Second hand bike pricing....

[wafter]

It was, but wasn’t easy to sell. The problem is they’re not really one thing or another, very limited market

That's a shame - looks ideal for a bit of light off-road stuff; although Google seems to suggest that it's aimed more at the hybrid sector so I see your point about it being neither fish nor fowl!

Many people have been brought up to believe it is somehow sinful to spend money on anything other than necessities.

That is often linked to poverty, but not always.

My mother, who is neither poor nor rich, has such an attitude.

A wealthy businessman I know, who was from a similar ordinary background, told me he found spending the fortune he made almost harder than making it.

I'm certainly not one of those and am lucky enough to have some relatively nice toys; although am limited financially so try to maximise what I do have by doing a lot of research, buying used and only entertaining quality, low-maintenance, low-depreciation products that should last and that I can maintain myself to avoid getting bled for high running costs.

Ultimately I'm drawn to efficiency / minimised wastage in principal regardless of the context

 

[All uphill]

I just heard an item on BBC radio 4 about the difficulty in making house valuations in the current situation.

I suspect the same applies to bicycles. Who knows what the market price of a secondhand bike is, at a time when we are all trying to avoid contact?

It seems to me that any vendor needs to be willing to post if they want to have any chance of selling.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I suspect the same applies to bicycles. Who knows what the market price of a secondhand bike is, at a time when we are all trying to avoid contact?

The market price is the market price, no matter what the circumstances. If there are less credible buyers who are willing to go and pick up a bike, then the price achieved may be lower. Or it may not. Just depends who's interested and who's bidding.
There's a Daccordi vintage steel road bike on the 'Bay ATM, that some of us on the Vintage forum are watching. Seller states he has a £350 reserve on it. First time it bid up to £155, so he relisted. Second time it only reached £102. He's relisted yet again and it's currently at £8. The average achieved of the last two listings is £128, so that's what the market value is, irrespective of what the seller thinks it should be or would like it to be.

 

[Gunk]

That's a shame - looks ideal for a bit of light off-road stuff; although Google seems to suggest that it's aimed more at the hybrid sector so I see your point about it being neither fish nor fowl!


I'm certainly not one of those and am lucky enough to have some relatively nice toys; although am limited financially so try to maximise what I do have by doing a lot of research, buying used and only entertaining quality, low-maintenance, low-depreciation products that should last and that I can maintain myself to avoid getting bled for high running costs.

Ultimately I'm drawn to efficiency / minimised wastage in principal regardless of the context

I completely relate to that, I just hate wasting money, I like to be able to always get my money back if possible. Where possible I try and maintain/fix stuff myself.

 

[wafter]

I just heard an item on BBC radio 4 about the difficulty in making house valuations in the current situation.

I suspect the same applies to bicycles. Who knows what the market price of a secondhand bike is, at a time when we are all trying to avoid contact?

It seems to me that any vendor needs to be willing to post if they want to have any chance of selling.

Who in their right mind would entertain the idea of trying to buy or sell a house in such conditions? Surely those with more than half a brain would just dismiss such a proposition out of hand until this has all passed..

I think the contact thing potentially goes both ways. On the one hand you could suggest that nobody should be travelling / interacting for "non-essential" reasons, so on paper there's no market. On the other, I think I saw more people out on rural rides today than I ever have before, suggesting there might be a fair bit of "pent up demand" when this is over, from those who've rediscovered their cycling mojo and fancy an upgrade.

I completely relate to that, I just hate wasting money, I like to be able to always get my money back if possible. Where possible I try and maintain/fix stuff myself.

Couldn't agree more

 

[AuroraSaab]

I keep an eye on a few hobby things on eBay, Gumtree etc., like classic car parts, bikes, guitars .... listings are understandably down all round. Unless you will post, most people are not going to drive 30 miles to pick up an amp at the moment. The prices of bike trainers seems to have gone up though - I am expecting a glut of cheap ones on eBay next year.

