Pop N Wood

Not sure if it has been posted but looks like Trek is going to refurbish and sell used bikes

https://www.fastcompany.com/90948733...ou-a-used-bike

All the threads about bicycle blue book suddenly become relavant.

TiHabanero

Reducing carbon footprint. Yeah, right. Certified used Trek bikes...there's profit in that. Instead of being extorted to pay "carbon offsets" they can claim "carbon neutral" with a certified used bike program and add to the bottom line. Smart move.

Leisesturm

Extorted to pay? <splutter, gasp> See, this is why ...

Wildwood 

I hear bicycle sales are slow industry-wide. (True?)
Turn in used bikes for a credit toward a full price new bike. Such a deal! But not exactly a new idea.

The best business decisions usually have multiple valid reasons.
Monitor the program and modify as needed.
Generate all the good marketing stories possible. Broadly disseminated = fastcompanydotcom?
Biz as usual.

Ghazmh

Great, we can pay top dollar for a 2013 Claris equipped aluminum Madone on 23’s.

Herzlos

It's not a bad idea, loads of other manufacturers sell reconditioned items. It'd (presumably) take a lot of the risk out of buying carbon components from a random person, since I assume the bikes will get a suitable strip down / test / rebuild.

Jughed

Why not just skip a bunch of steps and have the local Trek stores inspect/refurb the bikes and list on a central marketplace? The bikes could be bought locally or would only need to be shipped once.

Troul 

they gotta fund the GRX 12 speed mechanical groupset somehow....

Wonder why they did 105 first? Are road parts seen as more profitable or a low risk of a loss if it doesn't net the desired sales? I'd have made a 12 speed mechanical groupset that addresses both gravel & road shifting tolerances using as minimal R&D as possible, but maybe that was the case for developing the "new" shifter & rear der?

wheelreason

Next to buying every failing retail shop in sight, seems brilliant, did they reroute the water from Flynt to Wisconsin?...

Jicafold

Bicycle Blue book is notorious for significantly undervaluing used bikes. I don't know where they get their data. Have you tried to sell a used bike on Craigslist, a nice used quality road bike, completely refurbished and tuned up, with Dura Ace or Ultegra and then someone says "but Bicycle Blue Book says it's worth $125."

Polaris OBark

It is probably so they can buy back $12K Domane+ with dead batteries in a year or two, put in a new one, and sell for $11.999K.

GeezyRider 

If the refurbished bikes are affordably priced, this is a great way for lower income folks to enjoy a decent quality bicycle. So putting aside Trek's motivation for this project, I like the concept.

tFUnK

Nice, wonder if they'll have a 2009 XO2 in a 58cm 😁🙏

RCMoeur 

As I posted in The Impending Spike in C&V Demand!

BRAIN says only bicycles 10 years old or less and valued at $150 or more will be accepted.

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/indu...efresh-program

At 10 years, heck, they're barely broken in...

Maelochs

Someone who is getting nothing from an old bike gets a little cash. Someone who wants a warrantied bike but doesn't care about/ cannot afford the Latest/Greatest, can get a decent deal on a decent bike ... if not, the program flounders.

I see this as a program designed by a woman, who knows that there are lot so women, angry at their husbands' buying more bikes, paying more attention to riding buddies, and generally fed up with the "Serious cyclist" lifestyle, who will sell their husbands' brand new bikes for pennies on the dollar, and then say "That is what you told me it cost."

Germany_chris

I think is the aimed more at ebikes.

They'll have a program in place to do CPO ebikes as they saturate the market and get more expensive.

Troul 

could be many "hot" deals... so hot they cant be touched.

NJgreyhead

I was told that The Pro’s Closet does not take trade-ins over 10 years old.

Pop N Wood

Exactly the point I was making.

Anything that lessens waste is a good thing. Trek acknowledges they will probably sell less new bikes because of this.

It might be unworkable in the long run, just like the majority of the current climate change initiatives.

Pop N Wood

Maybe they will buy the cheaper bikes as well and direct them to the many charities that refurbish bikes to be used as transportation in poorer countries. A local charity ships containers of rehabbed BSO's to Africa.

Leisesturm

I think you are correct. I don't know what CPO means but I agree that the floor for sale prices has to be high enough to support a secondary market. "Pre-owned", dealer vetted used cars have been a thing for ... decades? E-bikes are a lot more like cars (motorcycles) than regular bikes with respect to the 1st pass pricing structure.

retswerb

CPO = Certified Pre-Owned

RiceAWay

Trek was losing a lot of money because privately owned shops were making the profits. So Trek is buying them up, making them factory owned stores and the certified used bikes is simply part of such a service. Car dealers have done this for the last 70 years.

wheelreason

I'm litterally wiping coffee off my screen...

macstuff 

Trek may be making a smart move. At the very least they see what's coming.
Here at the Des Moines Bike Collective Treks are a hot commodity. We get Many donated, and after they are refurbished none are on the floor for more than 3 days. All get top used bike prices also.
If you are familiar with the English bicycle industry consolidation of the 1950s, it seems we are moving in that direction here. There are so many makers and parts makers that all of them create a glut and soon none of them can make enough to offset production. Add environmental, taxes, surgence of e-bikes and other government concerns such as safety mandates and soon they must go bankrupt or sell.
We are seeing signs such as city bike and lateral moves like Trek is taking.
None want to be the next Sears Roebuck or Schwinn.