Thanks to all the info and guidance I have received on here I completed my very first bike flip today! I started a thread a bit ago to show the results of the overhaul of a 1974 Raleigh Lady's Sport that I bought for my wife: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...rts?highlight=

Unfortunately she thought she needed more gears to ride with me on our greenways and neigborhood, so on to CL the bike went.

Got a text Friday from a young lady that lived downtown and wanted a bike to ride to work, so I met her today in a parking lot and let her check it out. After she got back from her test ride she was smiling from ear to ear and couldn't stop talking about how much she loved the bike and how great it rode. She offered me $25 less than asking price and I accepted, and I adjusted the seat for her, gave her some maintenance instructions, and told her that after she rode the bike for a bit to call me and I would give her a free tune it up and adjustment as necessary for her.

Got the bike for $30 from the junk shop, put another $45 in it with tires, tubes, cable, housing, and cleaning/overhaul materials. Spent a couple awesome Saturdays working on it with my sons in the driveway, and made over $100 profit, so I don't think I did too bad with my first flip!

The profit was nice, the satisfaction of the work I did was great, and knowing I saved a bike from the junk pile and got it to an owner that loved it is awesome, but I think the thing I enjoyed the most was seeing how much she loved the bike and how happy riding it made her. As she was leaving she thanked me for "doing such a great job on it" and then she added "this is gonna be my baby".

All in all a great experience, and I can't wait to get back to work and match another bike up with the perfect rider - I can already see this being VERY addicting.....

I'm glad you did well...but I've generally found the flip potential on three speeds is extremely minimal unless you buy them extremely cheap or they have solid condition Brooks products. Be VERY careful with stuff like this. Generally speaking, don't assume you'll get over $150 for a 3speed unless it's something special, and few are. ESPECIALLY step throughs.

Nice! All flips aren't money makers(don't ask) but if you enjoy working on and saving bikes keep it up.

cheers,

Brian

Good job Dave. Nice restoration, congrats on the sale. If I may ask, did you list it on CL or an ad elsewhere. I have a couple that I plan to sell or at least one of them, trying to decide which.

I was a little nervous, but didn't have a whole lot in it. If it came down to it I would have been happy to break even, but this turned out to be a perfect match between the bike and what she needed and wanted it for. If I sat with it too long I was going to part it out and sell the parts on ebay since the entire bike was original Raleigh parts.

I don't suspect I will be flipping any more 2-speeds or step through's unless they are something special like you mentioned.

Thanks! I had a great time restoring it, especially since my boys were interested in helping me with it.

I put it on CL. Had to relist it once on Monday this past week to bump it back to the top of the list, and had deal with one spam/scam attempt, but then got a text on Friday from the young lady that bought it.

Good luck!

+1 Congrats, you are on your way!

My first flip was a $10 Giant Rincon MTB, garage sale find. Trued the wheels, cleaned it up, adjusted brakes, and sold for $100 two days later. That $90 profit got the whole flip thing started for me. My first couple were like that, $10 garage sale finds, cleaned up and resold. The profits allowed me to pick up some tools, and then slowly moved up in quality of bike.

+1 3 speeds can be difficult flip bikes, really depends on where you live.

I was surprised you sold that bike for that price. Women's bikes are very hard to sell. Stick with men's bike for future sales.

Very nicely done! I tend to buy flips that I like and fit me. If they don't sell, I can always ride them.

After a nice sale, I tend to get cocky. I start looking too hard for flips and make bad decisions. Selling flip bikes can be very frustrating and time consuming. Good luck!

nice job on cleaning that up but I wouldnt have given you $150 for it. way to go.

Congrats. If you feel the bike was a job well done and it went to a happy new owner, that's a profitable sale, whatever the dollars. Sure you spent the time on it but you got to learn about how English 3 speeds work.

I had a similar experience with the Raleigh I flipped--the only one I've had--which went to a young lady from the U of Chicago. Yard sale purchase + lots of time + nice parts (Schwalbe Delta Cruiser tires, Koolstop pads) = less than $100 net, but a happy outcome nonetheless. I may never open another S-A hub, but I'm glad I did that one. The only thing I missed doing and do kind of regret was replacing the rims with alloys.

btw: 3 speeds may be a tough sale, Ladies especially, but a classic Raleigh is a thing of beauty, and at least in a market like Chicago, they seem to sell well. There's a local C&Ver who specializes in them. There's the whole 'tweed ride' phenomenon, with the people who actually do those rides only being the visible part of the fan base. There are lots of them around but most are 'as found' so if yours is fully functional, rust free, with new rubber, it will stand out.

What matters mostly in this case is that he unloaded a bike that didn't fit his wife’s needs and made a profit doing it. It doesn’t sound like he will be a regular flipper. Of course that sort of thing can become contagious with the allure of worthwhile profit.

