Notices
Classic & Vintage This forum is to discuss the many aspects of classic and vintage bicycles, including musclebikes, lightweights, middleweights, hi-wheelers, bone-shakers, safety bikes and much more.

flippers

Old 11-26-10, 03:13 PM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
surreal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: NJ
Posts: 3,084
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
flippers

Hi. There've been some threads on here this past week that deal alot with CL, ebay, proper decorum on such sites, hat constitutes an "outing" foul, etc. I have my opinions, and they may differ from the opinions of many of y'all, but here's the question:

Who out there is a flipper? Given the paranoia i've detected, i expect many of you won't want to "out" yourselves as such, but for those of you with courage: who among you are flippers, and why?

-rob

edit: of course, i mean flippers of vintage bikes. Just to let everyone know this is on topic

Last edited by surreal; 11-26-10 at 03:14 PM. Reason: paranoia
surreal is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 03:29 PM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
cycleheimer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: New York Metro Area
Posts: 4,249

Bikes: '02 Litespeed, '99 Bianchi Alfana. '91 Fuji Saratoga, '84 Peugeot Canyon Express, '82 Moto GR, '81 Fuji America, '81 Fuji Royale; '78 Bridgestone Diamond Touring, '76 Fuji America, plus many more!

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 178 Post(s)
Liked 222 Times in 126 Posts
This guy?

cycleheimer is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 03:46 PM
  #3  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Bland Diego, CA
Posts: 186
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Well, you got me dead to rights.

What started me out was the JaParamount I found in the trash. I sold it because it was too small for me, but not before I built it back up with a full Shimano 600 STI group, right down to the hubs, and period-correct Mavic SUP rims. I got $350 for it, which was a good price considering its condition and equipment.

I also have sold 3 Nishikis: a Sport, a Riviera GT and a Modulus (converted to all Shimano 105 STI), a GT ZR5000 (full RX100 STI,) a Schwinn LeTour (Exage,) a damn near 50lb Peugot, a Motobecane Jury, and a Centurion step-thru from the 70s. Seems like there was another I forget, but I think that's it.

I sold them all in not fully restored, but reworked condition. All of them needed something and left me looking good and riding like they should, not with silly colored tires or deep-Vs, not just with new bar tape and tubes, but quality vintage period-correct parts. All of the money I "made" went into my next build, and not one single person has come back to complain about any of them. I would know it because my email and phone number haven't changed since I started flipping. I'd buy any and all of them back, and I let my buyers know it, too.

My problems with most flippers these days: People that turn decent quality road bikes into fixies really chap my ass (like the guy who bought my Riviera GT,) especially considering all the options for track fork end frames out there (I built up my current Nishiki into a single only because it has no shifter bosses or derailleur hanger on the stamped drops.) Also, people who sell nearly ten year old Tiagra and Sora equipped bikes at near MSRP when I can get a 105 or Ultegra equipped bike for the same price, as well as someone who would sell an old Schwinn Varsity for the same price as a late 80's World that weighs half as much and has better components. That's my three cents.
Taxi Rob is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 03:48 PM
  #4  
Senior Member
 
toytech's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: san leandro
Posts: 1,453

Bikes: enough bikes to qualify for Hoarders......

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I flip the odd bike to support my hobby, nothing more.
toytech is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 04:02 PM
  #5  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Minnesota- the frozen tundra
Posts: 1,947

Bikes: 1977 Raleigh Super Grand Prix, 1976 Gitane Tour de France

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
I flip quite a few bikes as a hobby and for a little additional income, I buy them as cheaply as I can and completely go through them before selling them.

My son found my first project a 1977 Raleigh Super Grand Prix with a free sign on it in our neighborhood and it was just my size and after the fun I had building it I was hooked.

I do not do fixie or single speed conversions, I just rebuild them to the best riding condition I can and sell them at reasonable prices. I haven't found much in the way of high end stuff but I find a great deal of satisfaction in rescuing a bike from near certain doom and giving it a new life with someone that wil hopefully ride it and care for it in the future.

