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So I spent 3/4 of my bank account on my new bike and am looking for ways of getting that money back. Still got some parts to sell and bday coming up so that should take care of a bit but the rest will still be missing.
Something that came up was buying used bikes for a good/reduced price and breaking them down, then selling. So I was wondering if anyone has done this before with good results.
Maybe another option is working at the lbs over summer part time. Or the Evans near me is hiring for a part time sales assistant and the minimum age is 16 so I would be able to do it. Any advice? TIA.
Yep, this has come up before mate and people have indeed done that. As in bought, then broke up bikes to sell. They will no doubt post here.
It might even be more lucrative, possibly due to Covid/ Brexit. Brexit in the longer term is likely to be the bigger effect on diving up demand for used parts.
I worked on bikes on my 20's in a store. It's a good way to learn and can be fun. The customer definitely isn't always right though.lol
The customer definitely isn’t always right though.lol
Haha I've had to fix a few friends bikes and this comes to mind xD
sell the new bike and then you'll only have a 1/4 to find
Haha I’ve had to fix a few friends bikes and this comes to mind xD
You poor devil, it's like repairing a friend's/ family members pc... You become free tech support for life.lol
You poor devil, it’s like repairing a friend’s/ family members pc… You become free tech support for life.lol
Yes after building my own computer I became the designated tech support guy which turned out to be quite the curse
There's better ways of making money.
There’s better ways of making money.
Any hints? Lol
I fear you might not want to know.😉
How to make a little bit of money in the bike industry:
Start with a lot.
There are probably ways to make money but I don’t think this is one. Buying old bikes means old parts and is there really any demand to pay good money for obsolete bits that only fit old bikes? And who would buy old parts when they could buy an old bike cheaper. Take the job at evans, learn bikes, learn customers, bank a bit of money, then have another think about money making ideas in 6 months, when you’ll have a better insight into the industry.
And who would buy old parts when they could buy an old bike cheaper.
Retro enthusiasts looking to finish their latest build? Just got to learn about all those old bikes and parts, beat the enthusiasts to those battered old parts on ebay, then tart them up a bit to sell on for more. Not my idea of fun.
Yes I didn't necessarily mean retro parts just parts that could be sold on for more.
One I was looking at (now sold) was this:
I reckon I could have made about 150 selling all the parts seperately and maybe negotiated the price down to 320.
Unfortunately I've no idea of a search term to use but this topic definitely came up a year or so back.
From what I remember, it was possible to make a bit of money but there was a learning curve as far as knowing what to buy and required a lot of time.
Effectively a fair amount of work/time to make not a massive lot of money. That said, people do it, so it can work. Evans are likely to be getting through a lot of staff because they are in the news for all the wrong reasons unfortunately.😟 For you personally, that could be a positive though as even if positions fill fast, they won't stay filled for long I suspect.
You can make a little money but as above it is hard work. I dabbled in the past (when I worked in a bike shop) and have friends who gave it a more serious go. None of us do it anymore. What I had a little more link with is buying bikes for a particular part I wanted. For certain parts I ended up with the part for a lot less than I could have bought it for.
There are probably ways to make money but I don’t think this is one. Buying old bikes means old parts and is there really any demand to pay good money for obsolete bits that only fit old bikes?
last year there was. During the first lockdown you could sell pretty much anything for really quite silly prices. A mix of limited availability of new stuff and lots of cyclists with unexpected time on their hands. I was selling well worn stuff - a chipped, scratched rusty 13 year old inbred frame, part worn tyres and the like fit within a few quid of what is originally bought them for new
Cumulatively a shed-corners worth run of the mill okd bits that I’d been meaning to take to the recycling centre for years netted me about two grand
id have expected that bubble would have burst by now though. I doubt the demand will be as high niow.
That being said you could probably do something with this actually
Try it with one, see how you go. I fear the time, effort and peripheral costs (p&p) may erode the profits.
Bear in mind what you think of as a hobby may be regarded as income by the tax man if it got big enough.
Very interesting conversation recently between HMRC and a gentleman who couldn't see that £50k annual turnover on Ebay selling couldn't really be considered the same way as clearing a couple of bits out the shed. Though I suspect you'll not be making that much breaking old bikes.
Would love to know who tipped them off though.
Used bike prices are high at the moment. Not sure there's much profit to be made until prices settle.
I fear the time, effort and peripheral costs (p&p) may erode the profits.
Yes that was exactly what crossed my mind, these things can add up.
On another topic, does anyone know anything about applying for an Evans job without a CV prepared? Would be my first proper job so I might have to do a small write up or hopefully go in to the physical store and apply that way.
Bear in mind what you think of as a hobby may be regarded as income by the tax man if it got big enough.
£1,000/year profit is where they draw the line. Below that, go ahead. Above that, go ahead but register for self-assessment and declare it.
Note profit, not turnover.
Ive been doing this for years with all kinds of bike from Bmx's to mtb's
Trick is to know your market and what stuff is worth, Ive made plenty over the years which has helped me upgrade my bikes
Facebook market place can be a good place to start, i recently got a complete hardtail for free, the frame had snapped, after stripping everything down and cleaning it all up i made £500 by re advertising the parts back on Facebook market place
Just this week i picked up some Shimano m540 pedals for £5 and a broken Shimano Di2 rear mech for £5! the pedals just needed a re grease and the Di2 rear mech's cage was missing but i had another Shimano rear mech with a damaged body so it was just a case of fitting the good cage to the Di2 mech
The hardtail was a 26in one and the parts were snapped up quickly, good 26in wheels and forks make good money as there are quite a few people still running 26in bikes and most shops dont stock that size parts anymore
^^ Great bit of info there for the op mate. There some good knowledge going on there.👍
On another topic, does anyone know anything about applying for an Evans job without a CV prepared? Would be my first proper job so I might have to do a small write up or hopefully go in to the physical store and apply that way.
