wrk101

Been trying to sell a handful of vintage bikes, and they are slowly moving on. Meanwhile, I popped several modern bikes on C/L: a 1999 Cannondale F500 (MTB), a Trek 1000, and a Caloi Comp, aluminum frame bike with 8 speed 105 STI. They all sold in about an hour....

My market is on the small side, and often, I am often the only one selling mid grade or higher vintage bikes around here. At least half of them go to buyers that were not looking for a vintage bike at all, they just wanted something nice to ride.

For those of you not in a red hot market, are you seeing a similar trend??

Needless to say, I am pulling out the 2001 Trek 2000 I have in the queue, with modern Tiagra STI components. Its an XS size, which is always a plus.

KonAaron Snake 

I have noticed that my market seems down for sellers, yet asking prices remain high. Stuff seems to stick around for longggg periods of time. There is an increase in low level crap and few things of interest lately. If there is something good, it's gone in a flash.

RobbieTunes

It's getting to the edge of the bubble, where the "modern" bikes are down to the C&V prices.

gomango

Counting on that.

I had a friend help me rebuild three bikes for the market today.

All three are very nice, but not super expensive.

Wish me luck folks.

wrk101

Yes, at least on racing bikes, the lower end STI bikes with some years on them are selling pretty close to what a mid level vintage bike will bring. For the price of a super clean, late 1980s Tempo, with DT shifting 105, you can get a late 1990s/early 2000s STI bike, RSX, RX100, or Sora. Add the name Trek or Cannondale, and they will blow out the door.

So its a combination of a slow decline in modern used bike pricing and a slow increase in vintage bike pricing.

auchencrow

For those of you thinking of straying from the C&V high ground, remember that it is easier for a fat man to pass through the eye of camel than for a modern-bike flipper to get into Heaven.

(Don't quote me on that - I flunked Catechism.)

vjp

I don't sell a lot but I occasionally put up a vintage frame up on our craigslist and in the past few years they would be sold for asking within 30 minutes. I put up a '74 Colnago Super a month or so a go and didn't have one response, lowered it $100 and not one response so I took it down. A week later it went back up a further $100 down and sold within 30 minutes. Market is definitely not as strong for vintage but "sport" cycling is bigger than it has ever been and modern bikes are flying out of shops.

thenomad

Definitely a bigger market for the STI crowd now. The funny thing is that the buyers are still relatively clueless so seem to be as happy with Sora as Ultegra. I think I'll sell off the fodder but keep some goodies for myself.
I got to the point where I broke down some bikes just to pack it all away nice and neat. Garage is nicer looking now.

I'm doing a swap meet tomorrow and hoping people want some parts. My gut tells me they'll want complete bikes, not parts, and will want them for insanely low prices. Oh well. I have to remember to have patience. I'm saving for something now so its tempting to take low prices.

I always get the sale eventually. Heck, today I sold a cheapo schwinn MTB I made into a SS with BMX bars. Made $30 profit so good to go.

cudak888 

It's a slow market at my end, but it depends when you post. A posting for a well-priced '90s MTB or more recent hybrid at 9:00am on a Saturday morning will most likely move.

-Kurt

thenomad

Its still amazing that the 90s mtb sell but then again, they are comfy for the recreational rider.
I haven't bothered to get in with those though as they just don't interest me... it'd feel like work.

auchencrow

I used to post low to mid-level C&V bikes on CL, and guaranteed, they'd be gone within the hour.
Now, the market has soured here, and I'm having a hard time selling Reynolds-framed Treks for more than $200.

Meanwhile, the guy at my LBS says the most expensive new CF bikes are selling better than ever.
So I suppose my luck would be better flipping newer bikes, but (IMHO) they're just so darned ugly. I just don't want to touch them - I don't want them in my garage, and I don't want to work on them.

I realize that I am in the minority (even here) in not seeing any redeeming characteristics for the new bikes. - But c'est la vie... There will always be guys like me who prefer to work on old French bikes.

mudboy

People are selling sh*t on Philly CL and making it seem like gold. I blame the hipsters. Case in point.

KonAaron Snake 

I'm not sure what's up this year, but there is a LOT less of interest, and anything interesting is at maximum eBay value. The bike Nikkorod bought was one of the few bikes I'd consider of interest all summer!

