Monkey focus group: Why won't this sell?

chicodude · Sep 13, 2004

i would say lower the price. what year is it?

You can a brand new bike for 1k with much of the same suff, just newer.

Toshi · Sep 13, 2004

1) size. that's a bit small for the masses to be interested
2) generally people who would want a nice ti frame would buy new, no? the used high end market is somewhat odd

chicodude · Sep 13, 2004

if you buy the parts seperate, its gonna cost more than if you buy them all together on a new bike

blue · Sep 13, 2004

There's a few things. First things I noticed while looking at the ad:

1-If I'm looking at a Dean Titanium bike, I'm most likely trying to find an XC bike. XC bikes typically don't have bashrings, it could be a turnoff to some people.

2-Frame size. You're going to be targeting short guys and girls with that frame size, and there aren't many. Anyone slightly more than short won't want a 14" frame for XC riding.

3-Drivetrain. SRAM 9.0 is considered obsolete, and would be a turnoff to someone looking at a bike for over a grand. Gripshifters are also really market-specific, not many people like them.

In short, the bike has a lot of weird quirks that can make it unmarketable at what its really worth. If I had it and wanted to sell it, I'd consider a few options.

-Part it out, the frame, fork, brakes, wheels, and a few other parts could be attractive to people, and you could probably get what you wanted out of it eventually.

-Take off the bashring and upgrade the drivetrain to something more current and perhaps mainstream (Sram X.9, Shimano XT/LX???)

-Drop the price again and try to sell...again.

Good luck! :thumb:

BikeGeek · Sep 14, 2004

A starting bid that high is a turn-off for a lot of buyers. Start it lower to get some bids going, but be sure to set the reserve at what you think the bike is worth.

MTB_Rob_NC · Sep 14, 2004

Not to be condescending or anything but...

Its an old hard tail with old components. Who would want that at any price? Part it out. You would probably find someone looking to build a SS for the frame and some of the parts.

Good luck

Motionboy2 · Sep 14, 2004

Start it at 0 then set a reserve, it gets people motivated to bid on it... Once they start bidding on it, they feel they need to win... then you have your sale.

It is still unlikely that you are going to get that kind of money for that bike. MTn Bikes dont hold value that well

blue · Sep 14, 2004

I think if you sold the frame alone you could get quite a bit of cash...even a 3 year old Titanium frame is worth quite a pretty penny...

oldfart · Sep 14, 2004

Andy's rule of thumb for selling old sports equipment. Set the price at 1/2 the new price less another 10% per year of use. The goal is not to make money but get the thing sold right? If you insist on a high price, you might end up owning the thing so long that it becomes so old that its a giveaway. Ski were like that as the new shaped skis came into the market. So called straight skis became worthless.

This bike should sell though. It has disc mounts which is very important these days.

I used to sell stuff at a local mountainbike consignment store. The rule of thumb there was $1000 for a nice hardtail like the Dean, 1500 to 2000 for full suspension XC and 2500 for freeride/DH rig. I sold a Heckler for $1800 which was 3 years old had Hayes discs and XT/XTR mix and was about $5000 new. Oh Canadian prices.

henrymiller · Sep 14, 2004

I would part the bike out. You will make more money.

Also, your buddy only has one feedback so some people may think its a scam.

SkaredShtles · Sep 14, 2004

oldfart said:
<snip> Ski were like that as the new shaped skis came into the market. So called straight skis became worthless.

Which was a boon to us cheap old farts who really dug getting a nice pair of skinny skis for $19.95.

-S.S.-

B_A_MTBIKER · Sep 14, 2004

Parting the bike would definitely be the way to get some bank out of that bike, most of the parts could be sold any way, and the frame sure would.

rockracing · Sep 15, 2004

tell me about it, I've just sold a 16" cannondale, with oldish xt stuff (new wheels though), took ages, eventually sold it for way less than I hoped.

problem is when I bought the bike (wholesale) our currency was a lot weaker than it is now, now guys can get new bikes at retail for less than what I had paid for mine a year or so ago. Damn you fuji/raleigh/scott.

small bikes suck at selling used.

like it was said above, parting it out may be a good idea, Ti hardtail frames don't tend to date as much.

Funky Monk · Sep 19, 2004

Parting it out and putting the parts up for bids on ebay would be my #1 option as well...

Clean and check all the parts with care, and make a realistic and grammatically correct, sound description of the items. It makes you look more like an honest and trustworthy seller. Take pictures, people always want them...!

If you really need to sell, don't set a reserve for the items, and make it a 10-day auction. Next, with some message board spamming and some good luck, you should be able to sell most of the parts (frame, fork, etc.) with a reasonable price compared to the effort. good luck...

Meat Foot · Oct 14, 2004

recidivist said:
Well. So much for listening to my advice:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7102535472&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

He's got a bidder already. Oh well. I think he probably could have done better parting it out, but I wasn't sure it was going to sell at $850....

I would have bought those wheels for $150! I need wheels for my steel SS. It is a Dean steel with a modified ebb. I have a Dean Scout too. Love the bike. Bummer. If your friend ends up with a dead auction, PM me. Need wheels!

Mike

Grimey · Oct 15, 2004

Here is how I would do it:

Strip to frame only. Verify that it was prepped.
Make a nicer auction page. - Get better pictures, close up of the welds and what not.
Make sure you include all the info on the frame. Terms and deals of shipping and insurance.
Offer to ship it WORLDWIDE.
Multiple listings - road frames, mountain frames, and complete mtb.
Link to the auction from all the bigger sites(RM, MTBR, etc...).(usually the day before)
Set an outrageous buy it now. $1500 or so
Make the shipping cheap, perhaps even lose money.
Hide the counters.

Wat a few days and rake in the dough.

Grimey · Oct 15, 2004

Oh yeah.. offer the parts piece by piece to who ever buys the frame.

Then try to sell them locally to people that need stuff. Perhaps put some if the larger items on eBay.

NastySid · Oct 19, 2004

WHen it comes to used bikes.. People generally expects you to give them at least 20 bucks to haul the stuff outta your garage.. :/

s1ngletrack · Oct 19, 2004

chicodude01 said:
i would say lower the price. what year is it?

You can a brand new bike for 1k with much of the same suff, just newer.

Brand new bike? Same price? Whaaa? That's no ordinary ride.

Ridemonkey · Oct 19, 2004

I think 999 is a good price - but not higher. You should start the bidding at 750 and see what happens. 14" will require a very particular buyer. I'd say just keep relisting it.

blue · Oct 19, 2004

Okay...new victim for this thread.

Best advice for selling this:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1293745#post1293745

I'm not so sure parting it out would be very good, I want all the money at once in order to buy a chunky FR HT to ride in the winter. I'm also a bit leery of eBay, what with the uncertaintys on price and such (I just quit one of my jobs, so I don't have much cash to negotiate with)...

Any advice here?

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