Originally Posted by
Old Fat Guy
David,
I guessing that this is a Breeze, or similar model. The cost to fix one up is greater than the worth, even in my market.
Honestly, free is about the right price, no more than $10 if the paint and fenders are good.
The LBS owner was wrong to try to get it for nothing in order to flip it, but if he said something along the lines of 'It's not worth fixing, but I'll take it off your hands', well then, that's okay.
The alternative is he could have charged her over $200 to refurbish a $100 bike.
+1 Thats the reason flippers exist. They do not have the costs and overhead of a LBS, so they can rehab a lower end bike and still come out OK.
I had a neighbor drop off a kid's Trek to me yesterday. She bought it at a garage sale, knowing it needed work (she got it really cheap). She took it to a shop and was told "it couldn't be fixed". So she said I might as well have it, maybe I could get some parts off of it? I will have less than two hours into it, and it will be ready to ride, but not perfect. Then I will give it back to her.