I am shopping for a nice hardtail about 3-4 years old in a good shape.
I expect to pay about $500 for a bike that cost around $1000 new.
Is it reasonable?

I noticed lots of people trying to sell their 5 years old bikes(very good shape) for 80% of the original price.

Does anyone know average resale value(% of original price) of 3-4-5 years old bikes within $1000-$1500(original price) range?


Thanks,
Alex

Yes, half off is reasonable.
Mountainbikereview.com is a good place to check for used bikes. Tends to be a bit higher, sellers know what they have.
Ebay.com can be cheapest way to go. Sellers don't have as good an idea of the value, but there are so many viewers that some bikes don't go very cheap.
If you'll check those two web-sites, you'll have a good idea of what you can get.

Remember also that some people list things for a higher price than they expect to get. I check craigslist a lot just out of curiosity. Some people have outrageously high prices and sometimes you see a good deal. If I were selling an used bike on craigslist, I wouldn't list it for 80% of original price, but if I only expected to get 50%, I might list for 60%. I've seen people list things for a high price and then a few days later you see the price creeping down.

Unrelated product, but I saw a guy list a saxophone for 650 and over the next week it creeped down to 300. That was a little depressing considering I have the same model.

I kinda got my own little scale...it's used 25% off, plus 5% for each addt'l year...that's if it's in proper condition, if components will need replacement, then account for those to. That's how I look at it

It's weird. I was originally going to buy a second hand bike but couldn't even find one that wasn't a K-mart special that was going for $5 less than what they cost in K-mart. They sold 1.1 million bikes in Australia last year and second hand ones are as scarce as hen's teeth, even though most of those bikes will be sitting in garages and laundrys now.

The LBS won't even mention the words "second hand".

Weird situation.

I don't know about Australia, but here in midwest USA pawn shops often have good deals on low- tomid-range bikes with prices of less than 50% of brand new. For example, I picked up a rigid MTB of about US$400 new for $100--and it had obviously never been ridden at all! More expensive bikes are hard to find. When people spend > $1000 for a bike, they usually know exactly what they want and intend to hang onto it, I presume.

I can't work it out. Maybe I'm in a town full of misers cause even the second hand stores where you can find ancient golf carts, 9th hand bedding, record players won't carry second hand bikes. Maybe there's just too much to know to warrant buying second hand bikes. Maybe here everyone wants more for their bikes than they paid for it?

I browse used bike listings a LOT...several times a day. Kind of a habit from the months it took me to collect parts for my bike. I've bought and sold 6 bikes in the past 3 years, so I've dealt with both ends.

How good a deal is depends on how patient you are. I have all the time in the world, and I've gotten top tier bikes <30% of their original retail price. It seems that the more expensive the bike, the better the deal because the market for high-end bikes isn't really that big. Once every few weeks I'll see a XTR XC bike for <$800 USD, or a DuraAce road bike for $1000. These bikes are <5 years old. If you are an average sized male, then you have a lot of choices.

To me, 50% is a bad price. Ebay is a TERRIBLE place to buy bikes, buyers overbid frequently and buying a bike unseen is risky. You're much better off with local buy/sell sites, if there are any for your area. The more people that an ad reaches, the higher that bike will sell for.

Bottom line: buy locally, sell online.

There's a big showroom here dedicated to used bikes, Budget Bicycle Used. There are hundreds of them there. That's where I got my Trek 2300.

You might have some luck getting a FREE high-end (or low-end) bike. There is a web based movement called Freecycle. (The cycle refers to recycle, not bicycle.) The idea is that people use Yahoo groups to give away anything that they no longer want--anything at all. I have seen autos being given away, and almost any other item you can imagine. You can even request certain items. This is a very wonderful movement that is available in many areas. Just google "freecycle" and the name of your town.