Classic & Vintage - Maximizing $$$ on ebay

I am wondering what to do with the bike I picked up recently, a 73 Raleigh Record Ace (http://gallery.roadbikereview.com/data/roadbike/2/252042/DSCF0315-med.JPG). I tore it down today to clean it up and make it more presentable when I sell it. It is way too small for me or I would keep it. My questions are should I just put it up on Ebay in the current cleaned up original condition (option #1)? Or buy new tires and sell it as a complete ready to ride bike (I would need to get a few tools also for the Stronglight crank and Regina freewheel) (option #2). Or option #3 part the bike out on ebay. It has a 531 frame/fork with campy dropouts, Simplex shifters and derailleurs, GB bar with the map engraving, Weinmann brakes, and a tubular wheelset. I plan to keep the Brooks Pro for one of my bikes btw. It needs new tubular tires and the usual new cables/regrease. The other problem is I broke the little tab off of the rear derailleur so I doubt it will work, and the freewheel doesn't freewheel.(edit forgot about that)

You can strip it and send the frameset to me...I could use it! I'll pay shipping!

;) Never hurts to try, eh?

P.S.: Do you have a closeup of those Weinmann levers? I've never seen a pair of Weinmanns with such a long reach to them. I can imagine the improved performance as a result of the additional lever travel.

Take care,

-Kurt

I am wondering what to do with the bike I picked up recently, a 73 Raleigh Record Ace (http://gallery.roadbikereview.com/data/roadbike/2/252042/DSCF0315-med.JPG). I tore it down today to clean it up and make it more presentable when I sell it. It is way too small for me or I would keep it. My questions are should I just put it up on Ebay in the current cleaned up original condition (option #1)? Or buy new tires and sell it as a complete ready to ride bike (I would need to get a few tools also for the Stronglight crank and Regina freewheel) (option #2). Or option #3 part the bike out on ebay. It has a 531 frame/fork with campy dropouts, Simplex shifters and derailleurs, GB bar with the map engraving, Weinmann brakes, and a tubular wheelset. I plan to keep the Brooks Pro for one of my bikes btw. It needs new tubular tires and the usual new cables/regrease. The other problem is I broke the little tab off of the rear derailleur so I doubt it will work.

I have that little tab and a Brooks Pro, so I guess you can sell it to me. Check your email. :)

I am facing a similar decision. I have a 58X56 531 carlton, with 600 drivetrain, gran comp brakes, and 27" wienmann concaves laced to 600 hubs. the RD is a longcage with a touring type freewheel. I think it is a sport touring bike because of these features and the longish chainstays.. it is a 1980/81... sadly the original stem has been replaced with a 65mm specialised which cause some light scratching on the old style cinelli bars... it also had a small seatpost in it.. I have remedied this problem and have a 27.2mm strong (japan) post to go in it.. .now... do I sell it as is with drivetrain and wheels (i like the brakes and am thinking of keeping them) or do i try and finish it up buy finding a cinelli stem and a suitable saddle? I am keeping the brooks pro but I do have a white concour that would look good on it with the white hood, tape and brake cables (maximise asthetics for maximized profit)... decision decisions... of course there is parting it out on ebay.. frame, wheels, drivetrain... each sold separately...

P.S.: Do you have a closeup of those Weinmann levers? I've never seen a pair of Weinmanns with such a long reach to them. I can imagine the improved performance as a result of the additional lever travel.
snip

Weinmann brake levers (http://gallery.roadbikereview.com/data/roadbike/2/252042/DSCF0324-med.JPG)

You know, I believe Bike Forums could use a new forum from what I've seen here lately. How about something like Ebay Speculators, or Flipping for Profit?

You know, I believe Bike Forums could use a new forum from what I've seen here lately. How about something like Ebay Speculators, or Flipping for Profit?

Ya!

That way we can drive up the price on all the OC!

Evil Bay is sweet, but don't ask BF to do your marketing K

Oh, lighten up. I didn't see anybody asking for advice on how to cheat buyers. For some of us, flipping a few bikes is the only way we can afford our keepers; I suppose we're not worthy, eh?

