Puget Pounder

I under priced a small LeMond nevada city that I put on CL yesterday. 6 hits from enthusiastic people. I got my asking price today, which is still a hefty amount, but I underestimated what reynolds 853 (although the model itself was the lowest in the lineup) and small size (50cm) would demand. I almost always stick by my original asking price, but it hurts when I know I could've got more!

/end rant

vjp

No, I know what my stuff is worth, and I usually price it to move quickly so it makes me happy when people realize the fair value and rush to buy it.

puchfinnland

a year after you sell you realize what bikes you gave away and what bikes you made good money on.

every year i start a new list

bike what i have in it what i sold it for profit

this excludes labor-
Im stuck on a looser bike now, paid a hundred for it, i have to paint strip and repaint it, put some of my horded NOS on it, plus a new chain, and then sell it and get MAX 300- now that is a big loss.

then there are the bikes that are worth more then people are willing to pay,

few year old quality citybikes with shimano nexus 7's - sometimes it is hard to get 60 for them-they cost 300-450 new!

auchencrow

I've only made that mistake (once) on eBay. The theory that you should start low to spark interest in your auction only exposes you to the risk that your auction will end low.

RobbieTunes

Just did, on eBay. Took a bath, but it sold.

At least it was a Trek, but after being RobbieTuned, it was a darlin'

Mos6502

I'd rather under price than overprice. Better to make a sale and have money, than not make a sale and not have money.

Mercian Rider

Not a huge deal to me as long as I don't sell for less than I bought--you gave someone a deal they'll get to brag about, and we have all had those deals too.

KonAaron Snake 

Not so long as I bought it lower.

ColonelJLloyd 

Quit your belly-achin' and go ride a bike, Puget Pounder!

Puget Pounder

Weak legs from a ride yesterday and it's horrendously windy today. Would not be good for my ego! I plan on getting some junk miles though...

You're all right, considering I have made money from this hobby and have great bikes, I'll stop complaining

wrk101

+1 I really don't mind at all. I consider it tuition in bike pricing. Also take it as a compliment on your marketing, that you attracted that much interest.

+1 On starting items too low on ebay, I sold a leather coat once for 99 cents. I used to believe start them at 99 cents, it will draw a huge crowd of bidders, and the price will go up... Lost money on the shipping too on that leather coat (underestimated the weight).... I consider that ebay lesson as tuition in selling on ebay. Anymore, I start just about any item at my minimum acceptable amount. Then one bid is just fine.

ericbaker

I often sell stuff cheasp to good people around the hobby. but I sold a nice original '52 Schwinn Hornet first thing at a swap recently to a guy who lowballs me on everything i have, he took it right away for my asking price, come to find out i had a line of people waiting to talk to me about it. I'm pretty happy with what i got buyt i should have upcharged that d-bag... or sold it for my asking to one of the other guys behind him.

owenmyers

I start by pricing my bike a little higher than what it's worth. If someone is dumb enough to buy it, they will and they do. When i don't get any offers or only low-ballers i take the price down $25 every week. But of course I make sure to never sell my stuff for too cheap, I have before and i really regret it. Some people might catch on to the cheaper prices every week and just wait until it's the price they want. Just sayin' if nobody will give you what you want for your bike, keep it.

OldsCOOL

Hey, I dig being on the other end of this deal. Just bought a Raleigh Technium for 100.00 that was barely ridden, professionally tuned and maintained, pristine condition. The gentleman looked at me and said, "I think the price was too low". "Not for me", I replied.

Cant believe the condition this very nice bike is in for an '89.

Seriously, if he had asked 150.00 for the bike he may not have had one hit on it. The used bike market is not moving here.

cycle_maven

Kinda like a Dutch auction, in slow motion

alicestrong

How do you really know that you sold it too cheap? Maybe you just got lucky with the timing of the right people interested in buying that particular bike...

Mos6502

In my experience starting low is a gamble but it usually pays off. The only time it's a really bad idea is when you're selling something unusual or rare that only a few people are going to want to bid on. Some times it's hard to own up to the fact that some of the things we like - just aren't very interesting to a lot of people!

I have three items up right now that if I had started them at the price they are currently at, I wouldn't even have a single watcher I'd bet. In fact if I had started them at even $10, I doubt I'd be seeing the bidding that's going on right now.

SteveSGP

I know I've underpriced a few but I also know I've made money on virtually every bike I've sold.

I'd rather go a bit low and have it sell quickly and without the buyer worrying about every nick and scratch, I end up happy because I have cash in my pocket and they're happy because they got a good deal.

Der_Kruscher

The bike wouldn't have sold at all without the "hand crimped" cable ends. Those alone were worth your asking price.

noglider 

Listen to the wise man. His posts are so succinct that it's easy to miss the depth of his wisdom.

fender1

Tom loves him some thrifty Bill!

noglider 

Thrifty Bill describes all the lessons I've learned the hard way, without knowing I've learned them.

KonAaron Snake 

I'm with Tom - Bill understands the ups and downs and the limitations of the game.

thenomad

Having some bikes listed for a long time helps you appreciate a quick sell. Sometimes its best to take a little less now than have to deal with it for 6 months.

Just sold a modern bike built up from parts bin, deals, and trades. Cost me very little actual cash but built into a fine, if not mix match bike. Most of the parts were in fact upgrades to the as sold version though.

priced it with what I figured I'd be very happy to get and got a call that night, sold it that night after negotiating down -$35

Glad to have it gone, glad to have the cash.

I just saw it relisted as sold for $70 more so turns out he's a flipper. Hmm,would have been nice to get more... BUT, its been listed a week now and he's dropping the price.
Seems to be more effort than the approx 20-30 he'll make on it. Good luck to him.

roccobike

No, it doesn't bother me. I just sold a few bikes to lower the number in the fleet. One of them, that I know I priced too low went to a college student who is low on cash. I remember those days, and I remember the people who helped me get through school. Another who answered a CL add, turned out to be a neighbor looking for an inexpensive mountain bike for his wife to ride on the local gravel MUP. The old Specialized Hard Rock I sold him was perfect for that application.

I'll tell you what does bother me: Putting a bike or bike part on CL at a good price and no one responds. Maybe I didn't list it at the right price.