I'm not terribly fussy, I'll fix up anything I think I can make money on but I do tend to stick to old road bikes. I just don't have much interest in working on anything else.

I've built and kept a couple for myself and for other family members as well which is also fun, the whole family is on vintage road bikes now.

The guys that drive me nuts locally are the ones that grab up every dirt cheap bike they can and try to flip them without doing any work on them which drives up the prices on a lot of other bikes that should sell for a lot less than they do.
SteveSGP is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 04:03 PM
  #6  
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,280
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times in 6 Posts
I was a flipper. After this past year I will be more of an occasional flipper than a full time flipper. Flipping has gotten my wife and me 5 De Rosa's, 3 Merckx's, a Bianchi, a Tomas and a handful of Schwinn's.
Old Fat Guy is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 04:10 PM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
randyjawa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - burrrrr!
Posts: 11,672

Bikes: 1958 Rabeneick 120D, 1968 Legnano Gran Premio, 196? Torpado Professional, 2000 Marinoni Piuma

Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1370 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,743 Times in 934 Posts
I am a bicycle flipper and proud to be one.

I salvage bicycles that might, otherwise, end up in a landfill site, adding more waste to a near wasted Mother Earth. I also manage to offer a service and a product that other people seek. I try to be honest, in my dealings, and make an effort to offer more than is expected or agreed upon.

And I am proud of what I do. I get my hands on some pretty neat bicycles. Meet some pretty interesting people. Manage and publish a website designed to help others interested in vintage bicycles, and...

Through my bike flipping interests, managed to become a member of Bicycles for Humanity.

What's wrong with being a flipper. Did I mention I am proud of what I do.
randyjawa is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 04:16 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Bland Diego, CA
Posts: 186
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by randyjawa
What's wrong with being a flipper. Did I mention I am proud of what I do.
Nothing, unless you are one of the ones driving up prices on lower-end bikes and making cycling LESS accessible for people. Not to single you out, just a good question needing answered.
Taxi Rob is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 04:28 PM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
cycleheimer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: New York Metro Area
Posts: 4,249

Bikes: '02 Litespeed, '99 Bianchi Alfana. '91 Fuji Saratoga, '84 Peugeot Canyon Express, '82 Moto GR, '81 Fuji America, '81 Fuji Royale; '78 Bridgestone Diamond Touring, '76 Fuji America, plus many more!

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 178 Post(s)
Liked 222 Times in 126 Posts
Originally Posted by Taxi Rob
Nothing, unless you are one of the ones driving up prices on lower-end bikes and making cycling LESS accessible for people. Not to single you out, just a good question needing answered.
As far as driving up prices and making cycling therefore less accessible, there are some amazingly good deals on brand-new bikes from online merchants. This is especially true when they have special promotional discount deals. Performance was just selling the men's Mongoose Kaldi Double for about $175. I've seen other new bikes selling at discounts over 60%. No scratched up paint, dents, rust, broken parts, outdated parts, dried out tires, etc. Biggest worry is that the bikes will not be that great, and will provide a substandard cycling experience that will turn people off.
cycleheimer is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 04:40 PM
  #10  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,127
Mentioned: 480 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3788 Post(s)
Liked 6,573 Times in 2,580 Posts
I was an occasional flipper, mostly old 3-speeds and single-speed conversions, but I rarely do that now. I'd rather be working on my own bikes rather than someone else's (and I have lots of bikes that need work!).

Neal
nlerner is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 04:56 PM
  #11  
Senior Member
 
brian3069's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,905

Bikes: Raleigh Supercourse

Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 218 Post(s)
Liked 167 Times in 101 Posts
Originally Posted by Taxi Rob
Nothing, unless you are one of the ones driving up prices on lower-end bikes and making cycling LESS accessible for people. Not to single you out, just a good question needing answered.

