What should I do with this now??
 

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I'll give you $50 US for it.

and some magic beans???

Welcome to BF. Do you have any friends that sell bike parts on eBay and have a good feedback rating? If so, pay them a little to part it out for you. Maybe someone on here is local to you.

Good Campy stuff is probably not what you would want to sell for your first transaction. But you could do it if you have a digital camera & can take good clear close-up photos, plus can write a good concise description.

So you would suggerst (I know that's a typo..but say it...it sounds funny...didn't want to fix it) parting it out rather than selling it whole?

I don't know anyone who sells on ebay at all...bike parts or otherwise. And why is good campy stuff not what I would want to sell first?

I really just bought this for my wife, not to try to turn a profit..but now that she doesn't want it...I might as well try to make some money on it no?

I was just bummed out..I was psyched on it for her and she was like...Nope.

Parting out a bike [generally] will return the most money. Reason: someone who wants the parts may not want the frame (sizing, etc) so they won't add any premium to their bid for it; and even better - someone may need just one component really badly.

Sellers with zero feedback [generally] will not get as good a price for their sales. I built my feedback rating up selling parts that sometimes only sold for $2 to $5 - then I put out the good stuff.

I see..so that's why I shouldn't put "good" stuff up yet with out a good feedback rating.

So your suggestion is to build my rating up first (which could take months/years??) or find someone with a good feedback rating to sell it for me (which probably won't happen)?

Maybe if I swapped the cinelli bars with a Northroad she would ride it!!:D Can't pry her away from the three speeds.

Buy some cheaper bikes. Get frames that aren't known but have some decent parts on them. Part out the bikes and build your feedback that way.

Research your parts so you know of what you are selling. Clean and polish those parts till you can see your face in them. Take the time and care to get good photos of the parts. Give detailed, concise descriptions. Be sure to point out scratches, rust, chips, etc. that a buyer will most definitely notice once he's got it and then be peeved and hit you with negative feedback.


Whatever it takes to get your wife to ride, do it. If she's happy, she may decide not to count frames in the garage for a while. ;)

Right on..thanks for the tips...I'm going to give Ebay a try. I've never done it...but seems everybody and there mother is buying/selling there.

So as to the OP....selling this in pieces would be a better move??

I'd suggest a different route: that's a fine bike with perfectly fine Campy gear on it, and a size that would attract the attention of women who don't often see vintage bikes like this in a small size.
I see it has a Ciocc chrome fork, is that original to the frame? (if so it offers a clue as to who was building Ciocc back in the day, but that's another thread)
I'd say keep it intact and take the clear pictures and write the concise description (as suggested) but post it on your most local Craigslist. Craigslist is free and the work (and $) involved to clean, advertise and sell just one item (bike) compared to many items (parted-out bike) and sold on eBay is simple math.
I can't imagine it selling in any location for less than 3 times what you paid for it, but location is very crucial for this. (in MY locale it would easily go for 6X your cost...easy)
As for a date: it could be mid '80s, but seems like late '80s to me...the Campy parts probably have a date code that should help nail it.

I don't think that is even as much as $40 CAD :cry:

Funny you say that Unworthy1.

I pulled out the bike this morning set to start pulling it apart..got the front wheel off and said..nope...this is going to be waaaay too much work for the money. I'll sell it whole! Put the wheel back on!

It did belong to a small lady...and has a ladies Terry saddle on it.

I would assume the forks are original. This lady really didn't seem like she was a tinkering type. Looked to me like she just went into a shop picked it out based on price point and rode off (or put it on the roof of her volvo and drove off).

I'm in Toronto which has a large bike scene.

Your route I think will be the route I will be taking.....as it seems to be the simplest route....and I'm into simple right now!

What is your locale??

i'll check the parts and post a date.

And thanks...

Clean it, take good pictures and put it on the Toronto Craigslist for $200. It'll be gone in an hour!

+1, with a cleaning and good pix you should have no trouble getting $200 (or more) for it in Toronto. I'm in the SF Bay Area where there are plenty of women who'd pay $300 for that bike...but half of them would probably make their boyfriends fix-i-fy it :( One thing that will frustrate the fixie crowd is those vertical dropouts: makes it difficult.

