Is it just me that thinks a lot of people are asking far too much for their kit in the classifieds? With the result that it doesn't seem anywhere near as dynamic as it used to be.

Now I know there's a recession & all that, that will reduce buyers to some degree & new bike bits have gone up but it still seems to me that a lot of sellers are looking for too much.

A good example:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-brompton-folding-bike-3

I have noticed the trend, but if you check the profiles, this tends to be people who never contribute to the forum as a whole, and only sell/buy stuff here, or even new members.

Knocking £400 off a £3k bike thats second hand, and telling people its a bargain? just doesnt work on here. A year ago 6that would have meant <£1500.

I know theyre happy with there being so many users on here now, but its not always for the better. [grumpy rant over]

the other thing i don't understand about the listings is that people never put pics up. "pics available on request". wtf, just put them on the ****ing thread in the first place 😡

It's not just you. I think there's some very optimistic pricing. Saw some less than mint 130mm revs the other day at more than mine were new.

Perhaps some people are using the classifieds as a way to get top dollar without incurring ebay charges, rather than a way of getting a reasonable price and doing a fellow mtber a favour, which is how I like to think of it.

Swiftacular:

I know theyre ad revenues are happier with there being so many users on here now, but its not always for the better. [grumpy rant over]

Just tidied that up for you.

Whilst we are on the subject. How much for a good condition- prev gen Chameleon frame do you think? I think 195 posted.

TBH I only buy cheap bits on there and tend to offer my bits for free/swaps etc. I like the friendly nature of advice and trying cheap bits before i buy. I run some quite shonky bikes, and sometimes I just can't be bothered buying all new parts. We;ve all got boxes of random bits kept just in case, and sometimes those bits can help other people. I often look over the classified wanted ads to see if I've got some junk that someone else needs, and likewise when ever I post a wanted, someone is quick to offer me something that might work etc. Prices wise, I tend to buy /sell at the value of a few pints and see exchanges as more of a favour than a business. If I need particular bits then its Ebay, CRC or LBS.

I know we all like to swap and change components/ frames more than our shirts, so lets bring back the shonky carboot sale feel to the classified and make it less of a business!

end rant.

What size is your Cham Markus?

i think you guys are missing the point the bike industry has put prices up, last december i bought some dual air revs for £360 these forks now sell for £540 so I don't think its unreasonable for me to try and sell them at around the original price as you probably can't find them much cheaper. I think this point is even more pertinant when people are selling new goods.

Just because you also ride a bike it doesn't mean i should lose £50+ especially when some people buy off here then sell on ebay for profit. would you sell a car cheap just because the buyer also owns a car.

Obviously you can place offers or try and swap with people nowt wrong with asking.

there is a chameleon on ebay now £145 buy it now

tails – I think the prices are too high based on the level of activity

A lot of stuff never seems to sell & is constantly re-posted
That tells me it's too high
Something only being worth what someone is willing to pay etc.

The thing is, if something is overpriced it won't sell. STWers are too savvy for that. If you want top dollar, go to Ebay as it's full of mugs. I know this because I've sold stuff for double what it's worth on there, and I'm pretty good at it. But these days Ebay's charges have gone through the roof. I relaised this last year and have basically given up selling on there and sold all my stuff here, for less money. If you offer at a reasonable price and are prepared to accept reasonable offers, it works well and I doubt I loose much in the long run, even after donating a few quid now and then. But people are coming fresh from Ebay and thinking they can get big money for stuff. Nope. Won't work here.

Whilst we are on the subject. How much for a good condition- prev gen Chameleon frame do you think? I think 195 posted.

sorry i see your trying to sell and i dare say yours is better condition than the one on ebay, yeah i reckon around £200 to £250. Chameleons hold a bit more value than other alu frames for some reason. I sold a first gen one for £160 a year and a half ago.

The thing is, if something is overpriced it won't sell

PP – That's basically what I'm saying
stuff isn't selling – therefore overpriced

BTW – Revs are still available for £330 new

i agree with that peterpoddy ebay is the place to sell items of value. I sold some bits few months ago, one brand new item reasonably priced inc recorded postage. But people feel you pull your prices from thin air then try cut your price in half, no thanks i'll sell on ebay and make more than i advertised for on here and perhaps the buyer will end up buying brand new anyway. I would prefer to sell on here but not for a £50 loss i'm unemployed gotta make every penny i can.

Thats understandable, i just think traditionally this place has been people selling bits to fund bits.

Im sure you didnt mean it in that way butI would prefer to sell on here but not for a £50 loss i'm unemployed gotta make every penny i can. reads like youre actually trying to make money out of selling bits.

Its not really what the classifieds was intended for, i believe. You're probably better off on ebay anyway.

BTW – Revs are still available for £330 new

that is a amazing price for maxle revs, is the seller making a loss??? next best price i can find is just shy of £4 ton.

Also does the vendor have stock I believe this happened recently to someone with xtr cranks bought them cheap online seller said none in stock which is a bit unfair.

I can't be sure they have stock but they've always had stuff when I've bought off them online

http://www.bikeoutlet.co.uk/products/Rockshox_Revelation_426_Dual_Air_White_2009_Maxle_Lite-830-0.html

Its not really what the classifieds was intended for, i believe. You're probably better off on ebay anyway.

