What’s the best time to sell a bike?

[Katana]

Guys I need some advice as I have never sold a bike before. I need to sell my beloved Boardman Adv 8.6 gravel bike to make room for my newly acquired Ridley Fenix SLA 105. In an ideal world I would like to keep it as I have hardly used it simply because I do have another gravel bike(pinnacle Arkose 3). However I don’t have space to accommodate all of them so rather grudgingly came to the decision to part company. I put an advert on gumtree week ago but didn’t had much interest despite it was very competitively priced i.e. £499? I don’t know if it is due to the fact that Halfords have sale at present and therefore selling it for £660 as RRP is £825? Or maybe it’s not the best time? And off course bike manufacturers are trying to shift excess stock of their inventories for the ramped up production during Covid doesn’t help the matter? Any advice will be greatly appreciated😊

 

[DCLane]

Winter is always a bad time to sell a bike. When it's warmer, mid-late Spring, tends to be best.

 

[Gunk]

Winter is always a bad time to sell a bike. When it's warmer, mid-late Spring, tends to be best.

Problem with bikes is the same as cars, they’re worth a fortune when you want to but one but bugger all when you want to sell.

 

[Katana]

Problem with bikes is the same as cars, they’re worth a fortune when you want to but one but bugger all when you want to sell.

Very true 😔

 

[Katana]

Problem with bikes is the same as cars, they’re worth a fortune when you want to but one but bugger all when you want to sell.

Sod’s Law 😂

 

[Moodyman]

1) For the buyer? Now is a good time as sellers, often broke after Christmas, don’t see themselves cycling again and de-clutter.

2) For the seller? Early summer as the days get a bit warmer and folk think they want to enjoy the green outdoors. Then, they realise how hard cycling is and the bike get dumped into the back of the shed. The said bike, then appears in the classifieds in early January as 1).

 

[Katana]

1) For the buyer? Now is a good time as sellers, often broke after Christmas, don’t see themselves cycling again and de-clutter.

2) For the seller? Early summer as the days get a bit warmer and folk think they want to enjoy the green outdoors. Then, they realise how hard cycling is and the bike get dumped into the back of the shed. The said bike, then appears in the classifieds in early January as 1).

Thanks for the advice 🙏🏻

 

[Bristolian]

Problem with bikes is the same as cars, they’re worth a fortune when you want to but one but bugger all when you want to sell.

Ditto camera equipment

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Guys I need some advice as I have never sold a bike before. I need to sell my beloved Boardman Adv 8.6 gravel bike to make room for my newly acquired Ridley Fenix SLA 105. In an ideal world I would like to keep it as I have hardly used it simply because I do have another gravel bike(pinnacle Arkose 3). However I don’t have space to accommodate all of them so rather grudgingly came to the decision to part company. I put an advert on gumtree week ago but didn’t had much interest despite it was very competitively priced i.e. £499? I don’t know if it is due to the fact that Halfords have sale at present and therefore selling it for £660 as RRP is £825? Or maybe it’s not the best time? And off course bike manufacturers are trying to shift excess stock of their inventories for the ramped up production during Covid doesn’t help the matter? Any advice will be greatly appreciated😊

Very sorry to break this, but I don't think it's competitively priced.

Rule of thumb, you're lucky to get more than 1/3 of new price, half if it's absolutely pristine and you're lucky.

Bike to work scheme means many people pay essentially half price for new bikes...

So if Halfords are selling for 660, I'd guess 300 tops. Even if they weren't, 400 max if rrp 825. Sorry, and hope I'm wrong.

 

[mickle]

The week or two leading up to Easter. Spring is in the air, holidays and good weather are on people's minds and their wallets have fully recovered from Christmas.

 

[sevenfourate]

"Not now" (In the middle of a Bicycle over-surplus, after Christmas, in the middle of Winter and during an economic downturn).....is the right answer

 

[Katana]

Very sorry to break this, but I don't think it's competitively priced.

Rule of thumb, you're lucky to get more than 1/3 of new price, half if it's absolutely pristine and you're lucky.

Bike to work scheme means many people pay essentially half price for new bikes...

So if Halfords are selling for 660, I'd guess 300 tops. Even if they weren't, 400 max if rrp 825. Sorry, and hope I'm wrong.

 

[Katana]

No I don’t think you’re wrong there as one needs to be more realistic than optimistic!! Thanks 😊

 

[vickster]

I sold one last week but it had been on eBay for months and I dropped the price. As above, poor time to sell and used values are poor.
As above, yours does sound expensive given how much they are new (esp as people can use discounts, cashback sites, work vouchers, C2W etc at Halfords)

 

[Dadam]

I don't know a lot about the secondhand bike market, apart from reading that stuff isn't selling! But it did strike me that trying to sell a secondhand bike for 3/4 of the price you could get a brand new one with warranty is optimistic. I see @roubaixtuesday beat me to it though.

My advice, hang on to it if at all possible as you clearly like the bike. Everyone needs a spare or two! If not, wait til spring as mentioned above.

I'd also add general advice for selling secondhand stuff. Clean within an inch of its life, so every component shines from every angle and it looks pristine. Buff the frame with some car wax* or even furniture wax.
Then spend some time taking lots of good, sharp photos with good lighting. Include closeups of all the mechanical bits. Do some beauty shots, ideally with a really nice backdrop, i.e you're selling not just the bike but the idea of the bike. The new owner riding it in beautiful scenery.

* not car "polish" which is a mild abrasive, and if it's a spray don't spray it all over the bike just a small drop on a rag and rub it in, then a clean rag to buff.

After all that you'll probably get a load of lowball offers and if you don't price it super cheap, be prepared to wait. On ebay put it on with a decent but realistic buy it now price, and just let it sit there.