About four or so years ago, after being away from bicycles for a bit, I got involved in a few large clean-outs of both old bike shops, a few bike hoarder estates, and lately a rather large farm packed with old bikes and parts. The original intention was to simply find a few things I wanted, build myself a few decent older bikes, and maybe sell enough of the extra stuff to cover the cost of moving it.
Now, four years later, I have a garage, a storage trailer, and most of my basement full of parts I felt were worth keeping to either use or sell. I've always enjoyed old bikes and working on bikes. I spent many years in bike shops as a kid, doing repairs, building new bikes, and later selling off old shop inventories on eBay. But I didn't start actively chasing down big lots till I stumbled on a free deal up in NY that gained me about 80 bikes and a trailer full of new parts just for the taking. One led to another, then another and so on. My only expenses are my time, fuel for the trucks, and on occasion some extra hands for the move. The most I've put out for a big cleanout was just under a grand but only because I needed several drivers and some muscle to move everything in a hurry in the city. Most cost far less to handle. Being retired helps but I still don't like working for free.
Every so often I weed through it all and find things to list and sell, hopefully to help cover the cost of it all.
What I'm finding out is that apparently none of it has any value when it comes to selling any of it.
I've listed a handful of really nice project bikes and a few that I've gone through and made into nice riding bikes, but have had no takers at all
Little by little its gotten bigger and bigger with the last clean-out being a joint deal with a guy who had been doing this for decades.
On his suggestion, I started listing more stuff on CL and FB, that pretty much turned out to be a waste of time, nothing sells unless its darn near free, and even then they want free delivery.
Something that has really amazed me is how someone who answered an ad for a bike listed at $200, will drive hours to get here, then show up with only pocket change expecting to buy the bike for $15. Then they get mad because they're going home empty handed.
I had that happen with a new in the box 1980 Trek 512. I ended up parting the bike out piece by piece on ebay and finally sold the frame through a friend who sells at a flea market.
Vintage parts, which I see selling for decent money on fleabay, don't sell at all locally, and a few tries on ebay have turned out to be a waste of time as items listed didn't draw any bids or sold for less than the time it took to list them.
The only bikes that have sold and sold consistently are department store bikes.
I see items bringing good money on eBay but when I list there nothing sells. I quit selling my own items on ebay and have a friend do the listing on her accounts. She takes a percentage and does all the shipping and listing. I watch the same items selling for other sellers but when we list the same thing it doesn't even get a look with the same title in the same category. I'm starting to wonder if those high priced items selling on ebay are real or maybe just items put there to get people to list their items. I had four new old stock JC
Higgins three speed hubs, I had just watched four or five sell for over $80 each. I gave her a pair of them to list, they went up, right next to another used one listed for $120 BIN. The $120 hub was gone three days later and showing under sold items. Mine never got a look with an almost identical title and good pics. Several others all sold for over $80 that next day, yet none we listed got so much as a look on the watch counter.
A few months ago I had a minty clean Huret Jubilee rear derailleur sit for two weeks without a bid while five others sold good money.
Mine was cleaner, the same version and model and it had good pictures yet it went through two re-listings in the same category with no bids and no watchers.
Now, four years later, I have a garage, a storage trailer, and most of my basement full of parts I felt were worth keeping to either use or sell. I've always enjoyed old bikes and working on bikes. I spent many years in bike shops as a kid, doing repairs, building new bikes, and later selling off old shop inventories on eBay. But I didn't start actively chasing down big lots till I stumbled on a free deal up in NY that gained me about 80 bikes and a trailer full of new parts just for the taking. One led to another, then another and so on. My only expenses are my time, fuel for the trucks, and on occasion some extra hands for the move. The most I've put out for a big cleanout was just under a grand but only because I needed several drivers and some muscle to move everything in a hurry in the city. Most cost far less to handle. Being retired helps but I still don't like working for free.
Every so often I weed through it all and find things to list and sell, hopefully to help cover the cost of it all.
What I'm finding out is that apparently none of it has any value when it comes to selling any of it.
I've listed a handful of really nice project bikes and a few that I've gone through and made into nice riding bikes, but have had no takers at all
Little by little its gotten bigger and bigger with the last clean-out being a joint deal with a guy who had been doing this for decades.
On his suggestion, I started listing more stuff on CL and FB, that pretty much turned out to be a waste of time, nothing sells unless its darn near free, and even then they want free delivery.
Something that has really amazed me is how someone who answered an ad for a bike listed at $200, will drive hours to get here, then show up with only pocket change expecting to buy the bike for $15. Then they get mad because they're going home empty handed.
I had that happen with a new in the box 1980 Trek 512. I ended up parting the bike out piece by piece on ebay and finally sold the frame through a friend who sells at a flea market.
Vintage parts, which I see selling for decent money on fleabay, don't sell at all locally, and a few tries on ebay have turned out to be a waste of time as items listed didn't draw any bids or sold for less than the time it took to list them.
The only bikes that have sold and sold consistently are department store bikes.
I see items bringing good money on eBay but when I list there nothing sells. I quit selling my own items on ebay and have a friend do the listing on her accounts. She takes a percentage and does all the shipping and listing. I watch the same items selling for other sellers but when we list the same thing it doesn't even get a look with the same title in the same category. I'm starting to wonder if those high priced items selling on ebay are real or maybe just items put there to get people to list their items. I had four new old stock JC
Higgins three speed hubs, I had just watched four or five sell for over $80 each. I gave her a pair of them to list, they went up, right next to another used one listed for $120 BIN. The $120 hub was gone three days later and showing under sold items. Mine never got a look with an almost identical title and good pics. Several others all sold for over $80 that next day, yet none we listed got so much as a look on the watch counter.
A few months ago I had a minty clean Huret Jubilee rear derailleur sit for two weeks without a bid while five others sold good money.
Mine was cleaner, the same version and model and it had good pictures yet it went through two re-listings in the same category with no bids and no watchers.