interested they will come to you and buy it. I'd try on here and local clubs, groups, clubs etc first. If its keenly priced it will sell.
 
OP
OP
bladesman73

bladesman73

Über Member
Thanks for the advice so far everyone. Some salient points raised. Will try selling on here first I think.
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
On here, also local Facebook bike-related sales groups (there's Yorkshire Cycling Sales near me), other forums. None of those will charge eBay's rates.

I do sell bikes on eBay, but prefer to use elsewhere first.
 
Location
London
that and the last lot of rule changes means i personally wouldnt consider ebay,
can you say more?
as a sometime buyer, issues with seeing stuff before I bid/commit I find a big problem.
Luckily I have only bid (and won) bikes for £21 and £30 on ebay.
Both at that price were fine.
 
I sold my old ebike on Gumtree
Worked OK - but I did get a stupid offer almost immedialtely - guy seemed to just offer half on things and see what happened
got quite abusive when I said no

Just be aware of this and ignore low offers and wait until the right person sees it
 
can you say more?
as a sometime buyer, issues with seeing stuff before I bid/commit I find a big problem.
Luckily I have only bid (and won) bikes for £21 and £30 on ebay.
Both at that price were fine.


oh i will still buy but will no longer sell , the fact that ebay always side with the buyer even with so many buyer scams going on, the fact that they take their percentage out of your postage costs , the latest was the last straw for me as a seller , why should ebay keep hold of your money for several days , up to a week i believe ,that the buyer has paid to you , they expect you to post out goods before you have received the payment , just all mount up to me refusing to sell any more .
i will buy , in fact have done and had the seller message me saying item will only be posted once ebay release the funds, which i understand , but dont agree with ebay doing it in the first place
 

Biker man

Senior Member
Advertising it on here would be my first port of call, may as well advertise it to like minded people, too many dodgy feckers on ebay now for my liking , that and the last lot of rule changes means i personally wouldnt consider ebay,
I sold a ebike on eBay a couple of years ago no problems.
 

Biker man

Senior Member
As did I , a bike that is , not an Ebike, I am talking about now though, in my opinion there are too many scam merchants about plus i do not agree with ebays latest terms and conditions,... just my opinion, thats all
When I sell mine this time I will take it to a local auction.
 

Gunk

Guru
Location
Oxford
I buy and sell a lot of bikes and consistently eBay does deliver the highest resale prices, but the fees are high. If you are prepared to post the bike (scrounge an empty box from your local LBS) you will yield the highest price. If you’re prepared to be patient eBay regularly run promotions with £1 selling fees. Yes there are a few idiots, but I’ve also met the nicest of people, really genuine enthusiasts.
 

LWeleven

Active Member
Location
Market Drayton
oh i will still buy but will no longer sell , the fact that ebay always side with the buyer even with so many buyer scams going on, the fact that they take their percentage out of your postage costs , the latest was the last straw for me as a seller , why should ebay keep hold of your money for several days , up to a week i believe ,that the buyer has paid to you , they expect you to post out goods before you have received the payment , just all mount up to me refusing to sell any more .
i will buy , in fact have done and had the seller message me saying item will only be posted once ebay release the funds, which i understand , but dont agree with ebay doing it in the first place
I had to read this twice and look who posted it, it’s nearly word for word for what I said
to some one a while back 😂
just a update on eBay payout ..it’s now next day payout . Unless you sell on a Friday night Saturday or Sunday then it’s Monday payout as they don’t process payments on a weekend

I sell a lot …..😂 what’s one mans junk is another’s treasure as they say , I must have loads of junk lol.

a Bike is easy to sell , just set up payment CASH ON COLLECTION ONLY . eBay fees approx 10%
however once or month or so they send promotions out 80% off sellers fees . I only list items
during these promotions

selling things electronic is where you have to watch for scams . I have been had twice in 10 years
I guess it’s the gamble you take ….both times buyer said it was faulty I hard to partially refund
yup I know it’s a scam but nothing really can be down . Make sure you keep lots of photos of the item
even a video clip of it working..hold you ground and fight the case …you can set up a profile that restricts people with 0 or little feedback or keep a eye on your bidders if you see a 0 cancel that bid
put a disclaimer in your info on the listing . It all sounds a pain but it’s not that bad on the whole
 
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