Demand drives prices up, not supplying the demand. If anything Taking A bike that has been out of circulation and reintroducing it to the market reduces prices.
brian3069 is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 05:14 PM
  #12  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Bland Diego, CA
Posts: 186
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Well you obviously haven't been on the San Diego craigslist in the last several years... another thing that bugs me is, where do some of these guys get their endless supply of bikes?
Taxi Rob is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 05:24 PM
  #13  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Bland Diego, CA
Posts: 186
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by brian3069
Demand drives prices up, not supplying the demand
Tell that to the people who believe that capital creates markets, not consumer spending.
Taxi Rob is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 05:24 PM
  #14  
Senior Member
 
TugaDude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,511
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 586 Post(s)
Liked 612 Times in 447 Posts
I am not a flipper per se, but I have bought and sold several bikes on Craigslist. I generally buy a bike, clean it, tune it and ride it. If I want to keep it, it stays in the garage. If it just isn't right for me, I sell it. I don't buy a bike with the intention of immediately flipping it.

By doing this I have learned how to fix bikes, learned about all sorts of components, and provide a service to other buyers in that I buy bikes that "need help" and get them road worthy. I don't end up making much, just enough to buy the next bike.

One of the things this has allowed me to do is to keep upgrading my collection. I started out with a Giant Yukon mountain bike (which I still have) and went through a Peugeot, Miyata, Schwinn PDG 30, Raleigh Olympian, Bridgestone Kabuki, etc, etc.

Along the way I've kept a near-mint Schwinn World Sport from '89, a Schwinn Le Tour '74, a Schwinn Le Tour Luxe '85, a Raleigh Technium 460, a Gary Fisher Super AR road bike and another Bridgestone Kabuki Submariner which I'm currently trying to sell. All the others are going to stay around awhile.

I agree that it can be an issue, but I think that I have benefitted the buyers of bikes that I've sold by completely cleaning them, touching up paint, replacing worn cables and housing, rewrapping bars, etc. When they buy a bike from me it looks pretty close to new.
TugaDude is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 05:28 PM
  #15  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Bland Diego, CA
Posts: 186
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by TugaDude
Schwinn PDG
THAT'S the one I forgot, the aluminum Schwin PDG 684 road bike, Shimano 105 8-speed STI.

I share your philosophy on what I've done as far as flipping. I don't look to "profit" as much as get a little bit for my time to invest in my next ride.
Taxi Rob is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 05:44 PM
  #16  
Vello Kombi, baby
 
Poguemahone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Je suis ici
Posts: 5,322

Bikes: 1973 Eisentraut; 1970s Richard Sachs; 1978 Alfio Bonnano; 1967 Peugeot PX10

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 80 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 14 Times in 13 Posts
Originally Posted by Taxi Rob
Well you obviously haven't been on the San Diego craigslist in the last several years... another thing that bugs me is, where do some of these guys get their endless supply of bikes?
If you do this a while, and treat people well, you can build up an effective number of contacts. Then the bikes will often come to you.

There are a number of other methods, all of them time intensive. Searching yard sales, thrift stores, and auctions takes time and you are often competing with a number of other people looking for bikes. One thing I do is look for a few other things of interest as well when I go into a thrift or yard sale. Usually it's music or videos.

It also helps to communicate with people who flip other things. I've become friends with people who flip golf clubs and records, and look for those when I hunt for bikes. It profits both of us.

I'm not a serious flipper, very much a hobbyist, but I find some pretty good stuff. It allows me to build and ride some very fun bikes.

I always try to treat the seller honestly and well, I've found it helps. I've seen many CL flippers who treat sellers with suspiscon and are always looking for the "deal." Don't do this. You will on occasion meet people who are completely unrealistic about what they have, but you do not have to buy form them.
__________________
"It's always darkest right before it goes completely black"

Waste your money! Buy my comic book!
Poguemahone is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 05:46 PM
  #17  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Wilmette, IL
Posts: 7,318
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 746 Post(s)
Liked 717 Times in 347 Posts
Yes I flip bikes. All my bikes are pieced together from bikes that I have flipped. I dont like spending money for bike parts. If I can buy a bike and harvest the wheels, or cranks, or saddle, and sell off the rest and break even, I'm happy. If I make a few dollars, even happier.

