Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - My '87 Bianchi won't sell

Hi everyone. I just found this site and joined a few days ago. I have really enjoyed reading through this thread. I can't believe some of the finds you guys have found for so very little money. Am I correct in assuming that many of you who have posted here are in the business of refurbishing and selling these great older bikes? I have another question. I have a 1987 Biachi Brava in excellent condition that I've decided to sell. I have listed it in Craigslist and have had quite a few interested people. But have not been able to get close to what I think this is worth. So my question is what IS it worth. What do you guys think? The Brava had a complete Shimono 105 group. This thing still rides and shifts like new. Here's a pic.150842150841

Hi everyone. I just found this site and joined a few days ago. I have really enjoyed reading through this thread. I can't believe some of the finds you guys have found for so very little money. Am I correct in assuming that many of you who have posted here are in the business of refurbishing and selling these great older bikes? I have another question. I have a 1987 Biachi Brava in excellent condition that I've decided to sell. I have listed it in Craigslist and have had quite a few interested people. But have not been able to get close to what I think this is worth. So my question is what IS it worth. What do you guys think? The Brava had a complete Shimono 105 group. This thing still rides and shifts like new. Here's a pic.150842150841

Hi quattrog - and Welcome to C&V.

I would venture a guess that your Bianchi Brava is worth 2-3 hundred dollars, depending on your local Market.

BTW - the moderators will probably move this post to the Appraisal sub-forum at the top of the page where the Bianchi savants can give a more accurate estimate.

PS - a lot of us refurb these old bikes but I venture to say that very few of us net any real money - it's more of a means to feed our C&V habits!

What do you think it is worth, quattrog?

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=150841&d=1273881761 (http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=150841&d=1273881761)

somebody needs to dig that guy up...

too bad that isn't a 59. it is a great looking bike and for the bike, shoes, pump, and everything else $300 would be tops. it is a nice DB chromo frame, and I think the same as my '87 Sport SX so I know it rides great. the silver 105 is very classic.

$250 to $275 around here, in immaculate, ready to ride condition, and superb marketing (better pics, and full size too). There often is what we think a bike is worth, and what the market thinks it is worth. Sometimes, really nice bikes just aren't appreciated as much as they should be. A well marketed bike in great condition should sell to the first person that looks at it. It is really rare for me to have a bike not bought by the first looker. Its getting someone to show up and look at it that is the biggest problem. C/L around here at least is full of deadbeats and no shows.

Classic 1987 Bianchi Brava 10 spd 56cm - $375 (Northampton, PA) (http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/1732652451.html)


For sale is my '87 Bianchi Brava, black with Celest lettering and handlebar tape. It is a 56cm frame. This is in excellent condition. It has a complete Shimano 105 group. I'm including a set of Shimano clipless pedals as well as the 105 pedals. This thing shifts and rides like new. This is located in Northampton, PA, just north of Allentown. Asking $375.00 OBO.
For better pictures, go to : http://picasaweb.google.com/glennstrouse1/20100415BianchiRoadBikeForSale#

http://images.craigslist.org/3n13ma3o55V45Z15W4a59346d8eac088f11bd.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/3n53k73o55Y25Q35R4a5988d9cfede0541851.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/3n63o03l65V35Y15S4a5995562ccd1ecd133e.jpghttp://images.craigslist.org/3n33m53l75O15Q45U5a59c3b4fbc73aaf1422.jpg

Nice looking bike. But, one thing your bike doesn't have going for it is the color. Many vintage buyers want their Bianchi bike frames to be painted celeste and will pay a premium for it.

This has been listed in my local CL for a while now :)

It's a bit overpriced for here... This is a $200ish bike around here (maybe $250 for a Bianchi lover). 25-26 lbs and 105. At that $375 price rance in Lehigh valley, it better be Columbus or 531 frame with 600 and above or STIs. There was a modern bike with 9 speed Ultegra listed the other day for $400. You cannot compete with that.

