General Cycling Discussion - Trade in vs. private sale

Hi,

In August I will be purchasing a new bike at my local bike store. They accept used bikes as trade ins, and I am wondering if there is an advantage to doing this over a private sale.

Also, how should I go about evaluating the price I should accept for my bike?

I was planning on keeping the old bike until now, and have decided I really am not going to use it anymore and would rather someone else enjoy it.

Here is the low down on it:

1993 GT Karakoram steel frame 24" (In another thread we discussed how this frame is classic and desirable to some mountain bike/xc/tour folks).

I have not used it on the road at all since I made these changes:

Converted to single crank in the front and 8 speed rear (basic Shimano components).
I repainted the frame and fork (stripped, primed, base coated, and clear coated it).
Installed new brakes (levers and calipers and cables), rear wheel, chain, and tires.

The only thing that could be replaced soon is the front wheel. Otherwise it is like new.

All of the new stuff above was obtained at the bike store I will be purchasing the new bike from, so I assume that would have some influence on their assessment if I do a trade in. They also have seen the frame and commented on the paint being very well done.

Any thoughts on how much it could be worth these days? I certainly trust the guys at the shop to give a fair price, but I wonder if a private sale would be better. They would have to turn it around after all.

Thanks,

-RR

One of the regular guests on my radio show is a guy who deals in "collectibles," a word I hate, but he talks about the benefits of private sale vs. trade all the time. Summing things up, he says he's a dealer, and he'll buy or take in trade almost anything--but he has to make money on the deal at some point. If you just want to get rid of the bike with minimal hassle, go to the dealer. But remember that he has to clean it up, keep it in stock and eventually sell it at a profit, so he can't afford to give you a premium price.
If you'd like to make a little more money, then you have to do the work: Clean and tune the bike, market it somehow and deal with the eventual purchaser.
In this case, I'd probably keep it. The cash value isn't going to be very high, and you can always use a spare bike for rainy days or whatever. The mods, paint etc. you've done probably don't increase the value much--a buyer will EXPECT the bike to be clean and functional, and won't pay extra for that. If it's really a 24-inch frame, that could be a factor, though. That's a pretty big bike, and larger used bikes in good condition are hard to find. If you luck into a 6'2" rider, he might pay $25 extra or something.

I trust the LBS, too. So I would take the trade in, unless I were sure the bike not only had an especially high value, but there were people in the area that knew the value, and willing to pay.

I know from nothing on internet sales, but advertising locally seems to bring out the bargain hunters, and it's not my plan to be nailed down to the phone all weekend, making appointments for people who may or may not show up, and expect you to reserve the sale based on the word of someone you know nothing about, except they have the abillity to dial a phone.

You may conclude I'm not much impressed with the general public.

I trust the LBS, too. So I would take the trade in, unless I were sure the bike not only had an especially high value, but there were people in the area that knew the value, and willing to pay.

I know from nothing on internet sales, but advertising locally seems to bring out the bargain hunters, and it's not my plan to be nailed down to the phone all weekend, making appointments for people who may or may not show up, and expect you to reserve the sale based on the word of someone you know nothing about, except they have the abillity to dial a phone.

You may conclude I'm not much impressed with the general public.

Particularly the general public that will (ordinarily) base the value of a used bike on the prices they see on new bikes in the toy department of the KMart.