Bike Flipping 101
#626
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Location: Sacramento, CA
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...it's almost a year later, and no, I don't think it's just you.
#627
Thrifty Bill
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Western NC
Posts: 23,559
Bikes: 86 Katakura Silk, 87 Prologue X2, 88 Cimarron LE, 1975 Sekai 4000 Professional, 73 Paramount, plus more
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More and more, flipping is all about PARTS, and not complete bikes. If the bike has good components, I can get as much for just the crankset and rear derailleur as I can for a complete bike. And complete bikes in ready to ride condition cost me $50 to $100 in consumables and 4 to 6 hours in time. Dismantling can be done in an hour or less. Add one hour for cleaning parts, writing ads, taking pictures. So in half the time, and zero spending on consumables, I can get 2X to 5X out of parts.
Every market is different.
Picked up a bike yesterday, $30, no wheels, no tires, no tubes, torn seat. So I could spend $150 on consumables and wheels (more if I didn't have a lot of parts), and have a bike I could sell for $125. So lets see, 4 to 6 hours of work, and I could lose $55. And I would waste time with no shows/tire kickers/low ballers.
Or I can part it out. Pedals, derailleurs, crankset, frameset, all have value. I estimate $350 total, less fees of around $75. So in less time, no consumable spending, I can make about $275. Or I can put a lot more time into it, and lose $55. I may have been born at night, but I wasn't born last night.
The market has spoken. I will still refurbish bikes for family and friends. I also know a handful of collectors that appreciate the really rare or high end stuff. The rest go as parts.
Every market is different.
Picked up a bike yesterday, $30, no wheels, no tires, no tubes, torn seat. So I could spend $150 on consumables and wheels (more if I didn't have a lot of parts), and have a bike I could sell for $125. So lets see, 4 to 6 hours of work, and I could lose $55. And I would waste time with no shows/tire kickers/low ballers.
Or I can part it out. Pedals, derailleurs, crankset, frameset, all have value. I estimate $350 total, less fees of around $75. So in less time, no consumable spending, I can make about $275. Or I can put a lot more time into it, and lose $55. I may have been born at night, but I wasn't born last night.
The market has spoken. I will still refurbish bikes for family and friends. I also know a handful of collectors that appreciate the really rare or high end stuff. The rest go as parts.
Last edited by wrk101; 06-26-22 at 08:40 PM.
#628
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, East bay
Posts: 7,979
Bikes: Miyata 618 GT, Marinoni, Kestral 200, Soma double cross 2002 Trek 5200, KHS Flite, Koga Miyata, Schwinn Spitfire 5, Mondia Special, Univega Alpina, Miyata team Ti, Santa Cruz Highball, Waterford rs11
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Went to garage sale a few weeks ago with bikes as the headliner. The guy had a pristine, full suspension, Klein parted out. He wanted $500 for the frame, $300 for the wheels and a box of parts for $50. A guy beat me to the box...full XTR drivetrain. That frame will never be what it was.
#629
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Best bet is to learn to recognise good quality or desirable parts. This way you can part out a worthless wreck, even if it is beyond repair. I do this regularly, it is one of my best consistent sellers. It helps that my day job is as a bike mechanic. If the parts say Shimano deore on them there is a air chance the bike is worth effort. Old Raleigh parts are also worth money in decent nick, but I mean more than 30 year old. even the little wheel nuts.
#630
I just bought a vintage Nishiki on Craigslist free section. I talked him down to zero.
I never heard of it so I joined this forum because of it to research.
I didn't even consider it being worth anything. I saw one like it on eBay for $700 shipped.
So now I'm considering flipping it. I'm amazed at how well it still rides. My son and I went for a ride earlier through Denver and I smoked his $200 Schwinn Copeland.
I never heard of it so I joined this forum because of it to research.
I didn't even consider it being worth anything. I saw one like it on eBay for $700 shipped.
So now I'm considering flipping it. I'm amazed at how well it still rides. My son and I went for a ride earlier through Denver and I smoked his $200 Schwinn Copeland.
