BikeWonder

I'm sure many have heard of the "Canada-tax" for bikes, both C&V and modern.
In Calgary it's pretty ridiculous. I know there is a huge youth population that enjoy riding bikes, but the prices on some bikes are nuts. All the great bikes are snatched up for low and sold for very high. As a result, even the very low end bikes seem to go for a lot.








I know there is a thread regarding C&V ads, but I want to focus on specific regional "tax",if that makes sense, to see if it is similar elsewhere.

wrk101

base2 

If by "tax" you mean simply "ridiculously priced based on perceived desirability," then, yeah. Seattle has Schwinn Varsities & Suburbans listed at $150-$200+ all day long. I've even seen a run-down Paramount go for over $1000. Yikes!

If you mean "tax" as in an actual fee to pay for some governmental operation...Then all I can think of is about 3 hours away in Portland there is a one time $15 fee on new bike purchases of wheel size "x" or larger, for road infrastructure. Presumably it is to sweep & paint bike lanes or something.

I don't live there. But there you go.

RobbieTunes

The "I think I have something of value even though I would never pay that" tax here is about average, as far as frequency. Sometimes it's not charged at all, and sometimes it is. I don't see it paid much, if it all. Must be an enforcement problem.

davester

Here in the SF Bay Area, pretty much any old ten speed seems to appear on craigslist as a desirable "vintage" marque, often with an absurd price tag attached. The C&V tax force is strong here.

kevindsingleton 

The Pittsburgh area seems to be pretty good for C&V purchases. Patience is key, but there are deals to be found.

I don't know about sales. I try to buy low and sell high, but I never manage to sell. I buy bikes that I want to keep.

I don't even look at Youngstown, anymore. The gems are so few and far between, and the sellers are in a class of their own, it seems.

3speedslow

rccardr 

Dave Mayer

Wow... those are crazy prices. I lived in Cowtown 20 years ago, and you couldn't give old bikes away. You could have left any one of these bikes on the curb for a week, and nothing would have happened to them.

Mind you, with the economic challenges that the city has been facing since 2013, I suspect that folks there are a lot more frugal (poorer) than in the boom days that was the general landscape from 1947 (Leduc) forwards.

The only other markets that I can think of being so over-inflated is Vancouver, Portland and Seattle, which I assume is due to housing poverty, plus the ride-friendly climate. This raises an interesting paradox: the lower the disposable income in a region, the higher the used bike prices. The denizens of a region cannot afford new bikes, and gasoline is expensive, which floats the prices of mediocre old (vintage) bikes. Certainly the case in Vancouver.

I don't know if this applies to all of Canuckstan, where everything is overpriced due to domestic industries 'protecting' their consumers against competition, or just the west.

kevindsingleton 

Seems like it would be impossible to enforce, but I'm sure they'll give it a valiant effort! Wow!

Ogradyd

T-Mar

Those are asking prices, not selling prices. Even Calgary, which is one of the hotter Canadian markets, does not support those types of prices. As a case in point, there is another CCM Elan on the same site with an asking price of $350 CDN but it has been sitting for 4 months. So, it obviously isn't worth anywhere near $350, let alone $900 CDN for a pair. In my experience, CCM Elan sell in average Canadian markets for $75-$100 CDN. Yes, markets like Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa (and Calgary) do command a premium but not of that magnitude.

malcala622

Los Angeles has a "every Schwinn is worth $1000" tax

ryansu

Its Seattle it can be silly e.g. at garage sales folks are asking $200 for rusty Schwinn Varsities and I have to walk away before I say something way too snarky. That said I also scored a Miyata 912 with Shimano Arabesque for $25 at a garage sale raising money for disaster relief simply by asking if the bike in the rafters is for sale. Deals can be had but you need to really look, be lucky or both.

I would love to see a report of A) what bikes actually go for and B) how long they languish on CL at inflated prices. My sense is that for every one 70s Raleigh Grand Prix that goes for $300 there are 5 that sit for months at $175. Ebay at least has a feature allowing you to search on sold items so you know what people are actually paying

rgvg

I don't think the sellers generally know what they're selling. They just check craigslist prices and try to match and it just goes up and up. It seems to me even the coop does the same thing. Some bike shops post their used bikes on craigslist (serviced), and they would mark it "SOLD" when it sells (I'm looking at you ride on). Of course, that is a well serviced bike. Someone sees it and thinks "Well that looks like my bike so ..."

SurferRosa

There's no c&v tax here in seattle. As a matter of fact, you can get some great deals here, like this motobécane grand record for only a dollar!

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/b...856517209.html

Email him! Tell him you have a dollar and just need to have him drop it off at his shop for shipping. Tell him you'll throw in an extra dollar for all his trouble.

BikeWonder

Just curious when the laws of supply and demand will factor in with boomers. I read in a previous thread that eventually most boomers will get to a point where they need to sell their collection and there might be oversupply?

Not sure if it would really happen. Nonetheless, I guess there are some people willing to pay for a bike they believe is worth something. I picked up my Miyata for $500 plus panniers, but had to spend quite a lot to get it running better.

P!N20

I live in Australia. Postage costs from overseas is getting ridiculous, especially via ebay.

coolkat

No one really wants road bikes in Seattle. No one rides em anymore. Vintage mountain bikes and touring bikes are way more desirable.

JaccoW

The more cynical version of that is when baby boomers start dying their relatives will sell the bike for what they were told it is worth next to nothing because they don't know what it is worth.

Bikes are a commodity around here and while most enthusiasts do buy and restore classic bikes, many people will go for public transport bikes (OV-Fiets) or long term rental like swapfiets.
Still plenty of good deals to be had here and it's rare for C&V bikes to go for more than €300. Even nicer ones like a Gazelle Mondial or classic Colnagos. There is just way too much supply.

Combine that with most people in the 20-40 year group growing up on mountain bikes and it's clear that road bikes are just "fun-bikes" for the weekend. And why not spend the money on a nicer new one?

JaccoW

Tax on bicycle-ownership; even the Nazis got rid of it! - the cycling Dutchman blog

If they want to do this fairly it either is:

1. Not worth the effort because we are talking $1 dollar a year at best
2. They are seriously undertaxing their cars. Good luck telling your voter base that you will be increasing road tax by multiplying it by a factor X (where X = 2 or higher)

If they want to do it unfairly... well good luck defending it in court.

John E

That is why I occasionally have to remind my sons about the prices Capo Siegers, even in crummy shape (mine is at least straight, complete, and low in rust content), have commanded over the past few years.

Insidious C. 

It is said that Portland OR has high prices on C&V bikes. Thankfully not everyone in Portland thinks that.

Lemond1985

Unfortunately, what usually happens if a non-greedy, good guy "just wants it gone" bike seller lets his Schwinn Varsity go for $10, the next day you'll see an ad put up by the person who bought it, asking for $100-150. Often using the original seller's pictures. Doesn't mean he'll get $150, but my point is, the market always at least attempts to correct itself, either up or down, to levels that buyers and sellers will both agree is fair.

I see people on CL every day trying to get high prices for bikes, often very nice bikes, and failing consistently. Demographics have caused a huge over-supply of vintage bikes, and they are becoming increasingly difficult to get rid of these days. Everyone who wants a nice vintage bike, already has one (or several).

I think the real "tax" is on sellers these days, and their expectations as to how much they can get. It's really a buyer's market these days, getting good prices is tough, and cash is king.

ScottRyder 

We have a Barn Find "tax" in New England.

Scott