Classic & Vintage - Best Way To Sell 3 Speed Hub/Wheel

I have a 2 old 3 speed wheels that I pulled off bikes that I would like to sell. I've got a few questions that I would like to ask the experts especially those who sell things like this on ebay (I know theres a few of you out there). The first wheel is a 26 inch sturmey archer 3 speed I have the shifter and everything else that goes with it. The second is a 26 inch 3 speed shimano that also has the shifter and everything else. My questions concern the best way to sell them. Should I unlace the hubs from the rim and sell just the hub or leave the wheel complete or maybe try and sell it as complete but offer to pull the hub? Should I sell the shifters and hubs seperately as I see some people do? Should I include matching front wheels and sell as wheelsets? I really have no clue how to do this so any advice about what the best way to sell these is would be appreciated.

Presuming you're trying to maximize profit, definitely sell the shifter separately. Quite honestly, unless they're in outstanding condition, I don't think that there's much of a demand for steel rims (presuming you have steel) either. They are heavy, don't provide a great braking surface and the shipping expense is a killer. Your idea of listing the wheel and offering to pull the hub sounds reasonable, and should appeal to people who are willing to actually read what you put in the listing. ;)

Pics do the selling on ebay---make good photos.Tell the date on the sturmey hub and spoke count.Selling the rim depends on the condition and type of the rim.If it is a late model--post 72 36 spoke hub(S/A) I'd photo it out of the rim(and offer the rim seperate if good),if early hub with a great chrome rim then photo together or even as F/R set.

Thanks so much for the great responses Zorro and Frame team. I have a couple more questions for you and the other experts out there. How do you find the date? Also I'm worried about the whole picture thing if I leave the hub laced up but offer to pull it I'm not going to be able to clean it as well or get as good of a shot so I'm wondering if I might do better just to unlace from the get go rather than offer to remove it that way I could get a better pic? Some additional information that may be helpful. The hub is a 36 hole and is laced to a steel ARAYA rim. It is marked England Sturmey Archer AW. I have all the cables and chains as well as the pulley and cable stop. The shifter is white rubber with a metal body and is the "Grip" style and not the trigger. Thanks for all your input.

When you clean the S/A hub you will see the date stamped on the hub. Something like 72 for 1972 etc. This is a rather modern hub---pull it , take a couple of good pics--expect it to go cheap.---sam

Concur with frameteam. the 36 hole AW is the newer and more common than 40 hole. Unless the rim is in incredible shape, you're better off unlacing the spokes and concentrating on the hub. What you might want to do (I'm presuming you're using e-bay), is to cross reference the other components that you have, establish a "Buy it now" price for each of them, and offer free shipping if someone pays the buy it now price for all the items. If you do this, be sure to research your shipping costs and options in advance (excluding parcel post).

Good luck.

What would you say was a reasonable buy it now. Also would you recommend I do the same for the shimano.

I honestly have no idea on the Shimano. I didn't even realize they made 3-speed hubs until this thread. I used to think they started with the modern 7-speed ones.

For the S/A, do a little research on completed items and see what items similar to yours went for (and look at the shipping fees too). Pick the average and post a buy-it-now that's a little bit higher than that. Make sure you take good pictures, and are specific about shipping expenses. Also, if you're thinking of making the combined offer for free shipping - make sure the numbers on the buy-it-nows work out to a figure that gives you a reasonable return. If that isn't the case, forget that idea.

What would you say was a reasonable buy it now.
Everest

I recently sold a SA hub I took off a Peugeot--I wanted the Rigida rims. After listing things both ways I really don't recommend "Buy It Now". The BIN option goes away with the first bid unless you set a reserve, so without a reserve price, as soon as someone places a bid the option is gone. Too, I have found that many of my auctions end at a higher price than a BIN price I set.

As for shipping the bare hubs I recommend the USPS Priority Mail flat rate box. $7.75 anywhere in the US. Unless you're shipping across the street, it's cheaper than Priority Mail and your buyer will get it in 3 days.

