Having recently sold a 2nd hand bike and having 5 minutes to spare I thought I’d put some things down.

– It’s only worth as much as someone is willing to pay.
– A useful way to put a value on it is to go “will the minimum I’d accept for this cover?”. In my case, it was the cost of making a certain monthly expense cost neutral. E.g: it would cover my phone bill for the whole year.
– Don’t use eBay. Or, if you do, then account for fees.
– Facebook groups are a good way of getting a sale in your local area.
– Waiting a few hours after the first response to see what else comes in is a good way to see what demand is like. In my case, I was inundated with responses ranging from “will you sell it for half price”, to “I’ll pay over asking” and the most memorable “I’ll buy it for less than asking, and oh, please give me all the accessories you’ve got left for free, oh, and deliver it to somewhere on the other side of the country at your cost”.
– Don’t get cross at the offers being made. Some people are just offering what they’ve got, some maybe taking the mick.
– Don’t mark it sold until you have the cash in your hand/bank.
– And finally, once it’s sold responding to Facebook messages from other people is a waste of time.

Thoughts?

Fb selling group you say…
are you selling a mounting bike?
does it have working breaks?
fully springed?
will you swap it for an air gun?
you don’t no wot size it is and when I ask you you reply it will fit a fully grown man!

all the points you raise sound fair.

I think the “swap for an air gun or paintball gear m8?” is Pinkbike?

People who ask “what’s you best price” and then get pissy when you add £200 on.

Well, if you won’t say who it’s best for…

Oh and don’t sell a bike/parts that are not brand new and never been used for less than half of there value.

Because they will complain and ask for money back if it’s in a used condition.

There I feel better now

Don’t get cross at the offers being made. Some people are just offering what they’ve got, some maybe taking the mick.

Have learned this over the years, and just have to constantly remind myself that things that wind me up might seem perfectly acceptable to others. These things include:
– Offering endless ‘swaps’ of parts/tat in lieu of cold hard cash.
– Brusque, rude messages that don’t even include a ‘Hello’ at the start (most recent one simply read “best price on <item> posted” – not a question mark, no greeting, no name. I chose not to respond).
– In fact, just asking for a ‘best price’. You don’t really get this whole sale thing, do you? Try making me an offer, I’m not going to immediately drop to the bottom line just because you’re too lazy to haggle.

People who ask “what’s you best price” and then get pissy when you add £200 on.

Ooh, I should try that next time…

curiousyellow – I think the “swap for an air gun or paintball gear m8?” is Pinkbike?

years ago perhaps but now its far better selling stuff on there than it is on here.

If people low ball me by a ridiculous amount I start haggling.. but upwards from my initial price

My weirdest was I said I wouldn’t sell it for less than £700, so he offered and bought it for £750….

If people low ball me by a ridiculous amount I start haggling.. but upwards from my initial price

I always view my initial offer as being sufficiently low that you feel vaguely embarrassed offering it.

My bugbear – entering a negotiation, not finding an acceptable compromise; that bit’s fine we can walk away like adults.

Then getting emailed sometimes months later asking if you still want it and if so whether you’d be prepared to offer more than your last best offer.

– Sorry, but if you’ve still not managed to sell it in all that time, if anything my price is going to be lower still to reflect your desperation. That’s not ‘rude’, that’s reflecting a new market dynamic.