91MF

https://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/2547175884.html

what am i doing wrong?
i see lesser bikes listed for +$500 and singlespeed/fixy conversions priced +$350

i've been instructed to dismantle and part out but that seems a shame, no?

LesterOfPuppets

Glued Aluminum is often a tough sell around here.

The crowd that will put up with DT shifters generally want lugged steel.

Cannondale or Trek being some notable possible exceptions. Probably tough to sell all but the highest end of those brands' Al bikes from that era for $500, or extremely attractive looking specimen.

Wait, you've only had it up one day? Patience is a virtue.

One more thing, I often find bike ads placed early Saturday morning do better than those posted at other times. Be at the top of the queue when shoppers start hitting the CL.

91MF

thanks for the tips. and this is my 4th re-list... rrrr frustrating to put $50 in tape and cables on a bike to find out i'd have been better off just taking it apart completely.

mparker326

Higher priced bikes take longer to sell on CL.

Thoughts: Is it overpriced? 105 level components? Brand recognition issues?

Post some html pictures in your add instead of using the default CL upload photo mechanism.

Use some html breaks to separate your specs instead of letting them run together.

Peacob

I'm gunna say right off the bat what lester said... anyone looking for a older road bike is looking for lugged steel, high-end lugged steel at that.

LesterOfPuppets

+1 on pics. Get a couple of closeup shots to go with that overview on your photobucket and put html links to them in the ad.

Dang, that tape is new? That bike is screaming for some silver Fizik. Kinda spendy for a flip but it would look awesome!

]

91MF

'html' i dont know - i wouldnt even know where to begin.

and i dont know if its overpriced. if someone can rip every part off a low-end miele and throw some $89 ebay fixy wheelset on it and list for $400 why can i not list this for $500obo?

LesterOfPuppets

There's just a bigger market for that kinda stuff. There may be one in a 1,000,000 people looking for a really nice glued aluminum road bike with DT shifters and nice wheels for $500.

There are FAR more looking for a sweet fixie for $400.

Inserting pics is pretty easy. Here's a tutorial on it.

I can sympathize with the waiting and "is my price right?" frustration since I like to flip old MTBs. I often have to let them run for 2-3 months before I get my asking price.

GrantH

html = the photobucket link to your photo of choice. fixies are "in", people pay to be "cool".

JunkYardBike

I'd say you're overpriced by $100-$200. Maybe those wheels are worth something (I have no idea). If so, swap them out with something cheaper and drop your price.

You mention other prices on your local CL. Those are asking prices, not final sale prices.

But, yeah, you're right. Even if you put a lot of work into a bike, the profit margins are slim. That's why to so many people on the forum, this is a hobby not a business.

10 Wheels

Nice bike..The white tape was a turn off for me.

AltheCyclist

I think it'll be a tough sell ... mostly reasons listed (DT shifters, alum, etc.). It's not really collectable. Plus, you have to find someone who wants a 90s roadie. If someone wants an alum bike to ride and has $500, they're going to get a new model for only a few hundred more.
eBay has lots of cons, I wouldn't compare your bike to those for sale on ebay.

A buyer might check bikepedia .. here
It went for $800 MSRP, almost 20 years ago. At 60cm, it's not a common size.
Sorry, but I think you'll be lucky to get $200.

You could try taking off the asking price, and write, "taking offers" to see what you get as response.

tugrul

Go edit the ad and stick this in.

<img src="https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/13deluxe/photo-5.jpg"/>

Bianchigirll 

I kind of like it, if it was near me I may go $400 for it but would have to chance being stuck with it it I did not like the ride.

biekbike

+1 on the pics. My experience on CL has been you need to have several detailed photos to sell a bike. There's a lot of competition on there and the person looking to buy a bike feels a lot more comfortable dropping $500 on something they can see up close, but they're not going to take a chance and waste gas money to drive out to your house based on a tiny photo with no detail.
Also, $500 IMO is too much, think about the market. No brifters, it's not a collectible bike, and a Giant OCR 3 (while not 105, but brifters and new derailleurs) was only coming in about $150 above your asking price. Honestly, I think $300 and you will have some bites.
Pretty, take some more photos, show it off and if you really don't get anymore bites lower the price. Here's a link to put HTML photos on CL, believe me you will have a 101% better chance.
https://websense.hubpages.com/hub/How...Classified-Ads

zazenzach

+1

your bike is overpriced as well. id throw it up for $300.

