Best way to sell a rare retro bike ?

[mrdryskull]

If a guy was thinking about passing along a few retro bikes to make room for other projects,,( Italian with motors),,what is the best way ?
Get a fair market value,,help fellow collectors,,avoid the flippers,,(nothing worse than selling something to a desperate "collector",then see it on Ebay the next week for double the price ! you know who you are...)
A link to an Ebay auction,,Dutch auction (against the rules ?),,picture and send a PM,,,???
Any thoughts from the community?

 

[Minifreak]

Why not post them on here in the sale area with full honest descriptions and lots of good quality pics? What you looking to sell?

 

[NeilM]

Re:

That's a good question.

Last night a well specced Roberts White Spider went for £666 (yes really) on ebay and in the recent past I have seen rare Zinn's go for even more money, but if either had been put in the classified here at similar money I very much doubt if they would have sold.

That said, if you put a big price tag on a bike here at least a prospective buyer can PM you and negotiate (which usually entails offering you a third of what you are asking). If you get no joy here, then off to ebay it goes.

A lot depends on what the bikes are and how rare.

Of course rare can mean, like Manitou FS, that they were very expensive when new and all broke leaving very few working bikes left. Or rare can mean like a Roberts Phantom or White Spider or a Zinn that they were early examples of mtb's and so very few were made, despite them being fine bikes.

 

[al-onestare]

If a guy was thinking about passing along a few retro bikes to make room for other projects,,( Italian with motors),,what is the best way ?
Get a fair market value,,help fellow collectors,,avoid the flippers,,(nothing worse than selling something to a desperate "collector",then see it on Ebay the next week for double the price ! you know who you are...)
A link to an Ebay auction,,Dutch auction (against the rules ?),,picture and send a PM,,,???
Any thoughts from the community?

Well if it so happened it involved a 97 Caldera then the option to help out collectors is an excellent idea ;-)

 

[pete_mcc]

Re:

If you want to sell everything and make the best money fast then split them into component parts and sell on eBay with a zero reserve. If you want to be precious and sell to the 'right person' then put them on here for a fixed price (used ebay completed items, do a search on here or post in what's my xyz worth' thread for a price).
If you sell an item on here and you then see a flipper sell it for twice as much on eBay then you didn't do your homework and undersold yourself - your fault, not the flippers.

 

[mrdryskull]

Re:

Interesting,,but what if you are selling something that has no Ebay history,,like a Mountain Goat built 97 Caldera,,,and I actually do have a 93 Manitou FS with no cracks,Elladee Brown's old race bike actually,How do you put a price on that ?

 

[Coleman]

Re: Re:

Interesting,,but what if you are selling something that has no Ebay history,,like a Mountain Goat built 97 Caldera,,,and I actually do have a 93 Manitou FS with no cracks,Elladee Brown's old race bike actually,How do you put a price on that ?

Best place to start is what's it worth to you?

The manitou and mountain goat will be easier to price based on sales - a late night looking on here or mtbr or eBay will answer that.

I'd suggest that you put them on here with loads of decent pics ask what you want and see if they sell.

Good luck!

 

[pete_mcc]

Re: Re:

Interesting,,but what if you are selling something that has no Ebay history,,like a Mountain Goat built 97 Caldera,,,and I actually do have a 93 Manitou FS with no cracks,Elladee Brown's old race bike actually,How do you put a price on that ?

Easy, no reserve 10 day auction, link on here and MBR and the market will tell you the price.

Neither bike are that rare, desirable or special to require white glove treatment.

 

[r32]

If you're looking to sell a pro's old bike at a premium, provenance is naturally required. Not just based on your say-so. Not saying that you don't have proof, but saying it is expected.

 

[Chickenball]

Re:

In the big picture......it's just a bike! It happens over here but if I'm willing to let it go I want at least what I think it's worth after some research.