As for offering complete wheel versus just the hubs--you could let the winning bidder make that decision. If you pull the rims before the auction you possibly eliminate potential customers. If someone just wants the hubs it only takes 10 or so minutes to unlace them.

My 2 cents.

Hurry and get your's on--I got one to list Sunday :D

John

I think I probably will pull the hub just so I can get good pictures. I'm thinking I will also sell the shifter seperate, is this a good idea? Should I include the cable stop a wheel/pulley device with one of these or try to sell them individually as well? I'm also considering rather than a buy it now just setting the starting price in each auction at a reasonable price or is this not wise? As for the shimano I think I will pull it too as it is missing 2 spokes and sell it as a hub. Should I sell the shifter seperate on this one also? As for your hub old99 have at it mine wont be up for at least a week.

I think I probably will pull the hub just so I can get good pictures. I'm thinking I will also sell the shifter seperate, is this a good idea? Should I include the cable stop a wheel/pulley device with one of these or try to sell them individually as well? I'm also considering rather than a buy it now just setting the starting price in each auction at a reasonable price or is this not wise? As for the shimano I think I will pull it too as it is missing 2 spokes and sell it as a hub. Should I sell the shifter seperate on this one also? As for your hub old99 have at it mine wont be up for at least a week.

Everest

I see SA hubs all the time listed with a $34 or $35 starting bid--and they don't seem to sell. I bought a SA shifter a couple of years ago for $3.95. When I sold my last set, I included a shifter with the hub. I figured that anyone who would want a 3 speed hub would probably want a shifter or an extra shifter--something to sweeten the deal if nothng else. I started the listing at $4.95. Final bid was around $35 plus shipping.

If you have something rare or unique, price it fairly and see what happens. Lately I've watched a guy in San Diego sell quality road bikes with no reserve and a 99 cent starting price. To me that takes a great leap of faith. However most of his bikes ultimately sell for far more than I would expect. He starts low knowing that his bidders recognize the value of his bikes and will bid the price up accordingly--and they do. I've only recently followed his lead (and with success I might add).

On the other hand, if there are 15 of the same items you have to list (Sturmey Archer hubs for example) you have 2 options: you could either wait to put yours up or you could make yours a better deal. Waiting is chancy--there's always parts on ebay to compete with yours and you could wait a long time. Or make your deal better. Add value. Lower your starting price, possibly add the shifter or other parts. All those hubs not selling for $34 aren't doing anything for the seller excepting costing him his listing fee. I suppose that after 10 or so relistings he'd better get $34 to cover his out of pocket expenses. My experience was I sold mine and he/they didn't. My strategy worked (for me anyway), I got about what he was asking plus what I paid for just a shifter, but more importantly, mine sold.

Remember, if you want a set, specific price for something, an auction is not the best way to go. But if you're willing to gamble a bit, an auction can pay off quite well. But not always.

My advice on the Shimano is to sell the hub and shifter as a set. With the SAs there's lots of them out there and all the shifters and hubs are pretty much interchangable. Yeah, there's lots of Shimanos but their popularity isn't as great as the SAs since Shimano was the choice of lower end bike manufacturers (which usually aren't worth repairing or restoring) and I wouldn't expect the demand to be anywhere as great. Sweeten the deal and get it sold. Now if you had a 7 speed Nexus to sell...

One last thing I'll add then shut up: take good pictures and write an accurate, honest description.

Let me say that my observations here are my own and strictly my own opinion--I'm only sharing what works for me. Your actual mileage may vary.

Oh, and don't take any of it too seriously. Have fun.
John

I have pulled the shimano and will sell it as a set the sturmey archer will be pilled and listed after the shimano. One last question being fairly new to ebay does anyone have any other advice on more general topics such as how to title the item and wether its worth it to put the little thumbnail picture by the item title. Thanks so much for the help it is greatly appreciated.