gilpi

I recently purchased a bike for a hundred dollars over blue book pricing, didn't even check beforehand but at the end of it all I still feel I got a great deal since it is a perfect fit and overall a nice bike for my purposes.
How do you guys feel about the blue book pricing? Better for buyer or seller?

Juan Foote

Honestly, I find it mostly worthless in the face of actual sales. If nothing else it may provide a loose "go to" price, but have no idea how they calculate it or come to the values they present.

jefnvk

Wildly variable, especially as it has no input for locale. Most of the time it seems to skew low, though, which would make sense as they pair with retailers to offer "no haggle" bike trade in values. Call me a cynic, but if they are making money off such services, I may be inclined to think they toss the retailers a bone and give them the better end of the deal.

Whereas car Blue Book sites generally run off what similar cars are actually selling for, best I can tell the Bike Blue Book site simply takes a starting MSRP and runs a formula to depreciate it.

MRT2

At this point, does it matter? You made your purchase, and time will tell whether or not you did well.

While there is a national market for higher end used bikes, because of the price of shipping, most used bike purchases are still local. And the same bike will go for more in some markets than in others.

mstateglfr 

Most useless site to try and use. It has 0 basis in reality as it doesnt take location, season, size, or comparable bikes currently for sale into account.
It seems to just deduct $ for each year past a bike's new date.

Bikes dont get worse just because they are older if they arent used. A new 3 year old generic aluminum frame with 11sp 105 is effectively just as good as a new generic aluminum frame with 11sp 105.

Not taking size into account is hilarious since it matters so much. Same with time of year.

bikemig 

Tough to beat a bike you are (a) happy with at (b) a price you like. Who cares what some formula with little basis in real world prices says?

SimcoeAce

I have to admit the BB pricing DID influence my decision. Most used bikes on BB seem to be listed at significantly below their real world cost. My recent purchase was a couple of hundred below the BB price, which suggested to me that it was a "good buy". However, it had been sitting on Ebay for a couple of weeks at that price with no takers ... so, in the end, it's all a bit meaningless. I do believe I got a good deal though - it's a great bike, 5 years old, but in pristine condition & at less than a 1/3 of its price new.

eduDriS

This topic is why I came back to the Forum. I currently have a 2014 Trek 1.5 listed for sale. 70% of the people who contact me say "...but BicycleBlueBook dot com says it's only worth $300..." My reply "check to see what people are actually paying for bikes."
I've stopped at Trek and even their sales people said a reasonable price would be in the $700 range for a bike with only 10 miles on it.

Does anyone know if BicycleBlueBook dot com is connected to Performance Bicycles or some discount retailer? It sure seems that way in their pricing.

eduDriS

Actually, it does mean something. (no disrespect) The reason bikes are sitting on eBay and CL is because the shoppers are seeing these unreal low "book values" and then turning to the sellers with a unrealistic lowball offer. Both parties get mad and no sale is made.

FBinNY 

Unlike the automotive blue book, there's no large database of recorded sales at known prices on which to base a bicycle blue book. So, at best it's based on very limited info, and at worst it's borderline Voodoo.

mstateglfr 

Curious what you have it listed for?
entry crank, old generation mid-level drivetrain, generic brake calipers and cockpit- are you looking for $700?
I could see it selling for $450-550. Sure, it doesnt have many miles, but...

alias5000

The only use of that site for me is to find out bike models and model years, as they have a lot of pictures in one place.

jefnvk

The other complaint I have against that site: however they have done it, they have made themselves too visible. They will often pop up on a Google search higher than the actual manufacturers page for a current or recent bike. Generally indicates some shady search results manipulation going on behind the scenes.

Skipjacks

Google search result optimization/manipulation?

Naaaaaaawwwww.....not on Google...couldn't be.

As for the value of blue book pricing, who even cares?

Could the OP have gotten the bike he wanted cheaper from the seller? If so, that's on him for not negotiating better.

Was he willing to pay more than he did? If so that's on the seller for not negotiating better.

Did both he and the seller walk away happy? Him with a bike he liked as a price he was happy to pay and the seller with a hand full of cash in an amount he was satisfied with? If so, then it was a great deal all around and the blue book value is meaningless.

