How/where to sell parts second hand?

Fb market place is terrible. The amount of times folks have said they’ll buy something and then when I chase payment they tell me that a family crisis has meant they can’t afford it anymore is embarrassing

I can’t offer any recommendations of where is good however, but keen to know myself

I mostly use eBay. Wait for discount fees weekend then stick a load on with buy-it-now and instant payment. By far the biggest catchment. Had pretty good luck selling most things and no drama. Does seems to have slowed a little since the lockdown firesale but stuff is still shifting.

Have you tried the classifieds on here? I've just bought some parts from someone. Done a few times previously too with no issues.
Free so nothing lost if it's a slow sales day. Possibly less aggro that FB marketplace but not guaranteed and you're more likely to have to post stuff.

If you're selling a used saddle then maybe you want to advertise in more "specialist" groups?

Usually sell on here and on Pinkbike. Never had a problem selling. If its priced right then it usually goes in a few days.
Tend to let stuff mount up and then have a purge to make some room.

Tend to let stuff mount up and then have a purge to make some room

Yep, that's exactly what I'm doing, a job lot of barely used brake pads, 8 saddles, rotors, pedals, bars, forks, god knows what else. I think I got carried away with the retail therapy during lockdown 🙄

Have cast net a bit wider on FB and will investigate classifieds on here, last time I used them they seemed a bit of a ghost town.

Have been too lazy to ever use eBay but might have to learn, at least takes my haphazard pricing out of the equation 🙄

I think the price is going to/has started to drop for secondhand kit as the cost of living has recently skyrocketed so there a lot of people who just aren’t going to be able to afford even secondhand stuff nowadays. And with living costs set to rise again in autumn I think more and more people will be trying to eek out every mile they can get from their stuff.

I always use FB to sell stuff but then I’m never too worried about getting the best price, just passing on stuff I don’t need/use to others quickly.

I’ve also used a Pink Bike in the past for more expensive stuff like forks, bikes, frames, etc

Have honestly found eBay to be the easiest. If it's something that someone has sold before then you can yoink their template and add your own photos/edits etc. As someone who hates bartering in any form I really like it.

I always turn off offers though - without exception folk have come in and offered far less than the auction went for so they're a waste of time.

I'm after a saddle, what have you got? Pm me 👍

Hi @Davros, will do, have also been a good boy and posted up on the Classifieds now, instead of turning this into a stealth ad 😉

edit: huh, can't private message for some reason, username just takes me back to front page.

There used to be a place with a buzzing classifieds section - can't recall where it was now!? 🤔

I've had generally positive use of ebay.
Wait until you get a discounted selling fees offer then put as much on as possible - it's worth creating draft listings that you can just put live as and when the fees are reduced.

Bit of a learning curve at times - I will now never post outside the UK for example.

My usual thing is just to have a basic auction. No offers, no BIN, just bids. That way you can more or less schedule when you're posting stuff which makes it a bit easier.

Edit: just to add, it's worth selling the low-value stuff first and building some positive feedback before you start trying to shift higher value kit. Putting dozens of items up all at once sometimes leads to red flags about new sellers with loads of stuff.

My usual thing is just to have a basic auction. No offers, no BIN, just bids. That way you can more or less schedule when you’re posting stuff which makes it a bit easier.

Do you use reserves? I guess my biggest fear is stuff going so cheap that I decide I'd rather keep it! (hoarder mentality...) I've got a couple of saddles which if they attracted anything less than e.g. 50% current online prices I'd rather just keep.

Or perhaps my blanket '50% online price' pricing strategy is just letting me down, always used to work in the past!

Do you use reserves? I guess my biggest fear is stuff going so cheap that I decide I’d rather keep it! (hoarder mentality…) I’ve got a couple of saddles which if they attracted anything less than e.g. 50% current online prices I’d rather just keep.

Generally, no.
I just set the starting price at a level I'd be happy to sell it for and if people think it's too expensive, they won't bid. Putting on reserve prices, allowing offers and BIN you get charged for. A basic auction is free to list and you only get charged a % of the price it sells for.

Specialist / expensive cycling stuff would probably be better off listed on here with a set price.

I don't think you get charged for allowing offers but it is a pain in the arse as it's on by default. If it's decent kit then you usually do alright, as said you can just start it at a price you're comfortable selling at.

Always used eBay for parts and bikes. Just put initial price on of what you'd accept anything over is a bonus. Posted loads of stuff overseas using the eBay post thing never had an issue. I just never respond to people messaging with daft offers and questions.

the-muffin-man
There used to be a place with a buzzing classifieds section – can’t recall where it was now!? 🤔

Much missed. Not sure my wallet or garage would agree but the jumble sale was great and don't think the improved version has quite the same . err . something?

I can't face using the classifieds on here, but drop me a line if you're flogging any 760mm or 770mm bars.

I've just sold a load of stuff on pinkbike and ebay after a frame swap and n-1 exercise. As much as I hate it, ebay gets a good price and people seem less likely to mess you around.

FB marketplace.

Or TBH anywhere popular and easily searchable. Advertise it slightly cheaper than similar stuff and you'll have people biting your arm off.

I think the change Vs the old days of the STW classifieds is that there's a better functioning market (in the economic sense). People aren't prepared to pay a penny over the average price they can see them advertised for on facebook or ebay. 20 years ago you could add 10% on to allow for haggling or just make a few quid more form someone who really wanted the item, now that just puts you at the bottom of the "sort by price" search results.

Or perhaps my blanket ‘50% online price’ pricing strategy is just letting me down, always used to work in the past!

That's the "functioning market" bit. In the absence of one you need some sort of price guide i.e. when people were selling bikes on the STW classifieds 20 years ago and they were probably the only one of that make/model being sold on there that year. These days stuffs worth what someone will pay for it, might be a silly amount in either direction, but there's probably 10 on ebay.

I've just thought about it the other way. If it sells cheap I'll be able to buy another one back at the same price at some point, if not probably cheaper.

Struggling to sell a cheap 2nd hand MTB on Facebook. Been up for weeks but no interest.