inkandsilver

Hi all, I'm selling this nice little bike locally. Here's the link to my ad: https://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218...arch=&ad_cid=5

Any feedback on the asking price? I've had some interest, including one guy who seemed very serious but turned out to be a flake. Would you hold firm on this price? I'm in SLC, a decent market but not inflated.

Thanks!

FastJake

Presentation is very good, nice job on the cleanup and photos. Price is definitely in the ballpark, as the condition is excellent. And now is the time to sell. But I'm not sure Reynolds 501 and middle of the road components will pull $300. (And I am a huge fan of old Treks.)

How long has the ad been up? I'd leave it at $300 for a month or so, then reduce to $275. I would be very disappointed to get any less than $250.

Also what about craigslist? Is that less popular in your area?

otg 

Opinions will vary here, but I would think the right person will pay the asking price. It seems like you have the bike in peak shape. Someone who is looking for an older steel bike might pay the asking price if it fits them perfectly, but most likely anyone looking at the bike will offer you 200, show you the cash and see what happens.

wrk101

+10 Well prepared and presented, price is OK.

+1 Craigslist instead?

oddjob2

What else can you get for $300 in SLC? Probably not much. In fact SLC CL lists only 14 bikes under a search for "road" $200-$350. No need to soften yet.

jjhabbs 

Not a penny less than three hundred.. that is a nice bike

thinktubes 

Your asking price is spot on; however, your ad copy need some work. Way too long and a weird mix of facts, opinions and contradictions.

For example:

I saw no rust in the interior of the frame tubes. The only bearing I have not opened up is the headset, but it turns smoothly and without friction.


statements like this cause a buyer to read between the lines and puts ideas into their heads. If I wasn't thinking about rusty tubes and shot headsets, I am now.

You also state that you did a full tune up, but didn't bother with the headset!?


do yourself a favor and boil it down to a factual bullet list.

Germany_chris

I think the problem is, it's a boring bike (that is in stellar condition) made out of OK steel. When I see your add I don't have any emotional tie to it. In my head I go STI 150, 46CM bars 80, 130 quill 35, fenders 30, saddle 100. $300 Trek just became a $700 commuter.

wrk101

+1 On ad, way too long. Never mention the word "rust" in an ad, its kind of like Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook." Everyone just heard the word crook.

+1 Full tuneup includes headset. Better to say recent maintenance including cables, chain, etc.

In general, shoot to reduce the ad length by 3/4. Its really the pictures and basic size info that matter. Three short paragraphs is enough.

Personally, that cushy, hybrid style saddle is a huge turnoff, but to the average bike buyer, its probably fine.

Selling bikes is about a lot more than getting the price right (you have that correct), its having great pictures, a short but crisp ad, and a little luck. The ad is not to sell the bike, its purpose is to get qualified buyers out to look at your bike. 99% of the time, if they come out, they will buy.

Huge difference in ad copy on ebay. An ebay ad is to SELL the bike. Since buyers on ebay cannot personally inspect the bike, you need to provide quite a bit more detail and close up pics of components, any/all defects, etc.

inkandsilver

Thanks for all the comments! To answer a couple questions: It's only been up about a week. Re: Craigslist, strangely there's much less activity on CL here than there is on the KSL classifieds that I linked to. To the point that I don't even look there anymore, because almost everything there is also listed on KSL.

I will have to revisit my ad copy. It's tricky! You want to have appeal for the very knowledgeable buyer as well as the ones who just want a cool vintage bike. When I am looking to buy I actually prefer a detailed listing, if the person more or less knows what they're talking about, but I can see how that wouldn't be true for many.

dailycommute

I would highlight the quality of the paint, upgrades, etc. Less verbage is better, somebody who appreciates that bike will know what's up. If you wait patiently you may get 300 but for comparison the same model just appeared locally for 200 (w/ heliomatic 27 wheels though). I would expect the local one to go soon at 200.

https://maine.craigslist.org/bik/3746425898.html

wrk101

Not really. A very knowledgeable buyer will already know just about everything about a Trek 500. They either want a steel Trek, or they don't. Catalogs are all easily found on line, etc. The only "news" for such a buyer is your swap to 700 wheels, certainly a plus.

I try to benchmark myself against other active sellers. Why is their ad more successful?

If your ad is close to/almost ideal, then the only thing left is price. Certainly your pictures are quite good.

anixi

I'd like to hear how things went, since I've got a similar bike.

randyjawa 

The suggested price is just fine and I do agree that the advertising copy should be cleaned up a bit. That said, patience, I have found, is one way to get top dollar. The OP has a nice enough bike to offer that is in very good shape and it is Spring (where I live anyway). If it doesn't sell right away, wait for the right buyer. He or she will come along, sooner or later. However, if you want to sell and get it out of the way, drop the price in a week's time, as someone else suggested.

You might want to take a look at Determining Vintage Bicycle Value. Though the OP is well on his way, he or she might pick up an idea or two that will help fetch the asking price.

mparker326

I have found that there is a pricepoint where bikes sell fast. For anything over $200, you have to be patient.

inkandsilver

More good points here. I'll update this thread with any news when it happens.

inkandsilver

Update: Sold this bike on Saturday to a very nice young guy. The lovely young woman he brought as an advisor said that the bike was "pretty as f**k." They were great. I got my asking price. Everyone was happy.

Thanks to all who posted.

The end.

anixi

Thanks for the update I&S, it's very good to know the value of these 500's.

IthaDan 

I have one of those that I had up on craigslist for a week at $250 with no bites.

It's not on consignment for $300, and I guess it's getting some action. Go figure.

Mine:

otg 

Glad you got your price. I got a 1983 Trek 600 in great shape a few weeks back and I was thinking maybe I overpaid a bit for it. After reading this thread through, I got it for a fair price.