provisional

Here's the Craigslist ad: https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/bik/3153663445.html

I'm the seller. I'm thinking $275 might be a bit high, but I'm not sure (hence why I mentioned that I'll consider lower offers). What's it worth? What other info might I want to include about the bike?

Many thanks!

wrk101

Looks like a realistic price to me. Ad is missing two key things:

1. What is the frame tubing made out of?

2. Size. There really is no excuse to not include size, you can measure it with a tape measure, ruler, yard stick, whatever. And Peugeots from that era had a sticker, usually placed near the bottom bracket on the non drive side chain stay, that listed model, year, and size.

I would delete any mention of lower offers, you will get them anyway. Instead, I try to get the price "right", and stick to it (or very close to it).

Beyond size, buyers want to know who it will fit. I use the line like this in the first paragraph of every bike ad: "should fit riders from about 5-8 to 6-0 or so". Sophisticated buyers know their sizing, but most buyers are not sophisticated and want you, the seller, to provide them some guidance.


Buyers have little/no imagination. The reward for you by providing a little more information is a higher price, and a quicker deal. Some will search C/L listings by size: looking for 56cm for example.

One thing I do when I am not positive on the exact year is I just make my best guess. So if my guess on your bike was 1989, I would just list it as a 1989. When the buyer arrived, I would tell them the year was an estimate on my part. (google bicycle component codes, all those Shimano parts have date codes on them that are very easy to look up).


FWIW: Here's the text I used on a bike I sold yesterday (bike sold in one hour), followed by three full sized pictures: one full bike from drive side, one close up of the main drive components: crankset to rear derailleur, and one other of whatever I want to highlight (cool color, handlebars, headbadge, tubing decal, or similar).

"Nice 18 speed Miyata 718A, 57cm frame size. Very light weight bike. Bike is suitable for someone about 5-9 to 6-0 or so.

Bike was recently serviced, has nice higher end parts. New tires, tubes, cables, and more. Very nice Shimano Mountain LX components. Indexed shifting, 700c wheel size, with alloy rims and stainless spokes.

I have been collecting bikes for over 30 years, and it is now time to prune the herd."


Note my ad has fewer words than yours, but I think provides more information the average buyer is looking for: number of speeds, age of tires, whether it has been serviced recently, size, who will it fit. A lot of buyers are fixated on tires in particular. They assume (wrongly) that tires are really expensive, so new tires (or relatively new) are a big attraction. I would drop the comments about cassette gearing, biopace rings, etc. That means little to nothing to most buyers.

I try to not get too technical or wordy on the details. I will always list size, number of speeds, model, etc. On this bike, the year was in the title.

These comments are just my opinions, based on selling several hundred bikes in my market area and interacting with a variety of buyers. YMMV.

Again, you have a nice bike, and I think the price is reasonable.

oddjob2

+100 on Thrifty Bill's comments on how to write an ad for C/L.

It would be nice if Bill's comments could be a sticky on C/L for ALL advertisements. I asked about a vintage Trek's approximate age and model today and here is the butthead's response:

"No idea"
Sent via ZTE Warp on Boost Mobile

(Not to knock all Boost Mobile users, but many of them seem arrogant and ignorant!)

Regarding your PUG, you may wish to point out the advantages your model has over the ubiquitous UO-8, for example:
Alloy rims
Cotterless crankset
Alloy seatpost

I'd also recommend spending 30-45 minutes cleaning the chain wheel, rims, etc., with some Greased Lightning or other citrus cleaner. Also, reshoot your photos where the lush landscaping isn't competing with the bike quite so much. I'm not much for garage door back drops either.

Frame size looks like 56cm.

ONE MORE THING - THAT FRONT WHEEL SHOT MAKES THE WHEEL LOOK OFF CENTER

elboGreaze

Nice bike and I agree with wrk101 on pricing . Good component group and 753 tubing ; I would not budge on that price.

thinktubes 

If it has 753, you really need to point that out and what it means. I would bump the price to $295 and take the first offer of $275.

Agree with the cleaning and photo comments. On my monitor the photos look washed out and I'm sure the paint looks good. Try an early morning photo shoot.

Rotate the bars so they are parallel to earth. Looks like you're heading to bumsville.

FastJake

Another +1 for Bill's comments. Great insight as always.

Another vote for cleaning it. Buyers don't like buying something that looks filthy. Maybe it's just the pictures, but I see a really dirty bike and 99% of the time that means the bike needs a complete tuneup/overhaul. Maybe your bike doesn't, but that's what I would assume and as a result expect a serious discount. Take some pictures in the sunlight next time. Those always turn out better.

catchabadone

Those are nice bikes, should be able to sell it to someone looking for a nice older roadbike.

auchencrow

^ Thrifty Bill is totally wrong.
That is to say, these are not mere opinions, they are the gospel truth!

wrk101

Thanks for the compliments guys.

One last thing about the close up pictures, they really show dirt. So the bike needs to be clean, really clean. Simple Green, Totally Awesome, etc. work well for general clean up. I use NevrDull on aluminum parts. It really doesn't take long, 30 minutes of cleaning might net you another $50 in price, so its like making $100 an hour!!

Chombi

FYI,
No Peugeot Triathlon ever had 753 tubing. They started out using Supervitus 980 tubing and then could have switched over to Reynolds 501 later, after Peugeot "de-Frenchified" pertty much all of their bikes after the mid 80's. The 753 was reserved in Peugeot for the highest steel racing models at that time or special build's by the factory for teams and special customer orders. The Triathlon was always a mid-level model in Peugeot's model line.
Similar Peugeot's like the slightly earlier PSVs which the first Triathlons were based on, had been typically priced at around $350 for the best, close to mint examples, but the market's been soft for these and other steel peugeots from the 80's lately and Triathlons had usually sold for less than PSV's as there's a perception that the Triathlon is not as "serious" a race bike as the PSV (maybe just because of the eyelets on the dropouts and the faddish to some, "Triathlon" name??), and had not been making that pricepoint. So $275 could be an OK price to put on it to start out, IMO.

Chombi

provisional

Wow, thanks so much to everyone for all the advice!

I updated the listing according to Bill's recommendations and upped the price to $295 (tubing is Reynolds 501). The listing now reads:

Nice 12 speed 1988 Peugeot Triathlon, 57cm frame size for riders about 5'9" to 6'0". Very light weight bike, made of Reynolds 501 steel. Garage kept and ready to ride, with tires in good shape.

Bike was recently serviced, has nice higher end parts. New inner tubes, brake cables, handlebar tape, and more. Very nice Shimano 105 components. Indexed shifting, 700c wheel size with alloy rims.

I live in Weston and work in Miami Beach, 2 blocks off the Tuttle Causeway. The bike is available for pickup at either location, though Weston is strongly preferred.

I scrapped the front-view and non-drive-side pictures, and will clean the bike up nicely and take some new pictures when the weather clears up. Is there anything else I can improve?

wrk101

Sounds really good! Use full sized pictures via a hosting site, rather than the C/L pictures.

A quiet background, like the proverbial garage door shot, is preferred over a cluttered background. The purpose of any picture is to promote your bike.





bill

tmh657

I sold one of these in SoCal Oct 2010 for $250. End of October is not good for selling so that's what it went for. It was a 56cm, 105 group and clean. $250-$275 seems right. YMMV. Here's the one I sold.

elboGreaze

Guess I should have done a little research before starting the 753 rumor . Oh well, still well worth the asking price, IMO.