You have to look hard, yes. German Ebay has the most for sale in Europe. The US, not so much. Australia, one advert every 3 months. Asian sites have quite a few, but it helps to understand Japanese, Chinese or Bahasa.
I have four - 2 in each country my family and I are in. Particularly important in the UK with bike-on bus-and-train options to help reduce CO2 emissions [of course we have to get there...].
- One of the very first, bought in US for $500 in 1995 [an illegal version badged as Jeep, it lives in the UK now]:
- the red one bought in London for £500 [US$650] secondhand in 2000, rebuilt now in Australia: [[url]https://simonbatterbury.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/brompton-vs-birdy-the-folding-bike-wars/]
- A blue 24 speed hub/derailleur, circa 2006, for £285 [US$375, massive bargain in 2018 and came with spares that I gave away [url]https://simonbatterbury.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/folding-bike-in-lancaster/]
- and only one bought new at full price, a Mark 2 8 speed for AU$1,400 [US$950] in Australia used for commuting.
$2500 spent on folders sounds a bit much, but all less that one carbon road bike that probably would not get daily use. And it was over nearly 25 years.
I have two terns and one birdy. I'm trying to slowly replace the Terns with Birdys. I did see a decent Reach IF on craigslist but while it's a really nice folder, it's fold is too big for what I need it for. So sticking with Birdys.