Maybe the blue book value would have been less than the seller would have taken, and going in there with the blue book value might have meant the sale didn't get done.

jefnvk

In his case, he shouldn't.

In general, when a retailer like Performance Bike and other shops are now using it as their no-bargain pricing on trade-ins, I do kinda care that they have some legitimacy. Especially so, when it is hijacking the name of a fairly trusted site in the vehicle world, who does base their data off real-world transactions, not behind-the-scenes proprietary voodoo.

To me, a site that seems to more often than not undervalue a bike with no discernible methodology, while partnering with retailers who pay for advertising and use those values to buy bikes off people, just smells too much like conflict of interest.

Yep, I never had a lesson in that in my e-commerce classes long ago

Rje58

I understand what you are saying, and you are exactly right: the value at that point in time was the amount that the buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to accept and the deal is done. End of story.

However, to say that it is not possible - or that it doesn't matter - to obtain a reasonable (albeit somewhat general) idea of what a particular bicycles "typical market value" is, seems disingenuous to me - except in the cases of rare or uncommon bicycles, or unless the buyer and/or seller are wealthy enough that they don't care much about the financial aspect of the deal.

Bicycle Blue Book certainly does not provide an accurate value for most bikes - but in some cases, it may serve as one small piece in the overall research to determine what a reasonable value for a particular bike may be - in other cases, it might be completely misleading. As with testimony in a court trial, it is up to the "jury" (buyer/seller) to determine the credibility of the "witness" (Bicycle Blue Book).

BrazAd

I sell cars for a living. The saying in our business is "A good deal is a state of mind!"

I bought a 2011 Bianchi Sempre Ultegra in mid-June, knowing little about bikes and the "BBB". I paid $1,000 for a bike that is in great condition and has some extras.

BBB says the MSRP in 2011 was $3,000. They value it in "Very Good" condition at $850.

I just shrug. It's a generalization, nothing more.

My "state of mind" is that I got a fair deal. What's more important than that is I love the bike and enjoy riding it, 851 miles later!

Gary

General Geoff

Bicycle Blue Book tells me my '07 Cannondale F4 (going off '08, since they don't list the model from '07; original MSRP $979) is $150-$200.

If I could find another one for even $400 I'd snatch it right up.

Bomb-proof USA-made aluminum frame, reasonably stout running gear, awesome HeadShok front suspension, and they say the complete bike in "Excellent Shape" (meaning very few miles OR all wearable components have been serviced/replaced) is worth $200?? Haha yeah ok.

WNCGoater

Recent Craigslist shopping and comparing to BBB confirms what others have said. BBB is consistently several hundred $$ below CL asking prices (This in the under $1100 category)

Either that or everyone is asking too much for their used bikes!

Kapusta

Ultimately stuff is worth what people will pay.

What you see it listed for on CL or ebay is not the number that counts. The final SALE price is what counts. I will sometimes search ebay and filter for "completed sales" to see what things actually sold for. With CL you never really know what they sold for.

Honestly, I would not pay any mind to a bicycle blue book.

Korina

I did wonder about BBB. A local is selling his 2011 Surly Pacer for $500, but BBB says in excellent condition it's worth $375. It's a pretty, pretty bike, and fits my husband to a T, but all the consumables have been consumed, and hubby thinks the rims are beyond done. We went as far as $300, but seller (2nd owner) is really attached to the bike so no deal. So it might actually be worth $500? Who knew?

Rje58

The answer may lie somewhere in between - many of the sellers may have some built-in negotiation factor in their price, and/or actually sell the bike for less than they listed it for.

I have purchased two bicycles off Craig's List this year. The first one I negotiated 20% off the listed price. The second one I negotiated 7% off the listed price, but the seller also 'threw in' a nice floor pump and a storage hanger to sweeten the deal.

Tape2012

Also keep in mind that the blue book is what your going to get from your insurance in the event the bike is stolen, destroyed, etc. Minus your deductible.

jefnvk

For a car, it is probably good enough for a rough guesstimate, but even then the insurance is not going off KBB for the final say. For a bike, no way.

Tape2012

I recently had my bike stolen, and that's exactly what they did. They have nothing else to go by to determine the value of a used bicycle.