 

[ColinJ]

Who in their right mind would entertain the idea of trying to buy or sell a house in such conditions? Surely those with more than half a brain would just dismiss such a proposition out of hand until this has all passed..

Indeed! My sister was in the process of buying her dream retirement property (a 17th century cottage in Devon) but has had to put it on hold. If the owner won't/can't wait then the purchase will not go ahead. There is little or zero chance of her being able to sell her current property at a reasonable price now and she'd need that to be able to proceed.

 

[Pale Rider]

Indeed! My sister was in the process of buying her dream retirement property (a 17th century cottage in Devon) but has had to put it on hold. If the owner won't/can't wait then the purchase will not go ahead. There is little or zero chance of her being able to sell her current property at a reasonable price now and she'd need that to be able to proceed.

House buyers and sellers are being 'urged' not to proceed until we are over the virus.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52051174

 

[ColinJ]

House buyers and sellers are being 'urged' not to proceed until we are over the virus.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52051174

I certainly wouldn't want to be mid-sale/purchase at this time!

 

[wafter]

I keep an eye on a few hobby things on eBay, Gumtree etc., like classic car parts, bikes, guitars .... listings are understandably down all round. Unless you will post, most people are not going to drive 30 miles to pick up an amp at the moment. The prices of bike trainers seems to have gone up though - I am expecting a glut of cheap ones on eBay next year.

Indeed - I suspect there might be a growing demand for postable, indoor activities at the moment! Good point about stuff being offloaded when this is all over; I wonder if the same might happen to bikes if there's a spike in purchases around this time..? I guess there's nowt stopping people buying mail-order from the shops that are still open.

Indeed! My sister was in the process of buying her dream retirement property (a 17th century cottage in Devon) but has had to put it on hold. If the owner won't/can't wait then the purchase will not go ahead. There is little or zero chance of her being able to sell her current property at a reasonable price now and she'd need that to be able to proceed.

Fair play to her - the only sensible choice IMO. If she's up-scaling (i.e. this property costs more than the one she's selling) she might even benefit financially by holding off. She probably has the seller on a hook as they're highly unlikely to find any alternative buyers in this market.

House buyers and sellers are being 'urged' not to proceed until we are over the virus.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52051174

I think there's a very strong possibility that the market will see some sort of correction once we're out the other end of this, and as a result we'll see a lot of chains collapse as people pull out or attempt to re-negotiate prices in the new financial landscape.

I suspect those whose sales aren't part of a chain their end (landlords, probate sales etc) will be falling over themselves to get deals completed before prices are obviously affected..

 

[alecstilleyedye]

an old rule of thumb is half the new price minus £10 for each year owned. doesn't work with old classics of course...

 

[wafter]

an old rule of thumb is half the new price minus £10 for each year owned. doesn't work with old classics of course...

I'd agree with the half price bit, but the £10 seems a bit arbitrary - 10% might be more appropriate..?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I'd agree with the half price bit, but the £10 seems a bit arbitrary - 10% might be more appropriate..?

When I assess how much of a bargain I've bought I price-adjust the original cost of a bike for inflation to the time of secondhand purchase, then measure how much I actually paid against that.
For example, the list price of the Raleigh Royal Tourer I own, I've found out, was originally £343 in 1987, which is £1,000 in today's money. Mine cost me £30 used, so I paid 3p in the £ of it's original cost, or a discount of 97% - whichever way you want to look at it. The value of money is not constant, and comparing the secondhand value of a bike priced at say, £1000 ten years ago, without adjusting for inflation, gives a false impression of the true amount of depreciation that occurs.

 

[Tenkaykev]

an old rule of thumb is half the new price minus £10 for each year owned. doesn't work with old classics of course...

Or Bromptons 😉

 

[biggs682]

I still can't see many used bikes being sold at the moment as even if you offered delivery by a courier is it really an essential delivery ???

As for collections i can't see it either .

And as for house / car purchases i don't think they will happen much till we are out of this crisis