To flip bikes and make money thats another story. In Chicago bikes sell very cheap. I've found its just not worth the effort unless the bikes I am selling were acquired for free or very little money.

Now that its winter though, I'll start searching a few out to repair and repaint just for the fun of it. I make no money on a repaint, but I have the satisfaction of bringing a bike back to life and making it look good.
big chainring is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 05:57 PM
  #18  
Wood
 
David Newton's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Beaumont, Tx
Posts: 2,304

Bikes: Raleigh Sports: hers. Vianelli Professional & Bridgestone 300: mine

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 12 Times in 10 Posts
Surreal, what are you, 20?
I don't flip bikes because I'd rather buy wood as inexpensive as I can, and work it and make it into something I can sell for as much money as I can.
If I flipped bikes, I'd want to buy as many as cheap as I could, fix them up and sell them for as much as my market would allow.
OOOOhhhh, make money, EVIL!
David Newton is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 06:17 PM
  #19  
Senior Member
 
sailorbenjamin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Rhode Island (an obscure suburb of Connecticut)
Posts: 5,703

Bikes: one of each

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 12 Times in 12 Posts
I flipped bikes for a couple of years. I got started because there was a decent metal scrap yard in my town that had a pile of bikes to pick through. People left a lot of good bikes out on the curb in that town on trash day, too.
We moved to another town with a decent recycling scene and plenty of good yard sales. Somehow I ended up with a pile of British 3 speeds. I'd buy them for 0-$25. go through them completely, wash, wax, new grease in all the bearings and decent tires (from one of the other bikes in the pile) and sell them for $100-$150. Decent money for 3-4 hours work and I could stand behind what I sold.
No real reason for the 3 speed thing other than luck, taste and maybe a little Sheldon influence. They were selling well in Boston, too. I'd get people driving all the way up to get a bike. Finally, there was this guy who'd stop by about once a month to shoot the breeze and he'd take a couple of bikes back to Boston when he left. I'm sure he made money on them, too.
I dabbled in other bikes. Japanese road bikes were worth the time. MTBs didn't seem to turn a profit, nor did kids bikes but I did the kids bikes anyway and gave them to the neighbors. 50s ballooners made money but I never seemed to have the right bearing cone or skip tooth master link in my pile of British 3 speeds.
We moved to a smaller place and I don't have the space now, nor are the recycling days as good around here so I just work on what's left. I'm down to 15-20 bikes. The goal is 3 bikes but I'll need a little time to let some of these babies go.
I was up to 50 at one point. I probably sold 50 over 2 years. The rest I put back in the recycling bin after stripping them down. I probably gave away 20. Say a hundred bikes total. 30 being Raleigh 3 speeds.
sailorbenjamin is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 06:20 PM
  #20  
Lug Princess
 
Veloria's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Easthaven Isle, ME
Posts: 911
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Well, I have sold 5 vintage bikes so far. The bikes sold for decent prices - but despite that I barely broke even in each case. Does that make me a flipper? I don't think so, as I'm pretty sure flipping assumes profit as a motive. I am curious to learn about vintage bikes, and plan to keep buying different ones. Some I will end up loving and keeping, others I will learn are not for me and will re-sell. Even if I do that to dozens of bikes over the years, I still do not see it as flipping unless the initial goal was to sell for profit. (Not that there is anything wrong with that either!)

Last edited by Veloria; 11-26-10 at 06:26 PM.
Veloria is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 06:21 PM
  #21  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
surreal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: NJ
Posts: 3,084
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Originally Posted by cycleheimer
This guy?


That's the one. I'm impressed that he can type at all, let alone browse CL from the swimming pool...

