Buying old bikes, doing them up, and then selling them?

[Monkspeed]

West Midlands Police sell unclaimed bikes through auctions. They typically go for around £20-£40 for a lot of 10 (http://www.astonsauctioneers.co.uk/west_midlands_police_auction_catalogue.html). I suspect most of them end up on Gumtree at that price each.

Thanks for the link, It would cost me quite a bit in petrol to get up there to pick the bikes up though...

I have refurbed a few bikes from 1990s road bikes to a cheap Apollo hybrid. Never made a cent on them. I have made money buying nearly new stuff at cheap prices then selling them on. It's not easy and items don't come up too often. you have to search all the ad sites as well as local supermarket boards etc...

If you do want to have a go only buy quality stuff. At least Reynolds 531 or Columbus Aelle, try and get Reynols 653, 753, 708 make sure the wheels are in good order otherwise you've spent £50-100 already. Most of the ebay stuff is junk, one old Reynolds 753 bike sold last week for £330 so you're going to struggle. A cheapo £200 Viking road bike will be lighter than most old 80s and 90s bikes and have more gears and be guaranteed for at least a year. Decathlon do a full STi equpped alu-carbon bike for £300

I know, I have one! Thats what is putting me off, someone cam buy a new bike for £300 then why buy my seconds? I think Yello is right, I am going to need an angle.

 

[Cubist]

Thanks for the link, It would cost me quite a bit in petrol to get up there to pick the bikes up though...



I know, I have one! Thats what is putting me off, someone cam buy a new bike for £300 then why buy my seconds? I think Yello is right, I am going to need an angle.

Ring 101 and ask to be put through to the property clerk at your nearest station. They will tell you which auction rooms they send their stuff to..... all forces do it.

 

[gbb]

If you've access to loads of second hand spares( ie donor bikes), you could scrape something out of it, but buying spares, even second hand, sucks up the cash.
Another example....my winter commuter
Raleigh 531 frame, £25. By the time i'd finished it cost me £230...TBF that did include circa £70 for wheels, but even if you subtract that..£160. Its a brilliant, versatile, strong and reliable bike, but finding someone prepared to pay that is another matter.
I think you'd be better watching for cheap racers that need very little doing to them, a scrub up, adjust and oil..then sell for a small profit.

 

[biggs682]

+ 1 re gbb's comments it works for me . if you re paint you then have the question of can you prove what is under the shiny new paint !

better of keeping an eye out for good quality bikes at good low prices then make them ride able and roadworthy , then e bay and gumtree them out for profit and when you see a good donor bike buy it and store till parts reqd .

 

[brockers]

I remember a guy who'd buy pretty ordinary 10-15yo racing bikes on eBay, replace the obvious worn out bits (sourced, of course, from the same aforementioned internet auction site), put some colourful tyres and bar-tape on, and give it the full marketing spiel appealing to those who knew no better, and basically cleaned up.

It wasn't rocket science and I was quite envious at the amount of chutzpah he displayed (and wish I'd had the brass balls to do it), but I think those days are over, as it seems everyone's into road-cycling these days and it's harder to pull the wool over people's eyes. Although, I guess you could use that to your advantage

 

[Smut Pedaller]

There are much better ways to make money, I'd stick to doing it for the love.

I know you say you enjoy working on your own bike, but working on them to sell isn't so much fun so you should probably factor in some kind of labour cost. Also factor in capital like tools, which often with old bikes can be obscure and non-standard. There are business that do this and charge a premium, but they also offer warranty and after-sales service which is important to most potential buyers.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Imho generally speaking vfm* ranking from high to low is:

1) Old bike
2) Old components
3) New bike
4) New components

Putting new components into an old bike, which remains an old bike, is therefore a particularly ehhh charitable act in the present context. What the ranking also reflects is bikes are often worth a little more (but usually not worth the time and trouble) broken up than whole, which is the exact opposite of what one who has been conditioned by Duplo/Lego/Meccano/etc. since year dot wants to do.

* defined as potential resale value vs purchase cost

 

[accountantpete]

It's a bit of a minefield out there with plenty of traps ready to snag the unwary especially in the retro market.

To make money you need a good quality frame. That means, ideally, getting a good make, with the best quality tubing and with a paint job that doesn't need a re-spray etc.

On legit examples you will find that Reynolds 531 tubing came in a variety of "flavours" - many bikes had 531 main tubing but makers saved money by using inferior tubing for the stays and forks for example.

Other bikes will have already had a respray and it is rather easy to apply fake makers transfers and tubing quality stickers at this point. If the job was done 10 years ago then the aged look may make it look genuine.

 

[Monkspeed]

Whilst I understand that it makes more sense to find a newer bike and just adjust and scrub up as gbb suggests, I'm not quite sure that would appeal to me.

I get much more fun out of stripping things down and then doing them up again. I'm not really looking to pull the wool over anyones eyes as such. I just want to do something I enjoy and maybe make some coin out of it in the process...