Originally Posted by
pedpower
Hi Vegan,
Thanks for your reply, I appreciate your insight and advice. First I'm not a seller, I'm a buyer. I was just trying to get info on how dealerships price their bikes. I guess there is no standard, nobody seems to know if there is a secret KBB on tap.
I hope you didn't take it personal when I mentioned the word "crooks". It wasn't directed at you, it was directed at the industry of not paying fair market value on a trade in, but then flipping it more than a reasonable profit. The right thing would be for the dealer to be looking after the customer and offering "fair" market value while retaining his/her business for the long haul/term. That was my beef, but I guess with your capitalistic beliefs "your" just in it for you. As long as you can take advantage of someone else's lack of the market and it's values "your" satisfied.
*"your" is not directed at "you" directly.
You are a-ok no hard feelings. Bikes are worth what they are worth. Shops gotta keep employees and lights on as well as a whole host of other things that cost a ton of money. If a shop pays high prices, the margins are even lower and keep going down and then it is a losing deal. If I buy a something for $1 and have to spend another $1 to repair it and try to resell it and only charge $2 I make nothing if I sell for $3 I make a tiny profit but probably not enough to make it worth my time and effort. I get you sure we would all love to be able to give everyone a fair shake but this system doesn't allow for that.
I am most certainly not a capitalist but I am a realist and understand the industry I work in so I can live and survive in this system that someone else created. If it were up to me, we would be doing something different and not sucking our souls for the great green god of money (or if you happen to be from non-'merica than whatever color your money is).