How do you find bikes at garage sales?
05-01-13, 02:50 PM
#76
Thrifty Bill
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Demographics mentioned above don't apply here. I have good bikes and crappy bikes in all types of neighborhoods. Asheville has a lot of crazy neighborhoods, many of them very modest. Found several bikes last year at a commune. From the street, it just looked like an average run down house. In the backyard, people were living in sheds, two living in a treehouse, etc. Wish I could have taken pics.
Rarely are any garage sales close to me. We do route them, at least half the bikes at garage sales come from sales that did not mention bikes in the ad. And I probably mentioned this earlier, you need to be looking for other stuff as well, or you will give up long before you find any bikes. Example: last week, no bikes. But the first garage sale netted 4 nice pairs of shoes, $1 each. Sold them on fleecebay for $150. Second garage sale netted a nice large dog crate, $6 (personal need). And so on. Its been over a month since I have found a bike at a garage sale.
My 1988 Cimmaron and a 1970s Fuji Special racer mixte both came from the same garage sale last fall. We showed up at least 3 hours after the sale started (can't be the first one there to every sale), and this one mentioned Fuji and Schwinn bikes in the ad! The two bikes were leaning against a tree, both needed some serious TLC. I immediately put my hands on both bikes (first rule of garage sales is get your hands on the item before someone else, THEN find out the price), sent my wife to find out what the prices were. She says something, my hearing is not too good. Did you say $50 or $15? $15. Pay them NOW!
+1 To Jim below, I never find "great" bikes at garage sales. But I have found some good ones. The best I have found have been a nice Cannondale racing bike, a Cannondale touring bike, a Trek 412, a Panasonic 2500 racing bike, and a Motobecane Jubile Sport. This is over several years, going to garage sales just about every week.
Oops, just forgot, I found a Masi Grand Corsa at a garage sale. Came with a bicycle repair stand. Sold the stand for more than I paid for both items.... That was last summer, not some distant, decades ago score. They are out there.
Rarely are any garage sales close to me. We do route them, at least half the bikes at garage sales come from sales that did not mention bikes in the ad. And I probably mentioned this earlier, you need to be looking for other stuff as well, or you will give up long before you find any bikes. Example: last week, no bikes. But the first garage sale netted 4 nice pairs of shoes, $1 each. Sold them on fleecebay for $150. Second garage sale netted a nice large dog crate, $6 (personal need). And so on. Its been over a month since I have found a bike at a garage sale.
My 1988 Cimmaron and a 1970s Fuji Special racer mixte both came from the same garage sale last fall. We showed up at least 3 hours after the sale started (can't be the first one there to every sale), and this one mentioned Fuji and Schwinn bikes in the ad! The two bikes were leaning against a tree, both needed some serious TLC. I immediately put my hands on both bikes (first rule of garage sales is get your hands on the item before someone else, THEN find out the price), sent my wife to find out what the prices were. She says something, my hearing is not too good. Did you say $50 or $15? $15. Pay them NOW!
+1 To Jim below, I never find "great" bikes at garage sales. But I have found some good ones. The best I have found have been a nice Cannondale racing bike, a Cannondale touring bike, a Trek 412, a Panasonic 2500 racing bike, and a Motobecane Jubile Sport. This is over several years, going to garage sales just about every week.
Oops, just forgot, I found a Masi Grand Corsa at a garage sale. Came with a bicycle repair stand. Sold the stand for more than I paid for both items.... That was last summer, not some distant, decades ago score. They are out there.
Last edited by wrk101; 05-06-13 at 05:14 PM.
05-01-13, 03:34 PM
#77
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I never find nice bikes at garage sales, I don't bother looking anymore. My main source still delivers, I'm more discerning than I've been in the past so I pass on a lot of bikes others here would scoop up.
05-01-13, 04:18 PM
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I have two friends that are fans of antique furniture.
They'll spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings driving around looking for wood furniture.
They constantly call me and ask me if I want a certain bicycle.
This is the summer that I say no, unless it is an obscenely great value or brand.
They'll spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings driving around looking for wood furniture.
They constantly call me and ask me if I want a certain bicycle.
This is the summer that I say no, unless it is an obscenely great value or brand.
05-06-13, 11:37 AM
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I guess we have much different demographics.
Up here it's the 'in thing' to have a yard sale, even if you don't need the money. The rich people want to fit in, and pretend they're one of the regular people. It's amazing to see a Rolls Royce at a yard sale ($16K, I have a picture around somewhere). They also want to exercise, but can't be bothered to actually do it, and of course they need the best equipment. These are the people who have heated driveways in Maine so they don't have to plow or shovel snow, and a lot of the places on the coast are summer homes that are used for a month out of the year. One oil tycoon from OK I knew keeps a POS Ford Escort in the garage, complete with rust, just so he'll 'fit in' when he stays at the house. I was working on his coastal house at the time, when he arrived in his extended motor home (think larger than a Greyhound bus) towing the Jaguar, but needed to drive the Escort to town for some milk. Then there are the people who aren't 'as' rich, but pretend they are. It's really quite comical to see the pecking order and them trying to keep up. Mount Desert Island (Bar Harbor) is famous for this.
Up here it's the 'in thing' to have a yard sale, even if you don't need the money. The rich people want to fit in, and pretend they're one of the regular people. It's amazing to see a Rolls Royce at a yard sale ($16K, I have a picture around somewhere). They also want to exercise, but can't be bothered to actually do it, and of course they need the best equipment. These are the people who have heated driveways in Maine so they don't have to plow or shovel snow, and a lot of the places on the coast are summer homes that are used for a month out of the year. One oil tycoon from OK I knew keeps a POS Ford Escort in the garage, complete with rust, just so he'll 'fit in' when he stays at the house. I was working on his coastal house at the time, when he arrived in his extended motor home (think larger than a Greyhound bus) towing the Jaguar, but needed to drive the Escort to town for some milk. Then there are the people who aren't 'as' rich, but pretend they are. It's really quite comical to see the pecking order and them trying to keep up. Mount Desert Island (Bar Harbor) is famous for this.
Most of the time, anyway; the smart ones keep 1789 in mind.
Last edited by DIMcyclist; 05-06-13 at 11:44 AM.
05-06-13, 11:41 AM
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I've seen/acquired some nice bikes that have had kickstands on them, but I still agree with those who contend that kickstand equipped bikes should be viewed skeptically.
Very frequently, in my experience if not others, vintage bikes equipped with kickstands have had the kickstand mount tightened down enough to dent or otherwise deform the chainstays at least a little bit. Usually, this is on the bottom, hard to see, and ultimately only a cosmetic issue. But you then can't sell the bike or frame honestly as "frame is dent-free". And any frame dents just kill the value of a frame/bike.
So I'm with those who mentally depreciate a bike with a kickstand - it is either a low end bike or if a high end, high chance of dented frame. In the second case, it still may be worth a look, though...
Very frequently, in my experience if not others, vintage bikes equipped with kickstands have had the kickstand mount tightened down enough to dent or otherwise deform the chainstays at least a little bit. Usually, this is on the bottom, hard to see, and ultimately only a cosmetic issue. But you then can't sell the bike or frame honestly as "frame is dent-free". And any frame dents just kill the value of a frame/bike.
So I'm with those who mentally depreciate a bike with a kickstand - it is either a low end bike or if a high end, high chance of dented frame. In the second case, it still may be worth a look, though...
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