Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Frame Flipping

I was happy recently at selling a nice riding 84 Le Tour for $150, until I learned another guy in town stripped the parts of his Le Tour and sold the bare frame & fork on E-bay for $250. Both were chrome-moly lugged frame bikes.

I recently found a mid-80s Schwinn Traveler with trashed wheels. I was going to fix it up as a rider, but now I'm leaning toward strip n flip. The bare frame weighs 5 lbs 4 ounces -- 7 flat with the fork. So, not a super light weight but a nice lugged Chrome-moly frame and a good candidate for conversion or upgrading.

I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject.

well its easyer to post and theres no need to set up the gears and brakes. Also you can then sell the hubs, stem, chain etc if your after the maximum profit. I think its a bit of a shame when good bikes get parted out

It doesnt always work in your favor. I flip alot of frames and have had alot of good luck ($$$$$) and some not so good luck ($).

I'll only part out a bike if I havent't been able to sell it for what I'd like to get or if I buy it to specificly part out.

One of my framesets, an '87? Schwinn Super Sport with Columbus main tubes and realy bad paint sold for only $45 on ebay. Shipping was ~$35. In regards to shipping, go to WWW.FedEx.com or WWW.USPS.com an get rates to the farthest city form where you live and add $10 to that rate.

I think its a bit of a shame when good bikes get parted out

I have to admit that I do too. The Le Tour I sold was a very nice bike and I would have never dreamed of parting it out. The Traveler, on the other hand, had low-end parts from the factory and had been used and abused. I'd say it's a good candidate for this.

If it isn't your size frame, and you can use the components elsewhere....and somebody will pay you a good buck for the frame alone..."go on, take the money and run". If you have no luck selling the frame by itself...everything has been taken apart, so it will be an easy "complete" rebuild at that point. I was actually thinking about doing the same with a bike I bought recently. I like the components, but the frame is too small.

I can't even sell a chromoly frame on craigslist for 35$

I sold two Peugeot Mixte frames on ebay and only got 25-35$ a frame. I thought the hipsters were paying 100$ for one but not anymore.

Its not worth the hassle of selling a frame on ebay if you don't get a lot of money. It takes at least 45 minutes to cut the box and pad all the tubing. I will never charge less than 65$ to pack a frame.

There is work to be involved in packing a frame. That 100 profit might only turn out to be 8$ an hour after the time and materials in shipping.

I think it makes sense if

A) you have a really robust local market on CL so no shipping is involved.
B) you pick up a frame that has a few bad quality components but one or two really nice ones that you can use elsewhere.
C) the frame really needed to be stripped down to get cleaned and serviced anyway, so taking it apart wasn't any extra time commitment.
D) the bike itself is not particularly high end or rare.

I don't think you need to feel guilty about parting out a low end or mid-range bike.

I sold two Peugeot Mixte frames on ebay and only got 25-35$ a frame.
I was under the impression that girl bikes don't sell all that well -- and you help confirm that. I have a Le Tour Mixte frame in my shed and haven't decided what to do with it. I'm using the components I took off it for another project...

I've sold a few frames on eBay and have found that like most eBay auctions the keys are condition and photography. If your frame's finish is in very good shape and you offer lots of detailed photos, you'll do okay. Otherwise, you likely won't. I've bought quite a few frames on eBay for very little money because most buyers were scared off by the listing itself (and maybe I should have been, too!).

Neal

I sold two Peugeot Mixte frames on ebay and only got 25-35$ a frame

Too bad I didn't know about it - I'd have gladly paid $40 each for clean, buildable mixte framesets, and I'm local to you.

We really need a C&V oriented buy and sell section.

I was under the impression that girl bikes don't sell all that well -- and you help confirm that. I have a Le Tour Mixte frame in my shed and haven't decided what to do with it. I'm using the components I took off it for another project...That's a curious thing...girl's bikes in OZ seem to fetch prices out of proportion to what I believe their real value is.Very ordinary girl's bikes seem to fetch better prices here than excellent mid range racing bikes.
Maybe those racing bikes are under-priced.:)

I have never had much luck selling bare frames on CL. I got them sold, but not for all that much money. Of course they were from bikes where the parts were trashed or they were things I wanted for another bike, so not really any loss, but certainly not much of a payday.

I parted company with a nice frame yesterday at a bargain price. Priming the karma pump must work-
about a half hour later I snagged a mint Nikon SB-800 flash that I'd been searching for at half the going ebay price.

girl's bikes in OZ seem to fetch prices out of proportion to what I believe their real value isDo a higher percentage of Oz girls wear dresses and use the bikes for transportation? Most of the women I know who ride bikes only use them for sport & fitness and would never wear a dress while riding. They prefer men's bikes as lighter and sportier. In fact, they would sneer at a bike with a step-through frame and call them "girlie girl" and heavy.

It doesnt always work in your favor. I flip alot of frames and have had alot of good luck ($$$$$) and some not so good luck ($).

I'll only part out a bike if I havent't been able to sell it for what I'd like to get or if I buy it to specificly part out.

One of my framesets, an '87? Schwinn Super Sport with Columbus main tubes and realy bad paint sold for only $45 on ebay. Shipping was ~$35. In regards to shipping, go to WWW.FedEx.com or WWW.USPS.com an get rates to the farthest city form where you live and add $10 to that rate.

