Vanessa1

Hello everyone. I have a question for those who buy and sell or flip bikes. Do you ever get attached to them and have a hard time selling? Do you ever wonder if, after all your hard work, the bike will be taken care of? Or whether it will just end up neglected again. For example I just bought a Peugeot mixte at a decent price with the intention of fixing it up and selling it, but it has a lot of style and charm, you know? Might not be easy to send it on its way. Wondering if that happens to any of you.

rccardr 

Yes, sometimes I wonder. Every once in a while I see one of my former builds for sale on CL or eBay (there are two up there now).


Most of the time they're in pretty much the same shape as when I sold them years ago, so that makes me feel that at least those examples have been appreciated.

Schwinn me

Once something is out of my hands I really don't care what happens to it. Of course it would be nice to see someone really appreciated it but the bottom line is I've got things in the present to worry about and get done. Total waste of time worrying about things that are out of my control. If I sell something it's either because I need the money or the space, most likely the money. Whatever it is, I got what I could from it and it's in the past.

randyjawa 

Now and again, do regret selling a bike, but not very often. As for bikes I intend to flip, only a few, over the years, have caused me some distress at letting them go, this lovely Steve Bauer, being the most recent to get gone and in less than a day...



And the only thing I care about, once the bike is shipped, is that the buyer likes what I sent him or her. I don't care, at all, what the buyer intends to do with the bike - nor should I. After all, the bike is now theirs and they can do what ever they want with it, and, what ever they do, will not impact me in any way, as nearly as I can tell.

bargainguy

I learned a long time ago not to become vested in the sale of any particular bike. I have this notion that every time I find a bike to refurb, there is a buyer already waiting for it, so it's just a matter of time and finding the right buyer.

higgins617

I do, but really only in that I hope the person who bought it likes it as much as I did. Luckily I'm in a college area so I get to see a few of them parked around the area.

My favorite is a mid 80s Peugeot MTB I turned into a single speed. Nice lugged Tange frame. See it locked a few streets down with new tires on it and a nice Blackburn rack.

combover

I love the hunt and often think how happy the end-user is going to be to get such an awesome vintage machine and then some bikes I do become attached to and hate selling them and only hope that the new buyer takes as good care of it as I would myself, I've collected a lot of bikes over the years and rehome a lot as well, some of them when I was buying I asked the original owners if they were sure they wanted to let it go because they could have it refurb and it would be just as good if not better than any bike they could buy today, most of them just want to keep up with the Joneses on a new flashy bicycle, occasionally I get a call from an original owner that I bought a bike from who asks hey man do you still have that bike? Seems like people like myself have a connection with their old steed's that they have had for many years and have many memories on, I realized some years ago that I cannot keep all of the bikes I find cuz I find a lot but I keep a lot and I can just enjoy the thought of helping new owners to achieve that connection with the bikes that they get from me and can only hope that they enjoy them to the fullest and take care of them the best they can.

Fahrenheit531 

I don't worry about the bike's fate, per se. Once someone has bought it I figure they've got the right to toss it in a garbage compactor and call it art, if that's really what they want to do. But there are one or two bikes I've sold that cross my mind now and then and, as others have said, I hope their new owners are loving the ride.

Sometimes I'll see one of my old bikes relisted on CL, but I've never bought one of 'em. That would change if one particular Univega Alpina Pro showed up, however; I regret that sale and would buy it back in a heartbeat.

ThermionicScott 

I do wonder about some of my bikes' pasts sometimes.

miamijim

No and no.

Once they're gone they're gone.

billytwosheds 

Being that I'm on a small island, I see the bikes I refresh on the road pretty regularly.

Some of them are trashed, some are modded into oblivion, and others are ridden just the way I sold them...which I prefer.

But yeah, once it's out of my hands there's not much I can do about it. Set them free, I say.

Spaghetti Legs 

I'm not really a flipper but occasionally sell and when I buy I almost always have resale value in mind.
I get absurdly attached to my bikes, which is why I have so dang many of 'em. I just sold one of my old carbon frames on eBay and the buyer sent me back a pic with it built up. Made me feel good. Likewise I sent a pic of my refurbed De Rosa to the original owner I bought it from and he sent a very nice, heartfelt message back telling me how glad he is that it's in good hands. Makes me feel good about our sport/hobby.

I'm selling a frame now that I never even built up because it's too big but dang I like it and it's sat in my closet for about 6 months while I decided what to do.

mstateglfr 

for sure- ive thought a few times.

I have refurbished and sold dozens of bikes, but not all stick out. A few that have...
An 87 Bianchi Sport road bike to a 13yo boy last spring...he still riding that?
An 89 Schwinn World Sport to a college girl who wanted to train for her first spring-Tri. Was she successful?
A 93 Specialized Allez road bike to a new mom looking to get outside for fitness while she was home and not working...how much did she ride?

