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[Closed] Where do people buy and sell 2nd hand bikes?

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I am thinking of putting my new Trek Remedy 8 up for sale as I've come to the realisation that I have neither the time nor the bravery to use it properly. I was going to use eBay but looking at their terms it seems they charge 10% of the items final value as a fee and I'll be damned if I'm paying them over £150 for the privilege. Gumtree and Facebook are more for cheapo stuff and after that I'm out of ideas.

Is there a commonly used online marketplace or forum for trading bikes that I'm missing that doesn't have absurd fees?


 
Posted : 01/10/2019 10:34 pm
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Look to the top of this page. Now, right a bit, right a bit, past something called 'magazine', then 'shop', then something nobody understands called 'channels'.

Or click this, if you're on a phone.

https://singletrackworld.com/classifieds/?utm_source=singletrackworld.com&utm_medium=Direct&utm_campaign=classifieds_nav

Oh, and turn off your adblocker, or nothing will be revealed to you. 🙂


 
Posted : 01/10/2019 10:40 pm
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Ebay - look for one of their '£1 max selling fees' offers.
Facebook - plenty of expensive bikes on there
Pinkbike buy/sell
Gumtree

Had my old bike on there (£1000 roughly) and it sold through facebook eventually.

Yeah, and here - but I had at least 1 enquiry from each of the above places. Singletrack classifieds? Nothing.


 
Posted : 01/10/2019 10:40 pm
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Cheaper bikes - gumtree. Some people hate it but I've done well in the past.
I find Pinkbike good and very easy to use. I refrain from adding my phone number as that means only PB users can contact you which weeds out timewasters as they must create a profile if they want to contact you and dont have one.


 
Posted : 01/10/2019 10:41 pm
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I've sold through eBay,here and pink bike.

All sales have taken a while. Sold a road bike today through eBay via the £1 sale promotion. Took 2 months and a 20% price reduction.

All my sales have been lower value as I tend to ride my bikes into the ground.


 
Posted : 01/10/2019 10:52 pm
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^^ Adds you to the do not buy from list.😉


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 3:08 am
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I usually advertise on a lot of the Facebook groups that are dedicated to MTB sales.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 5:48 am
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The trouble is I find selling expensive bikes is that people don’t have the cash lying around and that’s what makes eBay work as they use PayPal. Unfortunately the stupid PayPal fees usually take a big chuck of profit so you need to advertise for more but in turn you get close to prices for a new bike.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 6:27 am
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Either EBay or pinkbike now.  Still list on here but generally get very little response since the switch from the old classifieds to the specific system


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 6:33 am
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I’ve never had a problem selling on here. Sold two bikes on here in under a week. The key thing is being reasonable about what your bike is worth.

There are a lot of bikes/frames on here that are completely overpriced.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 6:36 am
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Unfortunately the stupid PayPal fees usually take a big chuck of profit so you need to advertise for more but in turn you get close to prices for a new bike.

People have already pointed out srll on a £1 fees promotion.

It will cost you one pound.

Your options are your options adding more onto the price to try and get round the fees is just daft all the buyer will see is the price they want to pay and you just price yourself you


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 6:42 am
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Pink bike has been good for my old 26'' stuff. I just took tried to list a little over so people can haggle. Plus I always update when it's sold.

Gumtree and Facebook are both great for road bikes. Might be worth a try?


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 6:43 am
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I was getting my PayPal/eBay fees mixed up! So yeah wait for £1 listing fee.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 6:47 am
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Ebay is probably the quickest and easiest. Far more chance of it actually selling quickly, and if you list it well then things often seem to go for well above their normal prices. More than enough to offset the paypal fees.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 7:25 am
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Ebay for my last couple, sold within 48 hours both times.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 7:31 am
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Ebay for my last couple, sold within 48 hours both times.

Same for me, gave it week here on my frame sold on EBay within a day.  So obviously priced it somewhere near market value.  Tend to put more Enduro/expensive kit on pinkbike


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 8:17 am
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Picked up a bargain on Facebook but mostly eBay for me, it's just less hassle.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 8:23 am
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I sell a lot of used bike stuff and eBay or Pinkbike are the two most active IME.

eBay you do tend to get a bit more, which can offset the fees.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 8:40 am
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Thanks for the advice. With eBay it certainly seems possible to get a zero insertion fee but I haven't seen any way of avoiding the 10% final value fee which is simply unacceptable for an item of this value so that's out. If they allowed a classified ad like they do for cars for a fixed £19.99 I'd do it.

I'll try Gumtree, Facebook, pinkbike and the classifieds here and we'll see what happens.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 9:01 am
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I haven’t seen any way of avoiding the 10% final value fee which is simply unacceptable for an item of this value so that’s out.