Really bad paint... Are you sure?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b21/bsonpics/DSC01790.jpg

Too bad I didn't know about it - I'd have gladly paid $40 each for clean, buildable mixte framesets, and I'm local to you.

We really need a C&V oriented buy and sell section.
Where I have heard that before?

I generally give away frames I don't use.
It just seems like the thing to do. Shipping is usuallly about what they're worth.

And I could sell every mixte frame I can find right now for $75-$100. Hipsters who have girlfriends.

Bike prices around here are such that I'd make way more selling pieces on ebay. It's way less work, too.
Still, I lube and tune and clean and polish these things. Somehow I'd still rather sell a whole bike.
I've got a theory. I think whole bikes sell better in the spring and summer when people are wanting to ride and parts and frames sell better in the winter when people are building.

And I could sell every mixte frame I can find right now for $75-$100. Hipsters who have girlfriends.

Wow, I wish I had that market here. I would sell off the frames from the Puch and Bridgestone mixtes that I have and save the trouble of having to do the tear down and rebuild. ;)

I sold more bikes this winter than I sold all of last spring, summer and fall. Not sure why. I am basically in the finding less, selling more mode right now, which will eventually lead to selling nothing til I find something.

My area is definitely in the same boat as the people who can't sell their mixtes. Step-thoughs go for way less than normal bikes of similar quality around here. I think it's because most girls ride normal frames now. They're way stiffer, and it's not like girls actually ride around in dresses anymore.

I parted company with a nice frame yesterday at a bargain price. Priming the karma pump must work-
about a half hour later I snagged a mint Nikon SB-800 flash that I'd been searching for at half the going ebay price.http://www.seoagora.com/img/589/d08l1104oulu/smiley2.gif


Proof that Karma works ;)

I sold more bikes this winter than I sold all of last spring, summer and fall. Not sure why. I am basically in the finding less, selling more mode right now, which will eventually lead to selling nothing til I find something.

Right on Bill. I've taken to buying the lowball stuff off of CL. After calculating the cost of gasoline for my Saturday searches at yard sales, I figure I can add $10 to $15 to my usuall $20 to $30 and buy a bike I really want without getting up at 6AM on Saturday. Besides, my basement is full, I need to sell.

As for parting out and selling a frame, frames have not done well in the past on CL. I sold a mixte last year for $10. Sorry Robbie, If I'd only known. That said, a LeTour double butted chromoly frame is a really nice riding crisp handling frame. A Traveler from early 80's vintage is not as nice a rider. I've had both and can tell the difference as soon as I travel one mile. Breaking up a nice mid-level bike can make sense but an entry level, I'm not so sure. If you're selling on ebay it makes good sense because shipping costs don't take as much of a bite and entry level components aren't worth that much anyway.

I just flipped a frame in less than 5 minutes. I picked an early 70's Peugeot 'take-a-part' bike at the flea market for $25.....with Bullseye hub equipted BMX wheels.

My plan was to sell the wheels on Ebay as well as the remainder of the bike. On my way out of the flea market I was apporached by a guy who asked if I'd sell the bike. I told him I bought it for the wheels and he offered to buy the frameset and associated parts.

The wheels will go for $100 on ebay and I'll easily resell the rest to cover my initial $25 investment.

Really bad paint... Are you sure?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b21/bsonpics/DSC01790.jpg




jfj, you tell me. The guy I sold it to promptly stripped it and had it powdercoated.:innocent:

I was curious so I checked my previous frame/fork and bike sales and they are split almost 50/50 with selling complete or just selling frame/fork. For me parting out is always the easiest solution to how to sell a bike. A few bikes I have parted out after they didn't sell complete. But, most that I part out I do because it has nicer parts and I wouldn't get much extra for if left on the bike. A few were upgraded with mismatched parts from the previous owner. They might have used a mid-range frame/fork, but the parts should be on something nicer. So the frame/fork gets sold off and everything else parted out.

Of the frames/forks I have sold the majority of them are lower end. I usually get $30-60 on CL for the frame/fork for a basic lugged steel. A bit nicer tubing maybe $75-150, and if a high end steel frame/fork even more ($200+). The majority of the cheaper ones I sell I make a profit just by selling the frame/fork. Buy a bike for $10-30 and sell the frame/fork for $50. Easy money without much work, but one problem is it leads to a lot of parts left over that you can't sell. All of the mid-range and lower frames are sold on the local CL. I only go to Ebay and sell the higher end frames. It isn't worth the hassle of shipping and ebay/paypal taking there cut to sell a under $100 frame/fork to me.

I stripped and rattle canned a frame recently that had really bad paint. The end result looks nice but I do wonder if that would help or hurt a frame sale.

I sold more bikes this winter than I sold all of last spring, summer and fall. Not sure why. I am basically in the finding less, selling more mode right now, which will eventually lead to selling nothing til I find something.

I am down to one right now, and this thread actually got me motivated to start putting it in shape to sell. Did sell quite a few of my bikes this winter. I priced them low (it's a hobby), but they still sold very quickly given it is winter...between 2 hours & 2 days! The usual supply channels are dry right now up around me, and I guess it is a good thing, since the weather is getting nicer for riding.