Oh, lighten up. I didn't see anybody asking for advice on how to cheat buyers. For some of us, flipping a few bikes is the only way we can afford our keepers; I suppose we're not worthy, eh?

yes. that's how I turned a $90 investment from a Look Hinault into a 17 pound titanium bike.

Total price spent: $275

I've got a similar issue. I have a Viner that I bought for about $120, and it's a bit of a frankenbike, but in a good way. It has Campy Nuovo Record rear der, and some Suntour one that I forget on the front. It has Cinelli Pista bars, also. It had no wheels, but I have a Campy Hardox rims on Shimano 600 hubs wheelset to throw on, and I'd thought to resell it, hoping it might make $300. Then I got to thinking, I have a Shimano RX 100 rear der here, and various sets of regular road drops. With those on, it would still look like $300, but I'd have old style Cinelli track drops, and a Nuovo Record der, which would both also fetch handsome prices. Or I could use the bars on one of my bikes. Alternately, I could just part the whole thing out, and hang on to the wheels (which I had a plan for anyway).

Also, the Ascoli TT bike I got is pretty extreme, and might not find any takers, but I could sell the Suntour Sprint gruppo and the San Marco Rolls saddle for more than the $150 I paid for it, probably. What I'd do with the rest of the bike I don't know....

There is nothing inherently evil about selling bikes or parts on Ebay. If it weren't for Ebay, I probably would not have my bikes. I have both radically underpaid as well as overpaid for some items. It all seems to average out OK.

I parted out a $60 thrift store Frejus a couple of years back, turning my $60 into about $350, which paid for my Paramount frame. The Frejus was beaten to death but had many salvageable components. Some I kept, most were sold.

I have found that to "maximize" my selling price that I need to use really detailed pictures and lots of description. The listings that I have either bought or watched that have minimal pictures and descriptions usually sell for less. In reverse, I tend to look at poorly thought out listings as often being overlooked bargains.

I also spend the time to clean and polish the items that I sell. I feel that my time is well compensated in a better selling price.

If I have something really unique to sell, I wait until there is another similar listing, then list mine. Those that missed the first one are probably willing to spend to get mine.

I search precisely for poorly listed items. I got my Gazelle Trim Trophy for $30 because the title was simply "Racing Bike", and there was little detail under that. If I hadn't know who Gazelle were, I might have ignored it. Instead, I took a risk, and got a really nice classic roadie for little money. I didn't expect the same to apply to an EG Bates Track Bike, but the guy had titled it "Professional Racer Bicycle".

I really like that RRA, discussions of ebay selling not withstanding.
I think it's the stripes, I like barbershop pole stripes on a bike.
I know a few collectors who specialize in RRAs, they'd be interested.

btw what size frame is it?
Marty

It is 21" seatpost/22" top tube c-c.

You know, I believe Bike Forums could use a new forum from what I've seen here lately. How about something like Ebay Speculators, or Flipping for Profit?

What, exactly, is wrong with "flipping for a profit"? You work for a living? You're flipping your otherwise worthless time for profit.

I know of several folks here (some of them personally) that have been known to buy bikes in need of repair, completely overhaul them, and sell them for market value. I'm one of them. The people that buy those bikes from me get good, solid, ready-to-ride bikes at a good price, and I make some money on my skill and labor.

Repeat after me - "Capitalism Is a Good Thing"

Repeat after me - "Capitalism Is a Good Thing"

Yes it is! :D

What, exactly, is wrong with "flipping for a profit"? You work for a living? You're flipping your otherwise worthless time for profit.Yeah, used car salesmen do it all the time and you could not find more upstanding human beings.:D

Seriously, I see nothing wrong in buying a rusty, screwed-up bike, putting some hard work into it and selling it at a decent profit to someone who lacks the skill to fix it himself. What I was talking about was people who don't know one end of a wrench from the other and resell bikes at huge profits without doing anything to them.

