Paul L.

If you are selling Cranks, brifters, or cables/cable housings, I would be interested in discussing a deal. I am using some of my old parts to build a roadbike for my daughter out of a frame from Chucksbikes.com .

chipcom 

Is there a local bike co-op there? Donate it all to them. Karma will repay you at some point. Life isn't all about the almighty buck.

mlh122

i'd say if you're that short on time then +1 donate to co-op. if you really must have the money i'd have to say +1 ebay it or CL it. to quickly ebay stuff i take pictures and type up descriptions in notepad and save them. then box all the items up so they are ready to ship. if im tight on time that alone may take a few days. then all at once open up ebay and list them all, pretty much just copy and paste the notepad descriptions and make up a good title. if something has a long drawn out description, i'll copy the description from somewhere else - Don't use other ebayer's descriptions, they get mad, take it from a site if you can find one. if all your stuff is that old you probably won't find descriptions anywhere. so paste the description in there and add the basic seller-CYA clause "all items in good condition, sold as is, no refunds unless item damaged due to seller fault somehow, not responsible for damage or lost items in shipping, blah blah"
as far as shipping, if i can't weigh the item i use a little LESS than what other people are listing similar stuff for. i have made major $$ this way. i've also been kinda ripped off too hehe but usually i make more. If people are looking at XT hubs and everyone is charging 6.95 shipping, i charge 4.95, this gets a buttload of watchers and lowball bidders, so now my item is in 50+ peoples bidding or watching lists. near the end, for some reason, people tend to get into a bidding war because they liked my listing a few days ago and its almost over and i guess the "dangit i wanted that" mentality comes into play. this often results in around 20% to 50% more profit than what other sellers are listing them for.
i also start out with a low starting bid, like $1, and no reserve, and no buy it now. i think this attracts more watchers and early bidders. the more people watching your auction at the end of it, the higher likelyhood of a bidding war

oh yeah back to quick listings, when you're done always click "sell similar item" that way you might only need minor changes to the category, the title, paste the new description in but leave the seller CYA clause in there, shipping might be the same, payment instructions the same, etc...
schedule them for the same time of the same day, i work mon-fri so i like to end them around 6pm on fri, i think thats when the most people nationwide are likely to be at home after work playing around on ebay. it also gives me time to accept paypal payments friday night and ship saturday. also i put in a warning if they don't pay within 48hours the item may not be shipped until the following weekend. (though since everything is already packed i'll usually get around to dropping it off at the post office on my lunch break or something.
as far as accepting payments, i'm afraid of paypal but i use it anyway, i've had my account frozen due to an investigation i was not related to and whatnot, but its still the fastest/most popular way to get money on ebay. when i get money orders or checks i only cash them at the bank if they are a cashiers check. personal checks and money orders i cash at a check cashing place, as i think they can't put a stop payment on it if it's been cashed at a place that doesn't have access to my bank account. then i can ship immediately.
also, i wait a few hours or a day to get a few paypal payments and then print out paypal shipping labels, they are cheaper than going into the post office, and there's no line. then take them all to the post office and you can cut through the line and put them on empty counter space and make eye contact with a clerk and say "these are paid, thanks bye" and when they get a moment they toss them into the basket. the people in line will glare at you for being so cool.
if its all too tough or complicated, try to find an ebay-capable friend. i do this for friends/family quite a bit. my policy is if it's a cheap and hard to screw up item i charge like $5 total. if its expensive and complicated, i charge like 10% of the sale but with listing fees paid up front in case it doesn't sell.
take pride in your pictures, 1 good one is better than 12 supersized dark pieces of crap.

craigslist can be quick and easy too. then again i work at a computer, so i have an email rule on my home email that if it says "craigslist" in it, it gets forwarded to my work email, then i reply and have it forwarded through my home email. you can just converse through email, its slower but not too bad. i usually list my cell # too just cuz im 6ft 200lb chubby white male, no one's gonna kidnap and **** me. when my wife lists CL stuff i have her use my cell phone and we both go meet them in a parking lot somewhere. you could also list all the stuff as one big "junk box" and someone might take it off your hands to build a junker/classic commuter, or to ebay it all themselves.

edit: holy crap i can rant, sorry

chainzawz

I will take anything for free.....im looking to get into roadies...

Turboem1

Something I didnt see anyone mention which is a great idea is to sell it as a "lot". Instead of having one auction for brifters, one for a cassette, one for a chain, one for a rim or whatever, put EVERYTHING you have in one auction. It will make things easier for you. I have done this many times and it always surprises me with what people pay. I had a bunch of old bmx parts. It was a seat post clamp, seat post, tires, handle bars, some very used rims, brake levers, and stuff like that, all little things. I started it at $.01 and let people have fun. I was going to just donate/throw it out but I figured let me atleast let someone have it for shipping if thats what it came down to. It sold for $175 plus shipping. The parts were not garbage and were not low quality but to me they were worthless. I bought them years ago, used them and then let them sit. Whatever I could get was fine for me but they were worth some money. Seperately they probably would have went for like $5 each. I thought it was luck but I have done this about 6 or 7 times and each time it goes over well.

As far as others asking about shipping and pricing ect. It does take some practice but for me it works if I do this.

Shipping. USPS on small things (under 10lbs. Fit in a regular box). UPS for large things up to 150lbs and 6 feet long (and yes I have shipped many many things around 150lbs and over 6 feet [car transmission, car exhaust, dirtbike engines ect...]) that i may "make a custom box" for.

Pricing. This comes with experiece but always go higher if you are not sure. Also there have been many times were I have gotten screwed royally on shipping and other times I do pretty good. One time I had to ship to canada and for some reason it was $25. I charge $8 usually as thats what it usually costs me. Then a couple of times it cost me $3.

ken cummings

Our local bike coalition has regular bike flea markets. What you can't sell at such an event could be donated to a local bike fix-up group for a tax write-off in the unlikely event a student needs a write-off.

apclassic9

also - check your local bike association for a 'for sale' area on thier web site, try MTBrev.com, try a list posted around campus/LBS.

Treefox

Ah, ok; well you're welcome to bring me new cranks (105 & up) and an english-threaded bottom bracket, if you like.

zippered

yeah, or other gear swaps

Cyclist0383

Around here we either swap them with each other or sell them for chump change. For example I picked up a Colnago track frame for $25. I've also given away a bunch of stuff to friends and received a bunch of stuff from friends. It all works out in the end.

apclassic9

I have some friends that oversee a kid's bike club (Clay Mud Mashers) - so I send alot of stuff thier way - especially shoes & clothes (my son keeps growing & has outgrown at least 2 pairs of shoes a season for the past few years). Some of his used parts, which might not be saleable but still usable, also go this way. If it's not saleable, and those kids can't use them, they hang around as spares or until somebody else needs them.