Even if you get 10%+ more than you would have selling elsewhere, assuming it would sell in those places...

There are ways of avoiding it, but they are risky.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 9:27 am
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Used to use Ebay, now mainly sell via FB as there are no fees and you can just post in a local group, which saves a lot of hassle if you want it collected. NB There are loads of buy and sell bike groups on Ebay, plus post to your local club pages etc.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 9:28 am
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fee but I haven’t seen any way of avoiding the 10% final value fee which is simply unacceptable for an item of this value

They do £1 max selling fee offers too. Keep an eye on your messages, although i guess maybe they're targeted at active sellers.

Also, IME stuff frequently sells for at leqst 10% more than elsewhere so youre still in profit.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 9:30 am
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Facebook (in the dedicated mountain bike sales groups) and Pinkbike have been best for me since the classifieds on here changed.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 10:18 am
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Sold two of my mates bikes recently on facebook marketplace. One £1k but the other frame only was a lot less. Hassle and no rip off fees whereas I've just sold my frame on ebay and I now have rip off £65 fees to cough up. Its even worse if the buyer pays via paypal who will also then take a cut. I'm trying to use facebook marketplace as much as possible and as the first port of call before then resorting to other places. Pinkbike can work too but I've had a few messers there lately and a few 'post to London' requests.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 10:23 am
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They do £1 max selling fee offers too. Keep an eye on your messages, although i guess maybe they’re targeted at active sellers.

Like buses, never one when you need it and then three at once.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 10:23 am
 ton
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is nobody having success selling on here nowadays??

I wonder why..... ;o)


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 10:27 am
 DezB
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My ads on here were ignored - sort of to be expected with a 26" wheeler - people on here mostly go for in-vogue MTBs (or road bikes)
But I have seen a few decent bikes sell on the classifieds.
Yeti sold really quickly on Ebay - I think I had it up for a good price. (Did cost over £80 in fees though).

I found my son's new bike on Pinkbike, the ads there are very well put together and much nicer to view than STWs. (But that was the case before STW's new look 😉 )


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 11:27 am
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https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewforum.php?f=40

The forum appears to be separate from CUK and still under the old and proper name CTC.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 11:56 am
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Ebay when theres NOT a £1 offer:

List BIN cash on collection
Invite viewings
Take cash on collection + cancel listing as item no longer avail.

You'll get away with the odd one of these.

Bit naughty but stuff 'em and their 10%

Obv you cant post either but that just saves you another whole world of potential pain.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 12:47 pm
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Facebook or as above foe eBay.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 1:04 pm
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Well it's now up on here, pinkbike, facebook and gumtree so we'll see how it goes. I've already had two spam bots asking for my email address. Ah the joys of selling things on the internet.


 
Posted : 02/10/2019 5:24 pm
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I've tried selling on Gumtree, Facebook marketplace, Pinkbike and Ebay. Ebay always sells and for more than I was expecting. They have also done quite a few £1 listings recently so I have been taking advantage of these.

One thing to point out if the end result it good but the process can be a bit painful. Endless questions like "What size is the large black, Trek you have for sale" and "I'm in your area later today so I'll give you £11,50 for your £1000 mountain bike if you end the auction early".


 
Posted : 03/10/2019 10:27 am
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On Ebay I only do cash on collection for bikes. Posting is a pain and expensive and if someone comes and sees it before buying they can be sure it's what they want and if it isn't they can shake hands and walk away. It truly is sold as seen as once the cash is in my hand it's mine; Paypal can chargeback up to 180 days and ebay always seem to side with the buyer.

I bought five of the most recent eight bikes on ebay. One on a FB MTB group, one on FB marketplace and a final one from a mate of a mate who wanted the money and not the hassle.

I only list on £1 FVF I seem to get the offer roughly every fortnight.

Ready cash and easy credit are the problems when selling high end bikes and for that reason I normally buy full bikes and sell frames and components...it's more hassle in some regards but also far more rewarding. A £400 frame in cash is more realistic for most people than a £2k bike.

I watched the £2k bike I bought for weeks, perhaps months; the seller reduced it from £2500 over that time and it was a heavily upgraded £3k bike from that year that was still selling at £3k new and standard.

Ebay will bring you by far the highest sale price but you have to do the things described by me and others to make it worthwhile and not leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth.


 
Posted : 03/10/2019 11:28 am
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Bike parts do seem to sell well on ebay, I sold a load of new bits within a day of listing, all for decent prices too.


 
Posted : 03/10/2019 11:46 am
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^^ Adds you to the do not buy from list.😉

It's all described and priced as such 🙂 just off to sell a bike to a colleague


 
Posted : 03/10/2019 12:08 pm