To the OP: There are a few things you can do to help this sell:

a. drop the price to $250 and be ready to accept $200
b. get rid of the shoes (kinda creepy). You can ebay those for $20 or so
c. Get some decent pictures on the body of the ad. You need a good background (like a cement wall or a garage door; not a bush) so people can make out details of the bike. Get pictures of the lugs, and the major selling points of the bike. The 105 and the shoes are not the major selling points on a bike.
d. the extras on the bike (Silca frame pump and computer) are nice but will not really give you more money on CL. ebay them. CL buyers see extras as "freebies".
e. your bike looks in great shape. Take pictures that show that and mention it in the ad. Get it out on natural light and shoot.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the replies. I had originally listed this in the Lehigh Valley CL for $150.00 and got a ton of responses. I figured that I had it listed too low. So I contacted the bike shop that I originally purchased it from new. They suggested to start at $400 in the Philly CL listings and see what I could get. I have gotten a few offers, highest being $200.00. From reading these responses, I'll take some better pictures and relist it. See what happens. P.S. from reading all the posts in the Classics section, I'm starting to get a little nostalgic. I just may reconsider selling it. Thanks again.

I could sell it for $275-300 in Tampa. Of course thats with a properly written ad and outside hosted pics.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=150841&d=1273881761 (http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=150841&d=1273881761)

somebody needs to dig that guy up...

It's the classic replies like this that keep me coming back to bf, thanks for the laugh:thumb:

...and clean it really, really, really well.

Says a lot about how well something has been taken care of.

+1 Your pictures are not helping at all. You need to use a photo hosting site, like photobucket or Flickr, and then put FULL SIZE pictures in your ad. The one of the bike should be of the drive side of course, then pics of main components and possibly decalling. Pictures sell bikes, not words. So depending on your ad, less words, more pics is the proven formula.

+1 you need to clean the bike really well. An hour with Simple Green will do wonders. Buyers will assume a dirty bike has maintenance problems and will also assume a spotless bike has no issues or problems. Kind of like a used car dealer selling highly detailed cars, versus as found, needs to be cleaned up cars.

+1 Huge turnoff if your price crosses the $300 mark. Bikes priced at $300 plus either need to be something really exceptional, or a brifter (STI) bike. A Shimano 105 bike is a good, solid middle of the road bike, not exceptional for sure. As far as what the bike shop told you, how many USED bikes have they sold, and if they have sold a lot of them, then of course, we all know dealers can obtain a higher price. Buyers purchasing from an individual would not expect to pay a bike shop price.

+1 First thing I remove from any bike are extras: tire pump, clipless pedals, shoes and so on. I just sold a set of pedals off one bike (that I picked up off Craigs List) on ebay for $108. Sold the trainer that came with the bike for another $60. I did not pay anything extra for this stuff when it came with the bike, nor would a buyer if I left them on the bike. I still have the shoes to sell, plus a floor pump and some tools (shoes fit me, so I might keep them). Paid $300 for the bike originally, put a reasonable/low value on the tools, floor pump and shoes that I still have from the bike, and I now have less than $100 into the bike itself. Its a full Shimano Sante bike, with a full Reynolds 531C frame. This bike languished on Charlotte Craigs List earlier this year for several weeks, so its not like I scooped it up before anyone saw it. My point: buyers will put ZERO value into the extras, they are looking for a bike. But other buyers (ebay) that are looking for some of those extras, will buy them from you. If you don't have the time/patience to sell the stuff separately, just understand you will not get value out of them.

Ok, so I spent some time today doing a proper cleaning. I have placed full sized pics on my site from my IP. Take a look and let me know. So what wrk101 is stating is that I should remove the clipless pedals and just sell it with the original pedals. If so, what do you think the Shimano 105 clipless pedals are worth? I also have a set of rollers from Nashbar. Any idea what they might be worth? I can't seem to upload the pics of the rollers at this time, I'll try again later.

http://users.rcn.com/gstrouse/Bianchi%20Brava/

I just sold an Ironman, on CL, same day, listed for $325. It was very clean, ready to ride,and my net was close to zero, but I'm thinning the herd.

LBS 30 miles away is selling a Lemans RS, same year, lower level of everything, and is asking $400. Mgr said, yeah, we'll get $350. He said a customer looks at the wall of Trek and Specialized, sees the prices, and doesn't haggle much on a $400 used bike.

I wish I could open a store right next to that one.

OP, I couldn't open your photo page.
The bike would bring $200-$250 here.
Celeste adds $50.
STI's, add $100-$250.

The main pricing factor here are late '90s and early '00s going with STI's for $350-$500.
A good 2x7 indexed bike will not bring close to that kind of money. Even with Campy.

