mjenkins65

I am preparing to sell my old bike so I can buy a new one. I've upgraded/replaced several of the stock parts. Does this effect the current value of the bike? Is there a tool where you can find the value of a used bike with upgrades? I still have all of the stock parts. I'd like to understand if I should just put them all back on prior to selling.

10 Wheels

Value of a used bike is What the buyer will pay for it.

dr_lha

IMHO, "upgrades" put almost no extra value into the used value of a bike. That doesn't seem to stop people on CL from pushing them though.

mjenkins65

SO would you recommend putting the stock parts back on the bike?

mjenkins65

Not a super helpful reply.....

I am looking for help on how to price a bike I want to sell. I was hoping for a little guidance.

MikeyBoyAz

Do you have any use for the original or the upgrades when you sell this bike?

andr0id

Depends what parts they are.

Please continue to deprive us of all the information so we can continue to give you vague and ambiguous advice.

Slackerprince

I sold an Allez with a lot of upgrades-Ultegra derailleurs, brakes, KEO pedals, Cateye computer, PD Carbon Stryke aero bars and a few more things. I think I got a little more than I would have for stock. The guy who bought it was really nice and appreciated how it was set-up.
OTOH, I sold a Specialized Sirrus with a few upgrades and it had carbon seatstays, which you can't find on flatbar/hybrids anymore. It was $1200 new, and I got $650 for it.
It really depends.
I've sold a LOT of guitars and basses with upgrades and you RARELY see any return on those upgrades.
Basic rule, you really don't see any significant return on upgrades.
If I were you, I'd revert the bike back to stock.


S

metz1295

IMO, unless the upgraded parts could be used on whatever you buy for your new bike, there is no need to keep them. Also, I would not hold out for a big price. Sell it to get rid of it. For example, if you're asking $500 and someone offers $450, take it. If you're willing to back out, they could be too. Get some cash for it and supplement with more of your own money. So many people who sell second hand don't put a value on their time. If you spend 4 hours making changes that will get you an extra $25 or $30 was it really worth it? Especially if the higher price results in a longer amount of time to sell. 4 extra hours of work and waiting another 3 weeks for that perfect buyer to come along is not worth $30 to me.

I see two options

1) Sell the bike as is and throw the stock parts as a bonus. This could also result in a quicker sell and getting your new bike sooner.

2) Put the stock parts back on. Sell the bike in it's original condition and try to sell the upgrades separately. This will be more work. Never forget to put a value on your time.

rms13

If I'm buying a used bike I base the price on the price of the bike stock.

10 Wheels answer is pretty spot on. It's worth what the buyer will pay for it. And I'll add from my experience, it's also not worth nearly as much as you think it is.

I bought a bike recently that had an upgraded saddle (Fizik) and upgraded stem (Pro Vibe) and upgraded bar tape (lizard skins) etc. All nice upgrades but didn't effect how much I was willing to pay. If seller had original parts and wanted to swap them I would have paid the same for the bike but he didn't and obviously I would pay much less for a bike with no saddle or stem.

Parts are easy to sell on ebay and if you truly have valuable upgrades it's probably better to take them off and sell them seperately

dtrain

Another question: can you re-install the stock components yourself? If not, a huge portion of the 'savings' just goes to the wrench (which might be okay).

himespau 

Is it an old classic bike where putting the original parts back on would increase the value? If so, do so. If not, consider how much effort it would take to put it back to stock. You probably won't get more money either way, so is having the upgraded parts to use again later worth the effort to take them off/put the old ones back on (and potentially replace any needed cables?

rms13

Well of course we don't even know what the big upgrades are. If they are wheels, saddle, stem, seat post they could easily be put back to stock. For all we know the big upgrades are saddle bag and bell

andr0id

Good examples, a saddle is not an upgrade unless it's the same saddle the buyer happens to want to ride. You should keep a saddle and move it to another bike if it's one you like.

A stem is honestly a don't care item. buyer may have to change it to get length he wants anyway. Even if you put a $400 Enve stem on a $800 bicycle, it doesn't turn into a $1200 bicycle.

HB Tape is a consumable. Has no monetary value with regards to a selling price.

10 Wheels

I recently sold 5 bikes...Buyers seemed to want only the basic bike with no upgrades.

datlas 

[h=2]Q: How do you determine the value of a used bicycle with upgrades?[/h]
A: Less than you think it's worth.

PhotoJoe 

This may help:

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...l#post17716043

cale

Sell the bike with the "upgrades" but be aware that if I were looking at your bike I would be looking at the condition of the components and how much wear they showed. Sometimes people think their bike has upgrades but actually they have some expensive worn-out parts.

Your question comes with a big qualifier for any response, that qualifier is "it depends." IE How much more will you get for a convertible with a new top? Only so much if the engine is blown.

What I like to do before I move on is to save any parts that I think I might use in the future. You may want that long cage, or SS, rear derailleur sometime down the line. Maybe you ride with someone that could use it. That's a good plan if the buyer of your used bike doesn't value the extra parts. No point in just giving them to a stranger.

macbride

You usually will get pretty close to the bike price on www.bicyclebluebook.com with not much extra for upgrades.

rms13

"usually" but it depend on market and I have found the higher priced the bike was new, the bigger hit you'll take on the sale. I just sold a higher end carbon bike in very good condition and ended up taking about 50% of what bicyclebluebook said it was worth. But for me I just wanted to get rid of it and had it for sale for over a month on CL and Ebay. I had several people interested and after 10+ people told me they wouldn't pay more then a certain price I started to realize that was the true market for the bike. Blue book value is nice but if nobody that is interested in the bike will pay that price , that's not the price

himespau 

If they're really nice wheels, you're not going to get your money back. Either keep them for your next bike or sell them separately. If they are OK wheels, maybe they'll perk up your ad when you say you've upgraded them, but that's about it.

KBentley57

I would recommend looking at new bikes that have similar parts, and try to get 50-70% of that much, depending on the age. For completeness - if you have an al bike with a carbon fork, which is 105 10 speed equipped with upgraded wheels, go to a few websites and find new bikes with 105, al frame, carbon fork, ect.. Take 70% of the real selling price (not the MSRP), and start from there. Another way is to see what your bike is going for on eBay without upgrades, and maybe add a few dollars, up to the 70% price listed earlier.Also, it's not worth as much as you think, as stated above .

emveezee

Used price = MSRP + What you paid for all the upgrades + ($6 x number of flats you've had). Totally fair.

dr_lha

In my market everything on CL is usually double what the value on BicycleBlueBook says. I have no idea how much these bikes go for in the end, because every offer I ever made based on the BBB value was rebuffed and/or laughed at.

surgeonstone

Which is usually much less than you want.