I was surprised too, but like I said I would have been happy to break even. I was not in any rush to sell it and wasn't gonna take a loss, if anything would have held onto it and used it as a beach cruiser for my wife or daughter when vacation rolled around.

Thanks Al! I agree, the Raleigh was a beautiful bike and the engineering in it was first class. Solid bike all the way around, and it rode strong and smooth. If I hadn't been lucky enough to match it with the perfect buyer I would have kept it and used it at random times because it was such a good looking and smooth riding bike.

I think the rust free, shiny chrome and steel and the new gumwall tires really made it pop - the girl who bought it said she first noticed the shine and then saw the new tires and that is what drew her to it originally.

+100 - perfect summary silvercreek. I don't imagine I will become a hard core flipper, but I can see how it can be contagious. The profit was great, but I also enjoyed seeing how much the buyer loved the bike.

Most buyers leave satisfied or content - but it's a special treat to see the joy on some people's faces when they ride THE bike.

Absolutely never do that again. Once you start giving advice and free tune-up's your acting like a 'dealer'. Before you know it some bone head is going to crash or something's going to break and they'll try to come after you. I've flipped alot of bikes....alot, and I've always acted like I was some guy looking to sell an old bike. Think garage sale....

Regardless, congrats on your first flip. One of my rules of thumb is to make a $100 on every bike.

Congratulations, Dave, on what sounds like a gratifying project all the way around. You brought the beauty back to a fine, old bike, provided a charming and stable ride for someone, and earned yourself a little profit to boot. Well done!

I'm interested in some of the comments posted here suggesting that refurbishing women's bikes is a losing proposition (one of the posters, I believe, quipped that one could hardly give a woman's bike away on Craigslist). Well, I'd like to flip the omelette over to show the other side.

Buyers can't buy if there aren't any sellers.


I've been searching a continent of Craiglists from San Francisco to Chattanooga for months now (it only seems like years) looking for a Raleigh DL-1 Lady Tourist or a vintage mixte. I can testify that it's been a feckless, dispiriting endeavor. I might as well have been searching for dinosaur eggs, the elusive black tulip. or a falling star.

I see Raleigh Tourists for men (the listings aren't exactly abundant, but they're there); where are the comparable vintage loop frames for women? Are they being squirreled aways in an underground bunker? Or, are they simply languishing because there's a rumor abroad that one can't give away a bike for women. Bikemasters, please take note: if someone would like to give me a Lady's DL-1, I'll humbly accept it! Heck, I'll even pay for it, if you insist.


Just let me know so I can look up from my hunt for one of those rare black tulips.


Cheryl in Nashville
Bella Ciao Neorealista 2012
Raleigh Lady's Sport 1975

i don't understand this. does his legal liabilty become more burdensome when being kind, flirting (wink wink, nudge nudge) or providing additional follow-up services after a sale?

TNDave, it's good to read that your labor of love has been appreciated.

I don't want to hijack this thread to discuss the market for women's bicycles. Perhaps BluShoe will start a new one, "What women want". We're out there. How often do you see two posts from women on page 1?

Yes, it does. If you act like a buisness people will think your a buisness and expect everything that goes along with being a buisness.

Need to look a little further east of Chatanooga. I have sold several mixtes this year in both the Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC areas, I have a couple more in the queue yet to finish and sell. I've sold two in the last three weeks. I've also sold women's step through bikes and three speeds. Got one of those in the queue right now as well.

I also passed on picking up a mixte yesterday. Price was attractive, but the car is totally, completely full (six bikes, plus a bike repair stand, plus a bunch of other stuff). I will pack the car today, if I can make more room, maybe I will go back.

Mixtes sell for a nice premium. Step through road bikes and 3 speeds sell at a hefty discount. 99% of the bikes I sell to women are small to extra small men's style racing bikes. Thats what is in demand here. Just picked up a really nice one this weekend.

The last women's three speed I had, which was in outstanding condition, took me several months to sell. Meanwhile, the mixtes, XS racings bikes, and so on sell in a couple of days......

The market has "trained" me on what to pick up: racing bikes (the smaller the size, the better), mixtes, touring bikes, and just a handful of desirable MTBs.

I don't plan on making a habit of it, but she knew nothing about bikes and I wanted her to be able to somewhat maintain it and enjoy it. I would hope that someone would do that for my daughter one day if need be. Who knows, maybe it will lead to more word of mouth sales if I turn up any more bikes to flip...

I just got back from a wedding in Asheville and we are headed to Greenville SC next weekend for a long weekend family getaway. I'll have my eye on CL while I am there in case a great deal pops up.

I have not promised future tuneups but have had followup conversations with several people I've sold bikes to, including someone who's called me twice looking for bikes for other family members. I can see what MJ's point is and maybe it's warranted but I am friendly to people who show up to buy a bike, tell them about it, what I've done, what it might need in the future, and so far that's gone pretty well. All but possibly one person who's shown up to see a bike have bought; no returns, no complaints, no hassles. ymmv obviously.