people pay a higher premium for fixed so you cannot compare your bike to one

tugrul

It seems whenever I feel that way recently, somebody goes and sells it for more than I expected.

zazenzach

well, its possible you can get more money out of it.

but you have to realize, the people who do put a lot of energy and time into it. ive seen bikes on my local craigslist stay up for months before people get what they want for em

if time isnt a constraint then hold to your guns. if you want it sold sometime sooner then cut the price. but like its mentioned, aluminum bikes with downtube shifters dont have a huge customer base

Poguemahone

There's usually a hole in old bike pricing where it is better to buy than to sell. It's around 10-20 years out. That's where you can find the bargains quite often. To old to even be close to new, and not old enough to have value on the vintage market. You'll note that date is right around where your bike is. Big size ain't helping, either.

wrk101

+1 To above. $50 for cables and bar tape? You need to shop more.

A Shimano 105 bike would not bring that kind of money around here.

Lesser bike listed does not = lesser bike sold.

4th relist in a big market = price too high.

91MF

$30 fizik tape didn't help. meh.

so I made the image big(thanks) but I see what you guys are saying. I'm very aware I'm in the minority as a person who likes aluminum and steel bikes almost equally(almost).

I figure I'll take some better pictures lower the price a bit and post for Saturday morning early.

if that doesn't pan out I'll tear it apart and sell the bits separately.

thanks for the help guys.

Giacomo 1 

Could it be that the Cadex name doesn't carry much weight with cyclists?

Admittadely, I don't know much about them and as far as I can tell they don't seem extremely popular or numerous. I havn't seen them talked about at all here. There is only one for sale on e-bay right now for instance, and it is pretty similar to what you are trying to sell. You might want to take a look at it and follow it because it is a 93 model, Shimano 105 equipped, but with brifters and it's carbon instead of aluminum. He is selling it for $549BIN.

It's a good looking bike though!

stonefree

My opinion is usually of no consequence, but as a potential customer I may be able to contibute to your grief, which is not necessarily my intention.

In the past few months I've bid on about a dozen bikes similar to this and haven't gotten a single one, basically because my budget after shipping and whatnot is closer to $400 and not $500 just because these old bikes are a gamble and are just not worth it in a market flooded with brand new bikes I can see up close at the LBS for $700. Get the picture?

So all the bike flippers out there that are outbidding me are going to end up stuck with bikes that won't sell because the market is changing rapidly. Overstocked LBS's are everywhere now and I don't really want a bike with plastic brake levers. Ok?

I'm not going to buy a bike on CL for $600 that I just got outbid for on Epay for $450. So there, I said it.

Maybe it's just the principle of the thing.

BTW...any numbnutz can add tape and pedals to a bike but that doesn't mean it's worth $200 more.

jet sanchEz

Some straight-on photos of the bike against a white wall would help. Mention the wheels on their own, they are the most interesting facet of the bike. Gipiemme makes those rims for Campagnolo and then Campagnolo made the Shamals, Ventos and Zondas with them. You might as well play up Giant being the best aluminium bicycle manufacturer on the planet too.

Drop the "bonded lugs" part as no one will looking at the ad will know what that means, but mention the lugs. The few people that do look at the ad who know a bit about bikes don't want to hear the words "stiff" and "aluminium" in the same sentence. Take out the "1994" part.

rccardr 

As nice riding as these Cadex bikes are (and yours looks very nice), many people shy away from something that's been glued (bonded) instead of welded, even if it's not lugged. Especially the uninitiated. Gearing is not hill-friendly, but not sure what the geography is like around Vancouver, so maybe that's not an issue.

With regard to ads, I always believe that it's best to 'tell a story'. One with a beginning (who I am and why I do this bike thing), a middle (this is where the specific bike for sale fits in the pantheon of all things bike-ish) and an end (this is how it was rebuilt, with what, and why).

I sell about 15 bikes a year, always for my asking price, always to the first person who shows up to look at it. Always.