A question for the flippers in large "cycling" cities, i.e. Chicago & SF. Where do you find such inexpensive bikes worth flipping? I can't think of how I'd accomplish such a thing in Portland, OR.

Do you call every garage sale listing on Craigslist? How do you do it?

Scrap. Metal. Yards.

I find them wherever. Surprisingly I've flipped quite a few CL and ebay bikes. I have a guy who calls me me every couple of weeks, if he has something thats lugged with saleable features I give him $50 for each bike. Sometimes I give him more. I paid him $125 for Raleigh Competition with full Reynolds 531 and Shimano 600 components.

Check you PM's for my 'hot spot'.

Can you PM me as well? I have a couple of good sources here in Toronto but they are often at the scrap yard for a reason, y'know?

I would love to know where you pick them up in toronto.

I've been buying them in Hamilton/Burlington when I visit my parents and then fixing, cleaning, and flipping them in toronto. I've got a few tips that I wouldn't mind sharing for some toronto hook-ups. I seem to only flip when I need some $$ to foolishly sink into my own bikes. Come out with a few really nice bikes, wrenching knowledge, and some money left for dinner and beer!

Wow! That sounds a lot easier and cheaper than painting it really WELL!!!

i think i'm like some other people here when i say i'm more of a buyer than a flipper. i'm always on the lookout for a good deal on a bike for myself, even though i already have a few. i don't buy that often, but when i do, i get smoking deals.

i bring the bike home and fix it up to my standards, which is generally just cleaning it up, adjusting, maybe repack bearings, etc. overall, i'm generally spending less than $200 on a bike worth roughly $400.

if i end up having buyers remorse and just dont like the bike as much as i thought, i sell it for a profit and repeat the process. if i like it, maybe i'm more apt to part with another bike in my stable, which i've bought for a good price and sell for a profit.

if you are a flipper, i think there's a sweet spot of buying below $100-$150 and selling for $200-$300. this way you aren't really competing against department store bikes (and dept store people), but folks that have good taste but less mechanical skills or time to do the same thing you're doing. also, there are a lot of sellers and buyers in this market.

I'm appreciating all the info.
I'm kind of new to this, and am getting pickier about what I am buying. For right now I just don't have the time to put 5 hours into a bike unless it is going to make 100s. The idea of specializing is a good one, but surely you bend the rules.
What got me into it is that I live where there is no middle class, and their yard sale and thrift store castoffs are in high demand in many places. The full DA Pinarello I got for $50 hooked me. And a yard sale that I made over 1K off of, with a cash outlay of $100. Those 2 payed for my wedding.
Of course, if I spy a high end vintage roadie, I am always assessing if I can make money on it. Seems like the ones that you can part out and make good on have nice saddles. If you look at a bike and you know ebay will produce 60$ for the saddle, and you can buy it for $60, green light.
I am moving to a bigger city and am excited about getting into CL flipping. I was down there a few weeks ago and within 20 minutes of arrival I sold an 80s 4130 schwinn for 150 that I payed $5 for that needed nothing. Later that night I saw the guy ripping around town with some buddies, and he said he had a car. That is mutualism my friends. Kept him out of the car, and on the bike. both benefit.
Just for kicks, and profitability, I checked out the bike shop right next to the college to check price points. You can't get a new skinny tire road bike for under $500. You can hardly get anything under 800$, so high bike shop prices drive the used bike market, not CL listers.
Yes, there is money to be made flipping. Is it that profitable? depends how much supply and demand near you. I know this: It is fun. Going around to all the yard sales early saturday morning, rolling up and looking for drop bars with a delicious cup of coffee in my hand is so fun. peeking in the thrift store daily. The chase of the bike, and the chase of the flip.
and then you have tons of parts for bikes that you can give to friends or donate to youth orgs or ride yourself. Or money to buy what you really want.
Sorry about the long post, but I read all those other long ones ane they were great. This is a great venue for discussion, because none of us are really going to be competing with the others on here for bikes, and if they are, seems like this forum is full of people who aren't that petty, even if they are bartering for a $10 bike with an old lady sometimes.

Pretty good analysis of 'flipping'. Keep in mind that moving 1 town over can drasticly change the market from both the availabilty and amrketability perspective.

Alot of money can be made flipping but if you dont know what your doing, what your buying and what your market is your going to get burned.

Jims Flip Rule #7950912: If your not going to make a minimum of $100 after expences its not worth buying.

That deosnt mean a bike isnt worth the negotiated selling price, I turn down alot of good deals, it simply means that after the time and effort I'd like at least a C note in my pocket.

I flipped my first (two) bikes last weekend. Both were modern, multi-speed kids bikes that I actually acquired for parts to keep my kids bikes running. One was $5, the other free left over unsold from a moving sale.

After a critical examination of their condition, I decided to invest a little time in cleaning and adjusting, rather than stripping them for parts. I sold them as a package deal (to someone that I suspect is going to resell them...) for $100 at my garage sale. $95 profit that went to support my Park Tool habit, that is enabling me to restore vintage bikes.

My wife was actually quite impressed, and now wants to know which bike from the dozen in the basement is going next!

I agree, the market for buyers will be a better one, but the supply might be lesser. I haven't really gotten the chance to go junk shopping.
I don't think it is right to call flipping bikes a part ttime job. I would call it a time consuming hobby that produces some $.

Word.

I have the "C note" rule as well, as does another list member and flipper I associate with. And even then, I stay away from the basket cases unless they are something special.

What scrapyards in Toronto allow you to walk around looking for bikes? I've been tempted to start riding around early Saturday morning's looking at yard sales - but I'm always too lazy to get out of bed haha.

I know its possible to make a living flipping but bikes are a hobby for me. In a certain sense the time I put into it isnt relevant because I could be putting that time into golfing, fishing or drinking every night.

I just don't seem to come across enough bikes to make any real coin at it but I do manage to cover my bike addiction. I do have fun tinkering. May go out and tinker on the world sport and this kids 2002 Specialized Hotrock I picked up for $10 last night. Actually has a really cool 30mm or so threadless stem. Needs a shift cable and its a flipper. Already on CL.

I've been playing the flipping game for about six months now. My wife is an accountant and bugged me until I started keeping a spreadsheet on my expenses and profit. I added everything up recently and found I had spent $387 against a total income of $1310, or a profit of $923. I had sold 13 bikes, one frame, a seat, and a two forks. I still have 15 complete bikes that all need some level of work but should bring another $1,000 even if I part some to fix the others.

In the process, I also obtained and plan to keep for now all the bikes in my signature except the Tour Easy.

It's been a fun few months. I do see it becoming repetitive, however. I like the mechanical work, but the cleaning process is definitely getting old. My only real problem so far is an addiction to old Schwinns. They typically require significant work and just don't bring that much money in return. My typical "hourly rate" of return probably works out to less than $20 an hour -- and that's only true if you don't count the countless hours I spend looking for and thinking about bikes....

I think I sell the few bikes i flip for too little money as I have seen them being resold on e bay.