Finding or selling second hand biking kit on the internet is a bit hit or miss. You’ve got various classifieds on forums, eBay and so on, but it’s a bit of a faff and usually involves trawling through a load of adverts to find what you really want. Selling can be just as bad, having to field a load of queries from people who don’t seem to have read the advert and never seem to end up making an offer or bidding on what you’ve got for sale anyway.
Enter Bikesoup, a new site that aims to take the hassle out of buying or selling a second hand bike. There’s a nice simple user interface to pick whether you’d like to look for new or used bikes, what kind, how much you’re looking to spend and even filters to different manufacturers or models. You can add bikes you like the look of to your ‘Bikesoup’, recommend a bike you think will be ideal to a friend and easily get in touch with the seller if you’re thinking of buying or have further questions.
If you’re selling a bike you can upload 12 decent quality pictures with your ad plus Bikesoup offer discounted insurance and shipping services through their partners – to see what an ad looks like (and retro blast from the past) take a look HERE…
To help get the new site started, Bikesoup has offered Singletrack readers the chance to put a free advert on the site until the 31st of October. All you need to do is register and use the code STWOCT31 so give it a go – you might even find something you want to buy at the same time..
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would be good to be able to view trade or private ads only (like on autotrader)
You can… there is an option to view private or bike shop ads.
hmm just complete bikes? thats a tad limited no?
Give them a chance to get the thing going. Ever heard the term “learn to walk before you can run”?
Could be a good one for the retro bike brigade. Which should me the retro haters who responded to my Privateer posting can have something else to slag off. There is a lovely Kona Aah Aah on there. Reminds me of my 1st MTB, a 94 Fire Mountain that was nicked withing 10 months of purchase. Loved that bike. Probably why I love my rigid Voodoo Wanga.
Not a bad site, shame the discount code doesn’t work!
Discount code not working for me either…
me either! but brilliant idea-love it-going to get rid of all my stuff!!!
Hi Guys!
Discount code is STW31OCT – minor comms glitch between us & the newsdesk…..
The code in the press release will be working very soon – programmer on the case.
Cheers, Antony
Thanks for comments…
Re the PRIVATE / TRADE thing, we have put NEW & USED function in the search. We think that you either want a new or a used bike. No probs to add ‘shop’ or ‘Private’ functionality.
Dealer site going live in October once all software bugs have been completely ironed out – we’re realists….
Re the ‘complete bikes’ – we’re programming full functionality to list every bike part & and accessory but the martix is huge. Imagine how many extra fields we have to accommodate for every bike type, brake type, gear type, crank type & now even gear or belt drive…. And make the search function really slick. ETA mid-Nov.
Keep the comments coming!
AA
Some indication of advertising costs without having to create an account would be nice!
@the-muffin-man
No need to register, Sir….. It’s here Sell > Price List
http://www.bikesoup.co.uk/price-list
AA
I’ll stick to a handful of well known forums, where I have been a member for several years.
What security systems are in place, to ensure a ‘safe’ purchase?
Looks like a haven for scammers to con people, unfortunately.
Bikesoup (funny name that) note payment is via paypal with debit/credit card as i never want a paypal account again are you taking direct payments as well
@xiphon
Hi. In the guides section we have provided some buyer info about spotting scammers & thiefs etc… – http://www.bikesoup.co.uk/guides/used_bike_checklist – We have also created a buyer’s ‘Purchase Invoice’ – http://www.bikesoup.co.uk/pdf/bikesoup-invoice.pdf – that should be used when buying a used bike from a stranger. Would a bike thief invite to their home & give you their passport number?
When the site goes live the the general public – our launch PR is bike world specific – all ads will be billed at time of submission.
We think that the best way to deter bike thieves is to ask them for some money up front via a debit or credit card that will tie them to an address. The Met Police agreed.
Ebay & Gumtree will always be a huge cocktail of undesirables until they put some barriers to entry – both platforms can be used with just an email address.
Buyer security is our No.1 priority & any suspicious ads will be deleted.
I hope this helps to reassure,
AA
@showerman
We will have a full HSBC API interface in place before the free offer period ends that will take all major credit & debit cards. In the meantime enjoy the free ads!
AA
Sorry Bikesoup – missed that (but that probably means others may too?).
The motorcycle world is well accustomed to being warned by advertising media about how to securely buy and sell machines.
Some similar advice might not go amiss on Bikesoup so that the innocent abroad does not end up telling the whole world where a “super rare” machine is located.
Good luck to you sounds like a great concept.
@ Bikesoup :
Thanks for the answers. Not my cup of tea, but still, best of luck with it.
As for the website – one small, but important, information is missing – your business postal address and/or landline telephone number.
From a feedback/security point of view, have you considered using an internal messaging system (aka eBay messages?) for sellers/buyers to communicate.
At the moment, I can just email a couple of people directly off the website, which is a good method for scammers. By channelling all communication through Bikesoup (perhaps screen messages for email addresses, to block them?) you can have a record of all activity (times/IPs/Users, etc). This will be useful from a legal point of view, when someone gets scammed (not if… 😉 ), and needs evidence to present to the Police.
Ali
@ Xiphon Hi Ali & thanks for taking the time to comment on the site – at this early stage it is much appreciated.
Bikesoup, as a company, is very much in it’s infancy, so we’ve decided to focus our time on improving the user experience as much as possible. A full phone based customer service facility will be in place once all obvious bugs have been ironed out (which we are doing as an ongoing process). Full postal address is in our ‘T&C’s’ at foot of page – http://www.bikesoup.co.uk/terms.
In terms of communication, every advert has the option of adding or deleting as much info as the seller wants – Name, Address, Email & Phone numbers can all be hidden in the advert.
We’ve looked at all options to improve communciation between buyer & seller with one core aim – SELL THE BIKE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH AS LITTLE FUSS AS POSSIBLE. Our conclusion was that internal communication systems (like ebay) promote too much unproductive dialogue.
As the site grows, we will be putting in more layers of security for sellers but when you hide too much information the advert becomes less effective. It works both ways in that if you hide too much personal info a potential buyer will become more suspicious (of scams or possible stolen bikes) & your bike won’t sell as quickly.
When I’ve bought bikes of ebay, I get a phone number & have a chat over the bike with the seller. In 20 seconds I can make a better appraisal of the seller & the bike that can ever be achieved with email only comms.
In conclusion, our aim is to allow sellers to decide for themselves how much personal info can be viewed.
I remain optimistic that we will convince you in the end, Sir!
Antony – Bikesoup
i’ll put a photo of my bike on-line with my home address underneath….risky?
@ Dean69er Hi Dean – you can put as much info as you want on the advert. We appreciate that most people won’t want to tell the world about a £1500 bike in the garage.
Adverts can be completely anonymous if you like – no need to publish name, address, email or phone number. Comms is only through internal mail in this case.
Comms choice is on form just before you submit advert in the form of tick boxes…..
I hope this helps,
AA
All voucher codes are valid for 28 days from date of advert submission. If you use a FREE VOUCHER CODE to list a bike for sale on Bikesoup today (21st October 2010) the advert will be live until the 18th November 2010. AA