#631
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Eastern Shore, MD
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Bikes: Road ready: 1993 Koga Miyata City Liner Touring Hybrid, 1989 Centurion Sport DLX, "I Blame GP" Bridgestone CB-1. Projects: Yea, I got a problem....
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Kind of tangential but, can anyone recommend a sub $200 camera that will work well for taking pictures of stuff I'd like to sell? Thanks
#632
Happy With My Bikes
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Oklahoma
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Walmart sells several sub $200 digital cameras these days it seems. And if you have a smartphone, most of them these days have great cameras giving you the ability to upload to CL, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, etc..
__________________
"It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels." -- Heinz Stücke
"It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels." -- Heinz Stücke
#633
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, East bay
Posts: 7,979
Bikes: Miyata 618 GT, Marinoni, Kestral 200, Soma double cross 2002 Trek 5200, KHS Flite, Koga Miyata, Schwinn Spitfire 5, Mondia Special, Univega Alpina, Miyata team Ti, Santa Cruz Highball, Waterford rs11
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Most cameras with higher pixels will work fine. I think background and lighting is more important.
#634
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Location: SoCal
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Bikes: Cuevas Custom, Cimmaron, 1988 "Pinalized Rockma", 1984 Trek 510, Moulton custom touring, Raleigh Competition GS, Bridgestone Mb-2 & 3, 1980's Peugeot - US, City, & Canyon Express (6)
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But . . . as a previous poster stated a phone is the way to go. I am still using stand alone digital cameras - an old cannon S95 which was a top of the line prosumer model and the GX9 mark II - almost all of the time people get better shots with their smart phone. I have a better lens and sensor, but they have better processor and algorithm that makes nice pics.
Last edited by SoCaled; 09-18-22 at 10:04 AM.
#635
Thrifty Bill
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Western NC
Posts: 23,559
Bikes: 86 Katakura Silk, 87 Prologue X2, 88 Cimarron LE, 1975 Sekai 4000 Professional, 73 Paramount, plus more
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it’s not just the quality of the picture either. It’s so much easier to go directly from phone to C/L or FB marketplace. Speeds up the process!!
Last edited by wrk101; 09-18-22 at 02:15 PM.
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#636
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,937
Bikes: Cuevas Custom, Cimmaron, 1988 "Pinalized Rockma", 1984 Trek 510, Moulton custom touring, Raleigh Competition GS, Bridgestone Mb-2 & 3, 1980's Peugeot - US, City, & Canyon Express (6)
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Agreed, I still waste a lot of time loading pics onto computer and then uploading to individual sites - the old ways are not always the smartest ways. That said, and you can still do this easily with a smart phone if you want to, I do enjoy looking at pictures on a full size screen rather than a small smart phone screen.
#637
Newbie
Looking for bikes on craigslist is annoying as hell. Always the same ads reposted every day. How are they doing this? is it a relisting program? I figure manually reposting ads would get old quick. Talking about those mega flippers always selling 20 bikes a day flooding the platform.
Last edited by kitbiggz; 09-30-22 at 07:52 AM.
#638
Senior Member
Looking for bikes on craigslist is annoying as hell. Always the same ads reposted every day. How are they doing this? is it a relisting program? I figure manually reposting ads would get old quick. Talking about those mega flippers always selling 20 bikes a day flooding the platform.
#640
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Eastern Shore, MD
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Bikes: Road ready: 1993 Koga Miyata City Liner Touring Hybrid, 1989 Centurion Sport DLX, "I Blame GP" Bridgestone CB-1. Projects: Yea, I got a problem....
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What to do with cool but cosmetically challenged frames??
I've got a bunch of very cool but cosmeticaly challenged bikes that I've decided to strip down to bare frames. Some of them started off as very nice bikes, and it seems wrong just to scrap them. The only Co-op around is not realy into rat rods, so even giving them away is a challenge. Powder coating on spec would be ridiculous. I think it might be easier to sell forks on Ebay than full frames. Any thoughts?
#641
Thrifty Bill
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Western NC
Posts: 23,559
Bikes: 86 Katakura Silk, 87 Prologue X2, 88 Cimarron LE, 1975 Sekai 4000 Professional, 73 Paramount, plus more
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I've never had ANY luck selling forks on ebay. I have sold forks here on this forum. At the local level, no luck selling frame sets either. Sell here, or ebay. People here will expect a discount. eBay is chock full of fees, buyers win all disputes, etc.
