How are we finding used prices?

[wafter]

As usual I struggle to resist the N+1 mentality and often find myself casually browsing used offerings on the usual sites.

It might be my imagination but it seems that prices potentially aren't as silly as they've been in recent times - yes there are still chancers asking silly money for (admittedly nice) old road / touring bikes, as well as those looking for near-new prices for more recent gear.

It definitely seems that the more "useable" examples of old road and touring bikes are coming up at more realistic pricing, while the amount of entry-level / winter hack grade stuff at sensible prices seems to be increasing too - such as this Giant OCR2 on FB for £210, this entry-level Specialized Allez for £215, or this tatty Carrera for £50.

For budget touring / utility hack duties I spotted this tatty large Dawes Super Galaxy (with a Brookes saddle!) for £135, this 653 Dawes Galaxy Plus for £220 which apparently isn't shifting, and this nice looking Super Galaxy, although the price is admittedly creeping up at £325. Certainly not the £600+ I've seen some chancers asking for similar though. There's also this Roux Etape for £185 - not familiar with the brand but it's steel, has STIs, a decent gearing range and a pannier, so again potentially an excellent utility bike.

How's everyone else finding the used market?

 

[biggs682]

That Welwyn galaxy is gorgeous but too big for me , a few years ago any Galaxy was £250+ no matter what.

I think people have bought the older steel bikes they need and majority of new people who start cycling go straight to alloy or carbon.

Quite a few Roux bikes around all good value prices as well.

With a garage full of bikes I would struggle to justify anymore but I still keep looking just in case a unicorn appears

 

[Spiderweb]

I have far too many bikes (17) but still keep looking too. Secondhand prices have definitely come down lots since lockdown madness.
I sold two of my bikes a year or so ago and got pretty much 3 times what I paid for them. I gifted one of the buyers a brand new set of spare tyres as I thought he’d paid far too much.

 

[vickster]

I thought this looked decent for £195 with triple Ultegra
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28477007...rentrq:9a8c3c951810a7b9dd454256ffee8917|iid:1

My Triban was pretty much brand new and I paid £180 (spent a little getting crosslevers and a rack added). I reckon I paid less as it’s black and had pink tape 😂
(They we’re only about £400 new I think)

 

[Cycleops]

I think you'll find that vintage bikes will rise in price as interest in them increases, particularly ones in good condition.
I can occasionally pick up vintage bargains down here as people don't want drop bars and aluminium framed bikes are valued more than steel.
I managed to pick up this 1982 Alan in excellent condition for about £40. Unfortunately it's way too small for me but I couldn't let it go.

 

[cyberknight]

around here you can add another £50 , for some reason people think a BSO thats fit for the skip is worth £150

 

[wafter]

Cheers all - certainly seems slow out there and it's nice to see I'm not alone in thinking this

 

[Shortandcrisp]

It seems to me the market is definitely slowing. I check in to eBay every now and then and see the same bikes that were up for sale months previously; I’ve also saved bikes advertised on Facebook on a whim, most of these remain unsold or have been substantially reduced in price. I suspect the same type of thing is happening across the whole economy.

 

[wafter]

It seems to me the market is definitely slowing. I check in to eBay every now and then and see the same bikes that were up for sale months previously; I’ve also saved bikes advertised on Facebook on a whim, most of these remain unsold or have been substantially reduced in price. I suspect the same type of thing is happening across the whole economy.

Indeed; seems that a lot of non-essential toys are coming down from silly furlough-funded, boredom-bought highs. I suspect bikes might represent an even more extreme example than other stuff as they had the initial incentive of being the most practical state-sanctioned transport method through Covid too.

I've seen quite a lot of stuff on ebay that's been up at relatively low starting prices compared to the "buy it now" price, that's only attracted a couple of low bids and ended (selling or otherwise) well below what the owner was evidently expecting.

I did have a sniff around an early-2000s Dawes Galaxy recently; was up at £250 BIN, £75 starting bid and went for a shade over a ton. It was a bit tatty in places - a fair amount of paint loss / corrosion on the BB shell, needed an FD although I only found this out through conversing with the seller and on face value from the listing it was a great buy for what it went for.

From the small sample of stuff I look at it seems that vintage steel / enthusiast-bait has been hit the hardest. I keep an eye on Genesis CdF's too as I fancy a tatty / lower-spec offering as a utility bike, however these still seem to be commanding strong money. Not sure what's happening with more modern road / MTB etc stuff..

 

[night cycler]

@wafter
What is N+1 ?

 

[vickster]

N equates to the number of bikes you own, so for n+1 it is always one more

 

[FishFright]

@wafter
What is N+1 ?

The full formula is - n=n + 1 . The important bit is that this formula is recursive therefore the is always a need for another bike.

Some poor souls suffer from the fallacy that bike purchases need to be "Justified" , this is ofc nonsense and should never be condoned.

 

[wafter]

The full formula is - n=n + 1 . The important bit is that this formula is recursive therefore the is always a need for another bike.

Some poor souls suffer from the fallacy that bike purchases need to be "Justified" , this is ofc nonsense and should never be condoned.

That equation of course makes the head hurt of anyone maths-y - I propose that it should be:

nideal = ncurrent +1

Where n=the number of bikes owned

 

[Daninplymouth]

I keep looking for a new carbon frame/bike and some prices are still stupid. There’s some shops on eBay/Facebook asking more for a used bike then a brand new one available from stock. Am
I wrong for thinking if a bike was £3000 new you’d be looking to pay about £2000 second hand with no warranty?
My real favourite though is I was looking for a mtb and on the local Facebook pages there’s one for £750, can buy it brand new for £450 and another that wants £720 for a 2year old bike when new it dropped to £700

 

[chris667]

I have always gone by the idea that used price should be half the new price minus £10/year. In the case of a £3000 bike that's fair because to be fair they aren't designed to last long. Mind you there are still people riding MTBs with "single season only" components 30 years later.

eBay is out of touch with reality. The best stuff in great condition will always be worth a lot, but there are a few bikes that aren't particularly special that seem to be considered priceless. Muddy Fox Couriers. I'm astonished what people are asking for those. I don't think I ever paid more than £30 for one in the past.