But getting back to Ebay, I'm afraid it's largely become the tool for the crafty seller rather than the bargain hunter. There's always someone out there that will pay a lot more than something is worth, thus inflating the value. Here is an example. Last year the lens of one of my car's fog lights got cracked by a stone. A friend had a used light he was going to sell me for $15, but his better half managed to pitch it cleaning the garage. Ever since, I've been trying to find on on Ebay (the car is over 20 years old). The one time I saw one of these go to just over $50 was when I didn't bid on it. Most times they go to over $100. In fact, in the last auction I deliberately stayed in and drove it over $100 just to spite the guy who had outbid me when it was at $50. So I guess I was part of the problem, not the solution.

See, that's the thing at issue here. You think that things have an intrinsic "worth", and that people who are prepared to pay more than that are idiots. Market theory says that the "worth" of an item is what people are prepared to pay for it. That's the beauty of ebay, it unites buyers who want things with sellers who've got them in a way that couldn't be done before.

So, it relies on people being able to FIND what they want. The things I've bought on ebay were there for other people to buy as well. If other people don't want to do the work involved in finding them, or be patient, and buy things when they come up cheap, rather than because I want it NOW, then that's their fault, rather than mine. I am prepared to dig, and wait, and watch to get bargains, and when I get them, they're mine. Some of them I choose to keep, some of them I choose to sell. The people that buy them for high prices could buy them for lower prices perhaps, if they were prepared to dig.

If you want to make the most money on ebay, or anywhere else for that matter, part it out. I've never sold a bike whole for more than I know I could have gotten for the parts seperately. I've sold whole bikes before but mainly because I didn't want to deal with so many individual sales.

As far as maximizing ebay.
1. Describe the item as well as possible. Be wordy if possible. Short and to the point may work in many places but not ebay.

2. Good pictures. Not far away, "on the kitchen floor" shots. Close shots, well lit, with a good background, from a few different angles.

3. I know this is a problem to some but use Paypal. You greatly broaden your bidder base. There are many like me who simply skip any items who don't take Paypal. Why? The only time I've ever been screwed on ebay was when I sent a money order to a seller for a HD Sportster air cleaner. No recourse at all.

SB

Hmm. Maybe I'll part the Viner. I could keep the wheels, and the Cinelli bars, and probably get my £120 back just on the frame and the gruppo.....

I greatly suspect that the general 'tsk,tsk' so many on this, and the RBR/MTBR, boards give comes from the fact that the powers that be don't share in the profits when a bike is sold post-discussion here. Any mention of the idea that you might actually like to sell or trade a whole bike and there's a bunch of proud Thomas's calling for thread lock down and gripeing about the descension of ethical standards on the board 'these days'. My question to all who frequent here: Aren't we, at least for the most part, bike collectors? Isn't the sharing of information about vintage bicycles here geared toward appreciating, fixing and 'gasp' trading/selling in order to finance that elusive Richard Sach's/Bianchi Centenario/Spectrum/Hetchin's (I ride a 55 or 56) that we all so desperately lust after?

I'm frankly very bored of the whole 'don't say anything about a bike that's for sale' crap I keep reading around here and of the whole 'capitalism by God' retort as well. I'm interested in learning about and collecting some of the finest machines ever built.
The rest of the talk I keep reading is a sorry waste of precious time.

DG1

BTW: To most collectors, this Bianchi is a perfect candidate for fixing up and selling. It'll bring a fair price and though I'm sure it's a good bike, it's a boring bike that is best released to the wilds whilst its owner searches on for a more majestic machine.

For most bikes sold on eBay, the sum of the parts is probably greater than the whole. This would be true of any "frankenbike" with non-original components. However, a rare classic with nearly all of its original parts intact may be worth more than the sum of its parts. (I have an example of each case with my two Capos, and this is why I am preserving what is left of the paint job on the 1960 and avoiding any component upgrades/updates other than brake pads and a change in gear ratios to something which suits my needs.)