#643
Newbie
I think a sticky thread on flipping is a great idea for a place where flippers and wannabe flippers can share tips on what they do and how they do it. As for flipping as a way to a self-supporting bike habit I don't see that as a realistic goal. I flipped around 25 bikes in the last year and each and every one of them was considerably improved and immaculately cleaned. You can buy cheap, be careful about what you buy, know your target market--I live in a city with a large university so a good share of my flippers went to students--stockpile parts, buy cheap but decent parts when you need to but in the end any hope of really making a profit goes directly to the term 'opportunity cost' from Econ 101, i.e. could the time you spend on your flippers have been invested more profitably elsewhere. For me its a hobby and an avocation but my wife, who is a wonderful person but far too mercenary in this respect constantly harps about me not recovering the cost for my labor, Pedro's bike wash, chain lube, Phil Wood waterproof grease, the rags I wash in our washer and dry in our dryer, the solvent I use to clean up dead and damaged parts so the recycling dude will pick them up at our curbside dropoff, and generally ignores me when I say 'but honey it's a hobby fer chrissakes, would you rather have me collecting Corvettes and chasing hookers?'
#644
Newbie
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Santè groupset s//l5000 pearl white (cresm)
#645
WGB
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Chanmann1975
It depends on price.
If not overly high, it can certainly be worth it.
What is the seller asking?
It depends on price.
If not overly high, it can certainly be worth it.
What is the seller asking?
#646
Thrifty Bill
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Western NC
Posts: 23,559
Bikes: 86 Katakura Silk, 87 Prologue X2, 88 Cimarron LE, 1975 Sekai 4000 Professional, 73 Paramount, plus more
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As much as I love finding bikes, I do much better flipping books, which require zero work and take up very little space. Just sold a book today, paid $1, sold for $165. My very best ever all time bike flips do not compare.
Last edited by wrk101; 03-11-24 at 02:41 PM.
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#647
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, East bay
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Bikes: Miyata 618 GT, Marinoni, Kestral 200, Soma double cross 2002 Trek 5200, KHS Flite, Koga Miyata, Schwinn Spitfire 5, Mondia Special, Univega Alpina, Miyata team Ti, Santa Cruz Highball, Waterford rs11
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Hi Everyone ... Just joined this forum recently... Wanted some info regarding an old model of Miyata ... Had stopped riding for some time ( got into motorcycles lol) so I had some old bikes left in my store and recently decided to restore them when I came thru a Miyata ... Wasnt able to find this model on the net ... Most of the parts seem original like the Veronique wheels Joytec hubs etc... has a Miyata Metal badge on the front with a freedom sticker in the centre frame rode and below the seat it says Shonan Series...and it has a flip flop hub with both freewheel and fixed
If anyone could guide me the model year and it's worth roughly ( thinking abt selling it )
If anyone could guide me the model year and it's worth roughly ( thinking abt selling it )
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...dom-sport.html
#648
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Myata cycle
Depending on condition and state , I'm seeing them going from £300 to £1000, you could even get more if you have a decent groupset on it. But for advice your certainly in the right place. There's a lot of experienced nice people on this site, So you will get the help u require , Def pics and as many pics as possible, Hope this helps
#649
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Depending on condition and state , I'm seeing them going from £300 to £1000, you could even get more if you have a decent groupset on it. But for advice your certainly in the right place. There's a lot of experienced nice people on this site, So you will get the help u require , Def pics and as many pics as possible, Hope this helps
Thanks alot brother... It's not in a great condition. The paint is not in good shape plus I don't think the brake machines are original and it's missing most of the group set ( no crank and no shifters) ... To be exact I've got the Frame , wheels + hubs( all the stuff intact) + , handle + Stem (attached) + a darkish purple chain matching the frame color ( look really sick lol) all of these seem original that would have came with the bike . And Abt the pics... Won't be able to share one until I've got like 10 msgs on this topic I think