If someone buys it for $200, they can still part it out and get higher. Everyone's right, though, selling parts on eBay is a pain in the arse if you haven't done it. The questions alone can put a steering wheel in your pants pocket (drive you nuts).

I'd part it out, but I'm OK w/the hassle. You could invest in some cleaning stuff from WalMart or an auto parts store, then clean it up well, take good pix and your chances on craigslist or eBay.

Craigslist is a lot easier, but be sure to take cash.

Hey thanks for all the constructive replies. Good help.

I think I'll craiglist it...but for a little more $$ I'm pretty sure in the city and with this bike I could do well.

But most of all I wish It fit me:(

Man you have to have some serious time on your hands to do the whole parting-out thing.
If you have any other hobbies that require your time I would agree that you should just sell the whole velo.

Selling parts in ebay is a real hassle, and their fees take about 5% to 10% of your money after it's all said and done! Then you have to ship something like 15 items, after answering about 200 questions. Packing just a frame for shipping is not easy!

If you're in Toronto, $200 is too cheap - try for $300, let them talk you down to $250 minimum. Lightly oil the chain, make sure the tires hold air, and it shifts well. Nice find for $40! Use the $$ to get a bike your wife wants (a 3spd cruiser?).

Almost forgot - clearly give the size in the ad! What size is that anyway? If it's really small then it's a hard size to find. The tires are both 700C?

Parting out is not bad. You can disassemble the bike in about 45 minutes. Get the right chemicals, and you can have the components, frame, bars, etc. clean enough for decent pics in about another 60-90 minutes. If you're on C&V, you've probably got boxes. Take pics, spend an hour loading on eBay, and sit back. In the next few days, pack all the parts and label the boxes. When the buyers' PayPal clears, simply print the lables from eBay, and drop off the boxes.

If you paid $40, and you get $300 parting out, that's $260 for about 4 hours of work, or $65/hour.
If you paid $40, and you craigslist for $200, that's $160 for about an hour, much better.
Me, I like the money, and I'm not afraid to work for it.
I'd rather part out a bike than send one whole.

Oh come on, aren't you underestimating a bit?
I'm sure that after a bit you get a sort of 'assembly line' thing going, but an hour to 'ebay' the parts?

How many parts would you take off one bike? somewhere between 8 - 20, maybe? (Guesstimating) I assume you sell the wheelsets and not just the hubs but I could be wrong. And only one hour to take a bunch of pictures of each part, write a description for each part, post each part on ebay and set it all up? And then after that, spending the time boxing, packing, labeling, and hustling everything down to the post office (or UPS or whatever) and working all that out? (I'm sure that is all done in loads, though, not each item separately.)

And strip and clean all of a bike's parts in sub 2 hours? I'm sure it's possible, but man that sounds like a pro operation there. Unless you really scored some nice vintage stuff (which this guy here may have, I'm not an expert), I would be surprised if you would calculate a 'true' wage as high as you just did.
It seems to be common knowledge (at least among some people), that you never really make too much money flipping old bikes, unless you really hit the jackpot. I think most of us just clean, fix, and flip bikes because we enjoy it, and the cash coming from the actual sales are probably just enough to 'keep us in bikes', so to speak. This analogy might be a bit uncouth, but to me it seems similar to the marijuana dealer who sells just enough grass to smoke as much as he wants to. : )

Of course, I'm simply speculating...

and if you say its 52 cm, be sure you specify center-center or center-top. CL listers don't always get this.

Why doesn't your wife like it? Too old fashioned? won't ride drop bars? Needs friction shifting?

Road Fan

My wife doesn't really need it & riding drop bars is definitely not her favorite. She (we) have several vintage 3/5/6 speeds that she really likes riding. She's definitely a cruiser.

I think deep down I just wanted it and used her as an excuse to buy it even though it didn't fit me!! I've done that before..(mp3 player/laptop/etc...) even used my 3 year old Daughter as an excuse to buy a baritone ukulele I had to have!!! "Oh she'll Looooove it!"

I'm weak.

I like your means to an end.

I agree that CL is your best option. If you haven't been in the habit of watching the bike listings on Toronto CL (which I gather you have not) you might want to take a week or 2 to scope that out before deciding what price to put on it. I'm in Chicago and 200 seems low, although it's been a while since I checked the exchange rate.

200 would be low.