-rob
surreal is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 06:46 PM
  #22  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
surreal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: NJ
Posts: 3,084
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Originally Posted by David Newton
Surreal, what are you, 20?
I don't flip bikes because I'd rather buy wood as inexpensive as I can, and work it and make it into something I can sell for as much money as I can.
If I flipped bikes, I'd want to buy as many as cheap as I could, fix them up and sell them for as much as my market would allow.
OOOOhhhh, make money, EVIL!
Greetings, David Newton.

I suspect you inferred some stuff from my post. I apologize.

I'm not 20; i'm 33. I chose my BF handle back when i was 25, and i remain immature to this day. Now that we've got that out of the way, i wasn't trying to suggest that flipping specifically, or making money in general, is evil. I'm just curious as to why ppl flip, given that when you take into account drive time, grease, labor, any parts that aren't readily found in the bin, and the initial outlay, it can't be very profitable. I tend to buy only bikes that i think are keepers; if i'm wrong about fit or just the feel of a bike, i'll sell it if it's worth a few bills. If it's not got a lot of value, i usually end up giving it away, or parting it out. Gotta keep that parts bin stocked.

However, as some ppl have gone into in this thread, flipping does have an impact on supply and demand. Rehabbing trash-picked bikes is good for the environment. Reduce, re-use, recycle, blahblahblah. But, buying cheap ish on CL and at yard sales, just to give it a cursory tune-up and resell it, is quite another thing. This does kind of drive up the perceived demand of bikes, and it also drives up the average selling price, as flippers tend to know how to promote a bike effectively and get a good price.

In my early twenties, i learned a bit about bikes and charity by ritually trash-picking bikes from an affluent town nearby, making them serviceable, and giving them to ppl we knew who needed them. Basically, it was like a tiny little co-op that was "run" by my roommate asnd I, and we worked drunk on our own time. Yes, it was usually singlespeed conversions, low-buck, of entry-level bike-boom era bikes, often of the sort that were purchased in bike shops. Oh, the mixtes we found! Mostly given to girls from Japan. Nothing spectacular, but the kind of ish that brings $75 on CL these days. We gave them to the guy who ridesaround washing windows for cash, and to exchange students, and to friends of friends. Would it have been wrong to flip them instead? No. But i'm glad we did what we did.

I enjoyed doing all that stuff, more for the learning experience than for any altruism. And, the state of some of those bikes, i'd have felt bad to have taken money for them. But, now that i can turn a wrench a bit, i don't want to waste time and effort in an attempt to gain a tiny profit. That's just me, and most ppl who've responded to this thread seem to be in it for honorable reasons, without any significant delusions.

I'm just curious about the whole lifestyle, and how it causes the same folks to low-ball everything on the "appraisals" sub-forum to try to get a decent price for old bikes they acquired cheaply.

-rob
surreal is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 06:48 PM
  #23  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
surreal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: NJ
Posts: 3,084
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Originally Posted by Veloria
Well, I have sold 5 vintage bikes so far. The bikes sold for decent prices - but despite that I barely broke even in each case. Does that make me a flipper? I don't think so, as I'm pretty sure flipping assumes profit as a motive. I am curious to learn about vintage bikes, and plan to keep buying different ones. Some I will end up loving and keeping, others I will learn are not for me and will re-sell. Even if I do that to dozens of bikes over the years, I still do not see it as flipping unless the initial goal was to sell for profit. (Not that there is anything wrong with that either!)
Veloria,

You're not a flipper. You bought those bikes, gave 'em a serious go, featured them on your blog, and sold them if/when they didn't work for you. This new thing, with the shogun, that's not flipping, but you are doing some "flippant" stuff, which will end up promoting your blog. I find that admirable, but others might try to criticize it.