Many I dont think a bunch about though.

I think about my own bikes more as I have more of an attachment to them. Ironic since I have donated a larger % of my bikes to our local bike collective than what Ive donated of 'flippable' bikes. Funny that I would donate bikes that I am more attached to since I think there is a higher likelihood they arent taken care of as well as I would like.

Drillium Dude 

I vowed never again to sell anything I wouldn't miss after this left my stable and was promptly parted out/listed on Ebay the following day (it was a fellow Forum member that found the auctions and alerted me):



I've sold a '78 Colnago and mid-90s Klein Pulse MTB since then; no seller's remorse whatsoever.

DD

AustinFitz

I have a serious problem with justifying bike purchases by telling myself "It's a great deal! I'll clean it up a little bit, then sell it for a small profit, and repeat. That way I get to always be building bikes without going broke!"

What actually happens is I form a relationship with the bike as I'm fixing it up, then when it comes time to sell I end up justifying keeping it because "I got it for a great deal anyway. I probably won't find another at that price... Better hang onto it."

Never fails

Lovenutz

For sure! I just had to call off the sale of my 1980 Fuji America. It just rides so nice. I could have doubled my money, but I just couldn't do it lol.

Ex Pres 

I'm mainly surprised that none of the 3 Ironmen I've had pass through my hands have made an appearance here, what with Robbie's reputation and all.

Vanessa1

Yes, exactly. I can totally see that happening to me. Gotta hang onto those deals.

2cam16

Not much,really. But then again, the bikes I do get attached to end up getting added to my collection. Maybe when I let go of one of THOSE then it may happen.

wrk101

I try to find bikes that are NOT my size, to avoid the temptation to keep them (I have plenty already). That is the best solution.


On some, I actually miss the components more than the bike. I rebuilt one bike with all Dura Ace 7400, 8 speed, STI. Loved that group. Group was not original to the bike, so I really should have rebuilt that bike with a different group before selling it. I wasn't in love with the bike, was OK with its departure.

I also sold a touring bike that I had built up for myself: my favorite wheels, my favorite components, and my favorite Cannondale vintage bags. Well, sure enough, I had a buyer come for a different touring bike. He saw mine, and off it went.

One other that I kind of miss was a Schwinn World Voyageur. It was tattered, had maximum patina. But I liked it, A LOT. Went to another forum member.

I also miss the 1973 Schwinn Paramount I sold. I already had a 1974 Paramount, so its not like I needed two, but I really liked it.

So I guess thats three bikes I miss out of about 600 that have left. So its 0.5%.

Right now, I have three or four personal bikes I need to make a decision on. Its time for another one to go.

Opposite to mstateglfr above, I have been donating the bottom half of my flip bikes to the co-op, trying to focus on only selling the higher end stuff. Its neat seeing those bikes come back to the co-op being used, instead of sitting in my queue.


The thing I really like are repeat customers. Buyers that are very happy with the first bike so they come back again, and again. Another thing I really like is that flip proceeds have provided the funds for me to greatly expand my tool selection and also greatly upgrade my keeper fleet. I started this hobby with a 1975 UO8 that didn't fit. As a retired person, its nice having a hobby that doesn't consume family budget. It doesn't really add to the budget either, its break even.

Murray Missile 

There have been a small few I sometimes wondered about, were the buyers still enjoying them as much as the day they took possession? Stuff like that, only ever regretted selling one or two over the past 20 years. Had this one show up a year later on CL for the same price I sold it for but it had flat tires (new tires and tubes when I sold it) and was covered with dust and dirt. You could tell it hadn't had much TLC. I was disappointed it hadn't been kept up but..........

malcala622

Not really thought about them since they got sold for A reason and didnt have a good enough interest to keep them.

Only one that hurt was my first bianchi Celeste when I had to sell it.

Hardrock23

I'm not a flipper but I have sold 5 bikes so far...The ones that I used until I could get something nicer. I only regret selling one of them and I still think about it...almost hoping it pops up on CL. I just have a feeling it is just sitting somewhere and will waste away. The man who bought it got it for his GF, and she didn't seem too excited.

clubman 

You...flip them?

oddjob2

"Another thing I really like is that flip proceeds have provided the funds for me to greatly expand my tool selection and also greatly upgrade my keeper fleet. As a retired person, its nice having a hobby that doesn't consume family budget. It doesn't really add to the budget either, its break even."

+1

I fall into the category of bike enthusiasts who ride, collect, and enjoy refurbishing bikes to as new or better condition. Compared to @wrk101, cited above, who does more transactions in a year than I do in 2-3 years, I am a mere novice at acquiring, refurbishing, and reselling bikes.

I don't get emotionally attached because after you have done more than a few dozen transactions, you know something better or with cleaner cosmetics will come along. Also, turning over the bike fleet has it's own rewards, see my airhead thread.