A couple of hours on a computer and you would have a CV.
I can't see a shop from a chain taking on anyone without paperwork, and a starting point being a CV.
Maybe another option is working at the lbs over summer part time. Or the Evans near me is hiring for a part time sales assistant and the minimum age is 16 so I would be able to do it. Any advice?
If you can get a job working in a bike shop, take it. The main payoff will be the experience, you need to understand how the industry works if you want to make a career of it. What you will find is that most repair jobs are not glamourous, you won't be doing custom builds of high-end bikes very often. Most of it is fixing punctures and sorting out brakes on old commuter bikes that have been neglected and abused for years.
Go for the evans job. Worst case is you get a CV together and you learn about the process.
I would always suggest gong for a job instead of making money out of a hobby. The reason being is it stops being a hobby then.
Ok thanks all I will probably go into the evans and ask about the hours so hopefully it will be a saturday job.
Not much to write on my CV as I've only worked as a waiter in a sailing club so I guess I will have to talk about my experience with building and maintaining bikes and how enthusiastic I am.
maybe if you post up your cv we can help on here (obviously with no personal details like name address etc?)
where are you based?
At 16, I'd not expect to see more on a CV than education and hobbies/achievements outside of school.
It certainly used to be the case that bike shops want qualified mechanics (Is Cytech still a thing?). Enthusiastic or not, they won't know if you're competent, and a bad mechanic is a liability.
Not much to write on my CV as I’ve only worked as a waiter in a sailing club so I guess I will have to talk about my experience with building and maintaining bikes and how enthusiastic I am.
Maybe word it in such a way that it doesn't look like a job you got through mummy and daddy, but being a waiter means experience dealing with the general public, manners, taking money, conflict resolution etc. Don't underplay that, it's great experience for a would-be bike shop worker.
If you've done any events that 'prove' you're into bikes (races, events, expeditions etc), talk about them.
This may be of use to you regards writing a CV.
And as an advert to everyone else, look up the social mobility foundation and consider volunteering, they are looking now (I'm a volunteer not involved in running it).
Regarding selling bikes I don't think it's much of a starter. You would need money to buy bikes, you may end up buying multiple bikes (£1000s) before you see significant sales if you are waiting for a good offer. There's the risk of your profit being wiped out with one bad purchase at low volumes. You'd probably be valuing your time at 0 but that might not be an issue for you. It could be an entertaining hobby - I bought a few retro road bikes years ago. Fixed them, tarted them up, rode them for a bit, sold them on. I broke even and had fun which was more than I expected. There are people in local facebook groups trying to make a business out of it. I normally steer clear of buying from them unless it is a simple/cheap part as I don't know the history. That and they ask for more than friends of friends who are just clearing out old bits they've accumulated.
Try it with one, see how you go. I fear the time, effort and peripheral costs (p&p) may erode the profits.
And it will suck the joy out of bicycles for you as well.
Yes I should have clarified but the position isn't for mechanic, but for a part time sale assistant so I assume what they are looking for is someone who is knowledgable about bikes, and who knows the Evans lineup well.
Ok so I went into Evan's yesterday, talked to the guys at the back and he said that I should come back next tuesday when the manager is in with a CV and we can talk business. Started writing my CV with some help and it's coming along nicely.
Anyone know what the starting salary is for a sale assistant at Evan's? Ad says up to 9 pounds but it could be less than that because of cuts or because I'm 16?
TIA
On a couple of occasions I've made decent money through buying job lots of bike stuff on eBay, sorting through for the good stuff and selling it on. Especially retro stuff.
A couple of years back I scored a small van load of bits (pick up only) for £30. First parts out the box were some NOS Modolo road brake levers that I immediately sold for £30. There was a load of campag bits in there too. Must of made £400, but you still have to know your market, and actually do the selling.
Car boot sales are another option (when they're open) - people sometimes don't know what bike stuff is worth.
Anyone know what the starting salary is for a sale assistant at Evan’s? Ad says up to 9 pounds but it could be less than that because of cuts or because I’m 16?
First job, no experience, I think you'd be doing well to be getting anything above minimum wage.
And that's not even considering the current climate. Evans announced >300 redundancies just last week.
First job, no experience, I think you’d be doing well to be getting anything above minimum wage.
Last job I did I got 10 an hour waiting tables. I guess I'll have to see when I talk to Evan's again. Maybe the corporate world isn't so generous xD
I mean, I could be wrong. I've never worked for a bike shop. But I'd have thought that there would be enough people happy to get minimum wage right now that they don't need to throw money at people. Especially when they're already making redundancies.
Yes that's fair enough, I'm not expecting much from the job just hoping for 6-7 pounds an hour
Minimum wage for under 18 is £4.55/hr - we are talking Evans here, so doubt they’ll pay any more considering the redundancies and putting everyone else on zero hours.
If it’s a Saturday job it’ll likely be zero hrs. My niece worked for the local sports direct when she was in 6th form and it was zero hrs.
Suited her though as she was often off playing Korfball for England and could do the odd hr or 2 in the week to help with staff shortages.
Last job I did I got 10 an hour waiting tables. I guess I’ll have to see when I talk to Evan’s again. Maybe the corporate world isn’t so generous xD
Go wait tables!
I think the buying and stripping bike parts as an income stream is a risky business - on top of all the points others have made about knowing what you are buying and selling and tying up your limited capital in stock - there’s so much stolen stuff around that you risk buying nicked bikes (and the legal consequences of that) and even if you stay clean are competing with the nicked bike strippers.