I'm not saying i'm trying to con you out of money or sell for a profit but some people can't sell stuff for a song, just because you are also a bike rider.

i don't believe this forum is a car boot or LBS where you can pick up something for nothing, it may have bee in the past but not now.

I can't be sure they have stock but they've always had stuff when I've bought off them online

yeah i did see them when i googled it, i have no plan to call them to check, and good on them thats a top deal but are they making a profit thats verging on half price.

if you dont like the price make an offer ….

if they have had no interest i generally find they accept … unless its a silly offer….

[quoteBTW – Revs are still available for £330 new[/quote]

But they won't have any sort of guarantee, will they?

Its like the winstanleys price on Hope Hoops, i think it was in the region of £230. Trade price is £207 (i have a hope invoice in front of me).

Most online based retailers will be able to make something at these prices, as they have lower overheads.

The mark-up on most off-the-peg bikes is huge. I think the profit margin on GT, for example, is in the region of 53% in a lbs.

Really explains why these online retailers get the business they do.

and tails i never said you were intending to con anyone, in fact, i said "im sure you dont mean it in that way."

if you dont like the price make an offer ….

that seems spot on to me i gives you the chance to offer your value and the seller the opportunity to accept or decline.

and tails i never said you were intending to con anyone, in fact, i said "im sure you dont mean it in that way."

yeah i understand 😀 i just don't feel that say STW, pinkbike, MTBR are small marketplaces where we all know one another. I would like to sell bits on here rather than on ebay and say knock 10-20% off but i would be really pissed off if i then saw it on ebay for what i wanted to sell for but didn't because i felt the buyer really needed it.

But they won't have any sort of guarantee, will they?

??

Of course they will

Although I'd happily sell on here for less than eBay because of both the expense and hassle of using ebay.

I agree its gone that way, and that was the crux of my argument in the first place. I dont think it was the way the classifieds were intended (past-tense) to work.

I think for the majority of us, i recognise names, and have dealt with many on here, on many occasions. I have donated things for free, and accepted cheeky offers, but generally only to people i recognise, or who seem genuine (good ratio of posts in bike & chat forums).

The best example of people not "getting" the way STW works recently was that persistent gentleman with his Evil Sovereign, listing it about 30 times in a couple of weeks, all at the same price, then getting irate when people told him it wasnt going to sell.

But they won't have any sort of guarantee, will they?
??

Of course they will

How? Guarantee goes to original purchaser doesn't it?

the other thing i don't understand about the listings is that people never put pics up. "pics available on request". wtf, just put them on the ****ing thread in the first place

100%

sold a few things recently and only ask what i think are fair, bargain prices based on cheapest price they can be had new, and condition. I agree theres a moral difference between community sites like this and Bikemagic where I offer stuff "cheap" or swapsies, and Ebay. I bought and sold loads of stuff on MTBR in the late 90's when I lived in the US, and a guy in san francisco (>2000 miles away from me) posted me a Litespeed frame on trust, saying "if you like it send me a check, if you dont send it back"!

Had a NOS Fox FloatR shock on here for £70. Had a bit of interest which then fell through. Stuck it on fleabay with a low starting price and no reserve and it went for over £100. No wonder fleabay encourages profiteering (or people treating it like a business), and thats having a knock on effect on people who havent used forum classifieds.

ps I always post up pics!

You can bag yourself a Bargain Cube 100 AMS in the classifieds – not overpriced at all, 🙂

yeah i would also only trade with a name i recognize, or at least check they were a regular poster. that evil was funny as he could have sold it in bits and easily made the money, poor guy did get some unwarranted abuse though.

I think the profit margin on GT, for example, is in the region of 53% in a lbs.

guess again …. its alot less !

One thing missing from the classifieds forum is the ability to ignore users, something that is a function on Sailing Anarchy – although there are more wingnuts and a lower tolerance level over there.

I would have found this quite helpful for sifting out the users in Classifieds I don't want to buy from, either because they constantly relist the same stuff at silly prices (ie, Mr Evil Sovereign seller) or haven't proven totally trustworthy in the past.

That said, this isn't as much of a problem as the people on eBay who jam as many brands or part names as they can into a listing so it shows up on searches for other stuff.

As said above, I try to post pics with a listing, and have sent stuff to people for free quite happily in the past, too. People should be free to post as much stuff at silly prices as they like up in the Classifieds, but we should also be free to ignore them. 😀

How? Guarantee goes to original purchaser doesn't it?

The one's for £330 that you were responding to are new from a shop – as per the link

If you meant to quote the 2nd hand ones tails was referring to – I guess not

Well that was the reason my lbs gave to me for picking GT and dropping Saracen and Merida, cant remember the exact figure, but was about that.

not getting into a trade price arguement on a public website but i can assure you if GT or any other quality brand was doing over or near a 50% margin between disty and shop floor we would all be selling them …..

Id have dropped saracen the last time just for being saracen – they followed the market through the floor with there shite- looks promising for madison bringing them back from the ashes though , what ive heard and seen looks good

Youre more than likely right, i cant remember exact figures.

As far as Saracen goes, I couldnt see how theyd fit in with the other brands they already have, seemed a strange choice for Madison to bring them on board.

persistent gentleman with his Evil Sovereign,

I remember him! His total history was 'Evil Sovereign for sale'.

psychle -its a large so 18" seat tube, 23/23.5inch (from top of my head) top tube. I want a medium.