I know it's a pet peeve, but it really irks me when people use the eBay approach to craigslist. eBay sends it to my door with a warranty and requires photos and effort for max value. If someone doesn't know bikes at all and takes a crappy photo, asking me to come out to the bike, why would they expect the same money?

Amesja

Things are moving here, but the prices are down. People either want cheap transportation or something NEW from the LBS it seems. I think this is indicative of a lot of new/returning riders who either have very little money to spend or don't want anything that will give them a lick of trouble and/or don't trust their own knowledge and would rather go to the bike shop for guidance than buy something used themselves.

C&V bikes are moving but not as many folks are willing to spend big money on bikes that aren't exactly what they are looking for. But anything with a higher-end frame seems to still get some interest and with competitive bidding on it to get the prices up there. Reynolds-531 is a magic word here in my area and everyone I know seems to be searching/questing for a Trek 720/520 or the like to build up a touring bike -or has one already that they are building up.

As for the cheap transportation folks, they don't want to spend any extra for a lower or mid-ranged MTB that is in like-new perfect condition over one that is beat up. They just want CHEAP. I've been trying to sell a mint Giant Rincon for weeks and can't get what I have into it even though it's now in like-new condition and I bought it for $20.

Components seem to move quite well and for good prices. People are always looking for parts. I'm thinking of just cracking that Rincon and selling it as parts.

OldsCOOL

Mountain bikes, Schwinns and BMX's....most of them from Walmart etc. Not many high-level bikes be they classic/vintage or modern. It's a real slow market in our area.

Amesja

Also, at this time of the year there are a lot of folks "dumping" bikes at the $25-50 level just to get rid of them. That has a tendency to depress prices for everything.

gioscinelli 

Lots of bone yard crushers on Chicago CL lately at high prices. It now takes about a month to sell a good vintage bike. The past is the past, the future is now and eventually as the collectable market improves so will sales. I found that when the stock market is up, so is the CV market is up.

BlueShoe

Auchen:

I appreciate your comments, particularly regarding your attraction to old French bikes. If you have something special that you've refurbished -- and that would fit me-- I 'd be interested in hearing about. I'm 5'5" and would need something in the 52 cm range. I prefer a mixte or step-through style with upright handlebars.

Thanks,
Cheryl

wrk101

Yep, its just like Real Estate. What it WAS worth, is not important. Its what is it worth NOW. In my market, the demand for higher end classic and vintage bikes is really small, and the supply is small as well. So its more of a matter of when that potential buyer will be looking. Until then, it sits, unless you move the price down to the basic recreational bike level.

oddjob2

Ship me your mixtes! It's harder and harder to find them at reasonable "needs work" prices in the NY-NJ area. Pulling those cottered crank pins really slow me down in reconditioning.

I think the DKO sellers have gotten very aggressive on raising prices, which doesn't help the overall market for vintage bikes, when the buyers of the DKO wares find out after the fact how much they will spend on repairs/maintenance, if they can find a LBS interested in helping them out in the first place.

Vintage road bikes did well this spring in Ann Arbor, but I haven't been there for more than a week since early May. Clean low mileage mountain bikes always do okay, but the margins are slimmer.

What I've found lately, is that many of the younger vintage bike buyers don't have access to a vehicle (must be those SALLIE MAE student loans) to come to where you are easily, whether Ann Arbor or Northern NJ. So you have to be a little flexible about delivering, whether to the George Washington Bridge, the ferry dock or train station. Don't adapt and you may lose the sale. So far, I haven't had to cross the Hudson, a $12 toll charge, not to mention no free parking anywhere, and the time involved.

Great photos that show the care and attention of your work are critical. Pick the right background too. A shot in your driveway or against a garage door for a lifestyle bike doesn't cut it. Detailed documentation of the procedures and new parts are important too. It's that branding issue that Auchencrow and BikemanBob argued about.

Most of all, although most of the frequent posters to this site already know it, you're selling a statement making prop/tool as part of a lifestyle, not utility. I get a laugh when guys here are suggesting mountain bikes to a woman looking for a loop frame or mixte. That's like trying to sell a HUMMER to a SIERRA CLUB charter member.