JunkYardBike

A couple days ago I bought an Expedition frame one size too small for me (56cm) as the seller had mismeasured. It was a two hour round trip and the price was definitely fair for an Expedition, so I decided not to leave empty handed. However, it wasn't a steal and I knew there might be some hidden issues. There were.

However, the night before one sold on ebay for $710. The seller claims to be a professional mechanic, purportedly overhauled the entire bike, and 'upgraded' the drivetrain to 7 speed (though as far as I'm concerned, this probably didn't enhance the value much). The seller has over 1300 feedback, while I have fewer than 100 (though mine is perfect). His photos left something to be desired.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

So, my question to anyone tracking Expedition or Miyata 1000 sales: what percentage of this sale is the frame? Unfortunately, there are several problem areas on the bike I purchased that will require a small investment to fix, so I think I may try to sell the frameset alone. It's in very good condition with only a few minor scrapes, a couple places which were touched up by a previous owner, and a some decal peeling.

I may just offer the frame up for sale here and a couple other forums at a fixed price, but I'm toying with the idea of gambling on ebay with an auction starting at .99 cents. I know I have the frame size going for me, but I'm worried I might not recoup my investment. The components by themselves have sufficient wear that their value is negligible.

nlerner

I recently sold my Kogswell as a frame set on eBay and worried over similar issues. What I did was offer a BIN price that I could live with in addition to a fairly low starting price. Within three hours of the initial listing, someone went for the BIN.

Neal

JunkYardBike

So you undersold yourself. That's probably the reason I really posted this thread. I know the price I can live with, which is just slightly above my purchase price, but I'm curious if it's the frameset that sells the bike, or if the build is important. On many bikes, barring the presence of a highly coveted groupset, I'd guess the frameset accounts for at least 60% of the purchase price, if not more.

5cagm

From what I have seen from my 'career' in ebay purchasing, this is often the case. For whatever reason, many ebay buyers see all of the components almost as consumables and it is often the frame itself that drives the majority (60% seems about right) of the price. I have fallen into that trap a few times myself to be honest. For whatever reason I forget about all the cost of a build whenever I see a beauty frame.

nlerner

I'm not familiar with what components would have come with your Expedition, but I'm assuming it's not anything super rare or hard to piece together. I'd assume in this case the frame is where the value is.

Neal

EjustE

One option is to list it on ebay as a whole bike after the defects are taken care of. And, yes, it sounds crazy, but not when you look at the individual bids in the auction you mentioned. There was someone (with 42 feedback) bidding and bidding and bidding and fell about $20 short at the end. He/she might want your bike at close to $700.

As far as touring framesets go, in my experience, true loaded turing framesets like this (canti brake bosses, lowrider attachments on the fork, dual eyelets on both dropouts - single up front may be ok- plenty of water bottle attachments) sell for about twice as much as a road frameset with the same tubing material. Do the math and see where that gets you.

Another option is to start the auction as a frameset at a pricepoint you are comfortable getting. These days ebay does not charge extra fees based on listing price.

Before I forget : If you are planning on selling this as a frameset, you should remove the bottom bracket. Touring crank preferences are all over the place and a perspective buyer who is willing to build it from the frame up will see the BB as a PITA instead of added value.

EjustE

Yes and no. And depends on the bike and the frame. In a couple of instances I bought bikes with STI and Ergo 7 and 8 speed set ups and really looked at the frame as the less interesting part, because I had a build I was working on and needed a donor.

JunkYardBike

You're right, nothing rare, but it is a very nice build with components that are still tour worthy (though I'd personally want more than 5 cogs on the freewheel, and half-step isn't my cup of tea). Also, there's a bit of a cult following for the Expedition and 1000 touring rigs, so I'm sure to some a complete original build is important, and can help boost the ebay bidding.

The list is getting too long: cartridge bearings in hubs need replacement (last time LBS attempted, they cracked my Suntour hub), looks like the chain was derailed into the rear spokes at one point, one of the levers on the Suntour Symmetric shifters feels a little loosey goosey (can't remember if this is normal or not - didn't feel it when set up), rust on all the chromed steel bits on the XT canti brakes, Biopace rings replaced the original Suntour at some point, Suntour Mountech RD (need I say more?).

So, not impossible to address, but it might cost a bit more (especially cartridge bearing replacement) and I'd further compromise originality on several bits.

It's also easier to ship a frame.

Oh, and the BB requires a special tool to remove the adjustable cups. It's an early Suntour cartridge hub, and it's still smooth, so I don't want to damage it during removal.

wrk101

The problem with ebay final auction pricing is the variance. Sometimes an item goes high, really high. Other times they go cheap. And despite a really good listing, you are to a degree at the whim of bidders. Sometimes someone has to have it, get two of them, and it can go really well. The main way I protect myself from this is by starting the auction at an acceptable price for me. Its not fool proof for sure.

As a buyer, I love the variance on ebay auctions. As a seller, I hate it.

JunkYardBike

But there's always the thrill of the gamble, and that's what I'm struggling with! I know these bikes are sought after, and 56cm is a good size, but as you say, it's a crap shoot. Also, I've not sold a 'big ticket' item auction style on ebay for a long while, but just read that their current cut is 9%! I think you'll be seeing this frame listed at an optimistic price on some familiar websites.