105 clipless pedals, take the old Look Delta cleat, $15-$20 because there are tons of Looks out there.

Rollers from Nashbar may fit more than one trainer, or are you talking about the entire trainer?
I just sold my Performance roller trainer for $65.

Much better pictures! Well done. Pick three or four max for your ad. I would put traditional quill pedals on the bike if you have them. Search ebay completed items for similar pedals, be sure to include cleats. Buyers around here prefer bike trainer stands over rollers. I have sold several trainers, not up to speed on roller values. Those pedals seem to be going for around $40 on ebay.

Wow, you guys are fast. Ok, so the clipless are coming off. I'll put the originals back on. I loved using the rollers. but I can understand that they are not for everyone. I'm thinking $50.00 asking price for them.

Much better pictures! Well done. Pick three or four max for your ad. I would put traditional quill pedals on the bike if you have them. Search ebay completed items for similar pedals, be sure to include cleats. Buyers around here prefer bike trainer stands over rollers. I have sold several trainers, not up to speed on roller values. Those pedals seem to be going for around $40 on ebay.

+1

These pictures will sell the bike.

well done, sir!

One last KEY point, in least IMHO. Do not provide a link to your pictures in the Craigs List ad, except as possible additional pictures. You need to imbed the pictures into the text of the ad, full size, using HTML. DO NOT use the crappy attach a picture function on Craigs List. That will give you a postage size pic. Depending where you are hosting pictures (I use Flickr), it should be pretty obvious. In Flickr, I just copy the HTML below the pic, and insert it directly into the ad.

One last KEY point, in least IMHO. Do not provide a link to your pictures in the Craigs List ad, except as possible additional pictures. You need to imbed the pictures into the text of the ad, full size, using HTML. DO NOT use the crappy attach a picture function on Craigs List. That will give you a postage size pic. Depending where you are hosting pictures (I use Flickr), it should be pretty obvious. In Flickr, I just copy the HTML below the pic, and insert it directly into the ad.

Thanks, I didn't know that I had that option.

Thanks, I didn't know that I had that option.

yes you do... all you need is to embed the following in the CL blurb for every picture: (and I am not sure that this interface will allow me to)

<img src ="blahblah.com/img.jpg">

hey... it allows it... so:

<img src = "http://users.rcn.com/gstrouse/Bianchi%20Brava/DSCN1013.JPG">

becomes this in CL:

http://users.rcn.com/gstrouse/Bianchi%20Brava/DSCN1013.JPG

yes you do... all you need is to embed the following in the CL blurb for every picture: (and I am not sure that this interface will allow me to)

<img src ="blahblah.com/img.jpg">

hey... it allows it... so:

<img src = "http://users.rcn.com/gstrouse/Bianchi%20Brava/DSCN1013.JPG">

becomes this in CL:

http://users.rcn.com/gstrouse/Bianchi%20Brava/DSCN1013.JPG

where did you score this? it is a great looking Brava.


OH I see now it is the OP's bike just buffed and fluffed. looks great but it will never sell on CL with that pic. it is taken from the wrong side LOL

I just copy/paste the Photobucket HTML code into my ad.

Bianchigirl, what do you mean that the pic was taken from the wrong side? Does it really matter? I would have thought that the side showing the derailleur would be the best to so. I do have a pic from the other side that is in the group of pics that I point to. But I don't have it in the CL post.

Bianchigirl, what do you mean that the pic was taken from the wrong side? Does it really matter? I would have thought that the side showing the derailleur would be the best to so. I do have a pic from the other side that is in the group of pics that I point to. But I don't have it in the CL post.

She is kidding you methinks. She refers to the bad practive of the majority of CL sellers to take pictures of bikes from the non-drive side. You are all good :)

id buy it in a heart beat if it were my size.

I wanted to say thanks to everyone here who responded with input on how to sell my Bianchi. After following the suggestions, and spending time to really pretty it up, I had quite a few people contact me from my CL listing. But no one followed up. So I put it on Ebay with a buy it now price and it sold in two days. The person is very happy with it and was amazed by it's condition. Again, thanks for the input!

Well done!!

I would have raised my price by 20.00 since it has a flickstand.

congrats on your success! funny for some reason I was thinking about this bike the other day and wondering if it ever sold.