How are we finding the used market?

[vickster]

Coincidentally I've been looking at buying a shopper, ideally a pretty shabby and untidy one as a project. Everything available in that bracket seems to be £75-150 and labelled "vintage" or "Chopper era" as if that adds value in itself. The only cheap ones are truly tragic, snapped frames and missing hardware.

I think that's the eternally hopeful holding out and hoping the bubble hasn't quite burst yet. Used prices should be starting to ease now with lower demand, although they won't truly crash until the 2020 model Coronacycles start flooding the market sometime next year (when they've done at least a 6 month stint as a shed queen and the owners realise they probably won't find the motivation ever again).

You could get an Ofo

 

[biggs682]

For what it's worth older road bikes ie 70's - 90's have stalled all year unless something really special
Modern ie 2000 yr onwards road bikes under £250 still selling well
Newer bikes selling if priced under £250 after that very slow
Some bargains to be had on steel road bikes

 

[wafter]

For what it's worth older road bikes ie 70's - 90's have stalled all year unless something really special
Modern ie 2000 yr onwards road bikes under £250 still selling well
Newer bikes selling if priced under £250 after that very slow
Some bargains to be had on steel road bikes

Thanks - I thought similar about the older road bikes, however I've only been paying attention to the market recently so don't have much of a frame of reference. Seems that you can get some seemingly nice '80s Raleigh road bikes (mid range, Reynolds 501/531) on ebay for not a huge amount of money (£100-150).

 

[biggs682]

Thanks - I thought similar about the older road bikes, however I've only been paying attention to the market recently so don't have much of a frame of reference. Seems that you can get some seemingly nice '80s Raleigh road bikes (mid range, Reynolds 501/531) on ebay for not a huge amount of money (£100-150).

If you look hard enough 501 bikes can be had for about £75 and 531 for just a bit more

 

[wafter]

If you look hard enough 501 bikes can be had for about £75 and 531 for just a bit more

Thanks! Plan is to sit on my hands and see what comes up, hopefully learning on the way to finding a decent, appropriate donor for a refinish and modern groupset conversion..

 

[Gunk]

My Son and I are going to start buying and selling again, just picked up three bikes all for sensible money

 

[FrankCrank]

Coincidentally I've been looking at buying a shopper, ideally a pretty shabby and untidy one as a project. Everything available in that bracket seems to be £75-150 and labelled "vintage" or "Chopper era" as if that adds value in itself. The only cheap ones are truly tragic, snapped frames and missing hardware.

I think that's the eternally hopeful holding out and hoping the bubble hasn't quite burst yet. Used prices should be starting to ease now with lower demand, although they won't truly crash until the 2020 model Coronacycles start flooding the market sometime next year (when they've done at least a 6 month stint as a shed queen and the owners realise they probably won't find the motivation ever again).

The 2 R20's I have cost a fiver for one, and a score for the other, acquired a couple of years back. Bide your time, shoppers are ubiquitous, cheap, mass transport, and only worth a round of beers really. Carl P of this parish picked up a nice useable one a while back that was about to be scrapped, so if you're in the right place at the right time you'll get a bargain. The transient nonsense prices at the moment will soon return to normal - happy hunting

 

[biggs682]

Picked up a fairly lightly use Carrera Crixus a couple of days ago it sold tonight

Off to see what i can find locally for next one

 

[Oldhippy]

My trike went quickly.

 

[Smokin Joe]

It's the same with cars and motorcycles, the closure of dealers and producers meant a dearth of used cars circulating the market. My local indie's stock is down by over half, though it does seem to be picking up again. Assuming we don't go back into full lockdown I think we will be back to normal before too long.

And I would expect the market to be flooded with late model bikes after Christmas. Many of those who bought during the lockdown hot spell will not last very long into the colder, wetter days. Hold your nerve and there will be bargains to be had.

 

[Reynard]

Well, the two decent bikes I mentioned were for sale at the local tip have already been sold. They were only there for a couple of days. Two more have come in today - a very basic step-through frame town bike and what I think is a Raleigh Pioneer. I doubt those will hang around for very long either.

Oddly, the two junior full-susser BSO have also sold. Only the wee ankle biters kiddies bikes left now.

 

[clid61]

Flogged 3 bikes in july on fleabay, starting bid and buy it now price all mid range road bikes . All 3 gone within 24 hours .
NOT flogging my Claud Butler hardtail, Brompton , Croix de Fer so dont ask.
Sold loads of cycling shoes pedals and shirts too , guess its how you price them, and sizing .

 

[Pale Rider]

I've been trying to sell my ofo for a while with no joy (admittedly at the higher end of the price range but it's been tweaked a fair bit

If you can be bothered, return the ofo to as close to standard as you can.

Buyers like to think their secondhand purchase is not so inferior to new - anything that interferes with that feeling, such as accessories and tweaks, will reduce the bike's desirability.

Sounds daft, but a bike with £100 worth of fitted accessories will not sell as well as the same bike without those bits on it.

A bottle cage might not do any harm, but no one wants a bidon that, horror of horrors, someone else has slurped from, or - to them - someone else's smelly old saddle pack or trunk bag.

None of the above applies to the maker's spec for the bike, so standard is the way to go.

 

[wafter]

My trike went quickly.

I think that was a good job for my sake - saw your ad and location last night and got all manner of impure thoughts until I saw that it'd sold!

Looked really nice

If you can be bothered, return the ofo to as close to standard as you can.

Buyers like to think their secondhand purchase is not so inferior to new - anything that interferes with that feeling, such as accessories and tweaks, will reduce the bike's desirability.

Sounds daft, but a bike with £100 worth of fitted accessories will not sell as well as the same bike without those bits on it.

A bottle cage might not do any harm, but no one wants a bidon that, horror of horrors, someone else has slurped from, or - to them - someone else's smelly old saddle pack or trunk bag.

None of the above applies to the maker's spec for the bike, so standard is the way to go.

Thanks - makes sense but tbh there's no way I'm pulling it all to bits to lash those hateful granite tyres back onto it again. Any interest on FB seems to have dried up so it looks like I'll have to resort to evil-bay, as much as I despise it. Haven't seen any "fee free" promos for ages though which makes me wonder if they're flooded with traffic..

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I've had a couple of nice bikes on for a couple of weeks with limited interest, but I guess each is rather specialist in its own way, so I'm not chasing a particularly large market in the first place.