The bike was immaculate, nearly showroom condition. I doubt it had been ridden more than 100 miles. I took a bit longer than usual to sell (usual is 3 or 4 days) but it sold and the person that went home with it was stoked.

My best was a Motobecane Super Mirage frame for $60 that I bought as a complete bike for $25 and used the wheels on it for my fixed gear schwinn. So, not a bunch of money made but I think it's the most I've gotten out of a bike for the least put in. I also sold a $27 3 speed for $130 but I put many, many hours into it, full oxalic acid bath, full rebuild, the works. I recently sold a $35 centurian for $160, but I had to replace the fork for $50 and bought new tires for $10.

I spent the better part of 2006 trying to keep up with Bossman and it wasn't easy. Had a great time selling on SF CL though.

Peugeot Nice, paid $80, sold for $225
Peugeot Galibier, paid $75, sold for $275
Univega Sport Tour, paid $60, sold for $200
Centurion Ironman Expert, paid $20, sold for $160

My best deal ever was the Centurion Le Mans I picked up on ebay from a local seller for $53 and then took off and sold the Avocet computer, Profile tri bars and Shimano pedals for $51. Still have the LeMans.

I never intend to flip anything but I do acquire extra parts. My best to date was a 26.0 Campy seatpost, post only, no hardware for $3, sold for $46; and Campy medium-flange hubs with a Regina freewheel for $60, kept the freewheel and sold the hubs only for $143.

No problem. Go to a garage sale. Look for bikes that say "Magna", "Kent" or "Roadmaster" on the downtubes. Buy them. You'll have no problem wanting to hang onto them. The only question, will you be able to sell them for more than you paid.

WHaaaa!? you must have sold the post on ebay.. I have a 26 and a 26.2 sitting around maybe I should go dig them out!

I can't pass up a thread on bike flipping. I haven't had the highly profitible turnovers as mentioned before, but I've been able to obtain and turnover about 40 bikes in the last 2 years. The best buys are in the pics below: a blue, 93 Fuji road bike, paid 10 + 30 in parts, sold for $125. Next is a Gary Fisher Tassahara, paid 40, add 10 in parts, sold for 120. My favorite is the Trek 720 Hybrid paid $5, add 5 for parts, sold for $80. I know my selling prices are low, but I'm not in this for the money. Partly I do it for fun and partly to help others become more involved in cycling.
Oh, the white Cannondale in the pics costs $40 at a garage sale. No way I would flip it, it's my ATF roadie, hey I gotta have some fun out of this!

How quickly are these selling?

Do you have better luck in the spring before the "market" gets flooded with everyone cleaning out their garage?

Yeah, the post was one of those freakish ebay things, I thought I would get $10 at the most. Your 26.2 should bring good money though, the Cinelli-philes will jump all over it.

When are you going to start back up in business up here? Any word on that intriguing rust pile in Rainier?

East Hill

It is not likely to happen. We're too far out in the country and too far removed from Portland and Seattle to be able to snag the good deals. Last Friday I drove down to Amboy (15 miles east of Woodland) to pick up a CL bike for $30. 115 miles round trip but I wanted to see the area so I didn't mind.

The CL bike was a Cycle Pro MTB with a cromo 4130 main frame, stacked fork crown, and Suntour thumb shifters. DiaCompe canti's date stamped '83.

A few weeks back, when we were riding on the Yelm-Tenino Trail, I did see a large pile of beater bikes for sale at a barn in Rainier adjacent to the trail. Nothing looked too interesting from across the field.

Regarding finds I think the market is ok now (but that depends on where you are looking and luck). My brother was in Sacramento this past week. While here he bought two nice Univegas, a Peugeot mixte, and an old Trek (with a Campy drivetrain and Modolo brakes) and deposited them in my garage. On the way back to the Bay Area yesterday he found a Legnano full of Campy stuff for $4 in Vallejo.

Except in regular hot selling areas, I'll guess that the selling market will get better when more college students arrive in town throughout the summer before classes start again.

Too bad, I'll have to come up with some other excuse to meet one of the members, eh?

Yes, that barn's the one I'm talking about. Bikes all quite rusty, no drop handlebars that I could see. Just weird seeing a pile o' bikes like that in Rainier .

East Hill

Does your brother just borrow floor space, or is he being nice enough to let you have all this loot ?

A Legnano full of Campy stuff for $4 . I should move back to the Bay Area...

East Hill

Man, I sell to cheap! I recently paid $10 for a Bianchi Hybrid and sold it for $40. Last night I sold my Schwinn LeTour for $35. I paid $10 for it and swapped out the wheels so I could keep the alloy QR hubs. The LeTour was to a guy that really needed a bike though as he was walking to work. I actually lost money on another deal with an older Mongoose Hybrid, but it was a co-worker whose Roadmaster crapped out and had to walk to work also. I also do Walmart garbage finds. I'll get them for free, make them run and sell them for $20 or so. My next project is a Schwinn World Sport. I have $10 in it, and will likely sell it for $40 or $50 when I'm done.

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Bought for $60 added fenders and sold for $300

This post makes me wish I knew enough about bikes to find one at a thrift store rather than searching on craigslist endlessly!

If you stick with us long enough, you will! We have a thread in here somewhere about how to determine the worthiness of bikes found in thrift shops/garage sales/CL.

There's this thread which can help you AVOID some of the bike which are not really worth one's time and effort. Just keep in mind that some of us (short females) are pretty much stuck with stem shifters and high tensile steel, so we don't automatically object to bikes with those features.

East Hill

finally sold the peugot for $65...turned around and bought a new san marco rolls saddle for $60...