Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Did I sell too cheap?

Just curious...
I flip bikes on CL all the time and this weekend I picked up a 1984 Trek 510 from a city clean up day. (free). It was a 22.5" frame with a full Campy groupo that I assume was the same vintage. It had the Campy skewers - but it had non-original wheels. I listed it for $200 and sold it to the first person that showed up for $180. I got quite a lot of calls afterward - did I sell it too cheap?

Let's say you did sell it too cheap (you did, incidentally). What recourse do you have? None.

Accept it and move on.

-Kurt

Don't worry. Be happy.

You've just spread some good C&V kharma.

Too cheap but a free $180 is pretty great.

Buy yourself a nice new saddle and give the rest to your wife ;)

You made a great profit. You won...The buyer knows they got a deal. You should feel great. I've sold parts cheaply that I only paid 10$ for. I never felt bad for not making the maximum profit.

Part of this hobby should be about sharing the wealth.

I have sold a few things cheap like that too. Here is the way you should look at it, you got the bike for free and made 180 without doing much work. I would call that a successful flip. If you are worried about maximum profit, parting the bike out would have probably yielded the most money, I like to overhaul the bikes and sell them ride ready. You probably made someones day and you made 180.00 in the process.

I was only curious. This was probably the nicest vintage road cycle that I had sold and I had seen them for much more on CL - but they are relisted for weeks at a time. I hauled home a pickup truck and trailer full of stuff from the cleanup day so I wanted to get stuff sold quickly and move on. So far the "garbage" that I saved from the landfill has netted me $460 in 2 days and I still have to sell 3 lawnmowers, 2 sets of golf clubs and a utility trailer. Not too bad....

One mans junk is another man's biking and Jeepin' money! :thumb:

Too cheap. However, to get the best price off of Craigs List (at least in my area), you have to be patient. It is not unusual to have to repost a bike several times. With vintage bikes, to sell at full market on a local Craigs List, you need three things:

1. Someone looking for a vintage bike.

2. Someone the right size (so it fits them).

3. Someone willing to pay full market.


Buyers meeting this criteria in a smaller local market come and go. So if you have to (or want to) sell it quick, you will need to discount it. The choice is really yours, fast sale means lower price.

Personally, I have been amazed at the decent bikes that have lasted on Craigs List for several days, even at below market pricing. Example: the Nishiki Prestige I picked up earlier this year, spotless, recently serviced at a LBS, $100. Selling price basically covered the most recent tuneup.


Myself, as I have been running out of sellable inventory, I have learned to be more patient.