-rob
surreal is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 06:48 PM
  #24  
Forum Moderator
 
cb400bill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Kalamazoo MI
Posts: 21,321

Bikes: Fuji SL2.1 Carbon Di2 Cannondale Synapse Alloy 4 Trek Checkpoint ALR-5 Viscount Aerospace Pro Colnago Classic Rabobank Schwinn Waterford PMount Raleigh C50 Cromoly Hybrid Legnano Tipo Roma Pista

Mentioned: 58 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3059 Post(s)
Liked 6,377 Times in 3,690 Posts
Originally Posted by surreal
Who out there is a flipper? Given the paranoia i've detected, i expect many of you won't want to "out" yourselves as such, but for those of you with courage: who among you are flippers, and why?
I have flipped some bikes. Some bikes I flipped were purchased explicitily just for flipping. I bought them cheap, fixed and cleaned them up, and then sold them for a profit. The buyers were happy with the deal and I was happy to make money that I used to buy other bike stuff.

Others that I have sold were bikes I had that got replaced by something I wanted more.
__________________













Last edited by cb400bill; 11-26-10 at 06:51 PM.
cb400bill is offline  
Old 11-26-10, 06:51 PM
  #25  
Senior Member
 
AZORCH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Liberty, Missouri
Posts: 3,132

Bikes: 1966 Paramount | 1971 Raleigh International | ca. 1970 Bernard Carre | 1989 Waterford Paramount | 2012 Boulder Brevet | 2019 Specialized Diverge

Mentioned: 23 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 129 Post(s)
Liked 76 Times in 40 Posts
Originally Posted by TugaDude
I am not a flipper per se, but I have bought and sold several bikes on Craigslist. I generally buy a bike, clean it, tune it and ride it. If I want to keep it, it stays in the garage. If it just isn't right for me, I sell it. I don't buy a bike with the intention of immediately flipping it.

By doing this I have learned how to fix bikes, learned about all sorts of components, and provide a service to other buyers in that I buy bikes that "need help" and get them road worthy. I don't end up making much, just enough to buy the next bike.

One of the things this has allowed me to do is to keep upgrading my collection. I started out with a Giant Yukon mountain bike (which I still have) and went through a Peugeot, Miyata, Schwinn PDG 30, Raleigh Olympian, Bridgestone Kabuki, etc, etc.

Along the way I've kept a near-mint Schwinn World Sport from '89, a Schwinn Le Tour '74, a Schwinn Le Tour Luxe '85, a Raleigh Technium 460, a Gary Fisher Super AR road bike and another Bridgestone Kabuki Submariner which I'm currently trying to sell. All the others are going to stay around awhile.

I agree that it can be an issue, but I think that I have benefitted the buyers of bikes that I've sold by completely cleaning them, touching up paint, replacing worn cables and housing, rewrapping bars, etc. When they buy a bike from me it looks pretty close to new.
This pretty much describes me as well. I buy bikes I'm interested in, clean and fix them up, ride them for a while ... and then decide whether or not I like them enough to keep them in my rotation. Some seem to be duplicates of others - my Merciers, for example, are nice but I have a couple of Peugeots that I want to hang on to and so the Merciers need to go. I rarely make money on the flip (sometimes I actually lose a little bit but if someone winds up with a rider, then I'm happy.) The game I play is "zero sum" - i.e., I "win" if I come out as close to zero loss/gain as possible, other than the generally steady improvement of my riding stable. This summer, for instance, I allowed my activities to help me acquire my (for years!) dream bike, a Peugeot PX-10 and my all-time-favorite rider, a Freschi Supreme Super Cromo. Each October 1, I examine how much I've spent over the previous year and compare expense against profit. Unlike an entrepreneur (which I am, by the way), I don't consider the year a "win" unless I am very close to zero gain/loss. Yes, my wife finds it an odd game too. But I don't want turning bikes for bucks to become the primary motivator for me. I DO consider the bottom line, though. For example, I've just acquired a nice touring bike to fill that particular hole in my collection. This leaves me upside down by about $125 since October 1. I have some frames up for sale as a result and I will (hopefully) make a few hundred dollars, which will eventually be used to build the touring bike up for summer. It's all about balance for me, and riding a variety of fun bikes. I guess one might have more unusual hobbies, but this one works for me!
AZORCH is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.