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How to Sell a Used Bike: Everything You Need to Know cover
May 12, 2021

How to Sell a Used Bike: Everything You Need to Know

How Much Should I Sell My Bike For?

The value of a bike is all about supply and demand. If you own a brand of bike that everyone loves and wants to buy then it’s going to be worth more. If you have a common everyday bike that you can find anywhere then it’s going to be worth less. When you’re figuring out how much you should list your bicycle there are a few factors to consider.

What is The Condition of Your Bike? 

Age is critically important. If your bike is new then it’s going to be worth more than an older model. The only exception is if you have a rare vintage bike, but chances are you don’t have a museum quality vintage bike just hiding in your garage.  Is your bike in good working condition? If your bike only has small cosmetic damage it’s going to have a higher price. If you’ve been raging your mountain bike and wrecked repetitively, aka obviously well loved, you’ll need to consider selling for a little less. If your bike has mechanical issues then you’re going to have to lower your asking price. 

What Type of Bike are You Selling?

High-quality bikes retain their value better than something you might buy at a big box store. Well built bikes hold up better over time. They also have more demand thanks to their brand name. An expensive road bike or mountain bike is going to sell for more especially if you upgraded any of the parts. Did you add a new front suspension or install a dropper post? Include that in your product description and you’ll be sure to get a better price than the base model.

Using Tools and Similar Listings to Price Your Bike

The easiest way to figure out the current value of your bike is to use the Bicycle Blue Book Value Tool. Simply select your make and model. Tell the tool what the condition of your bike is and it will tell you the recommended price range. If your bike isn’t listed in the tool you can either find a similar make and model and use that as a guide.

Another way to find the current value of your bike is to look at similar listings. Check our site,
craigslist, ebay, your local used sporting goods shop to find out what other people are selling their bikes for. Take into consideration any differences in condition and then list your bike accordingly.

Tips and Tricks to Selling Your Used Bike

Now that you’ve figured out how much your bike is worth its time to make sure that it sells. The key to making sure that your bike sells for its full value is creating a fantastic product listing. Putting in a little extra effort in listing your bike is going to pay dividends. If you’re lazy about creating your product listing you might not get the price you want or your bike might not even sell at all.

Take a Good Photo of Your Bike

Having a stellar photo is the best thing you can do to ensure you sell your bike for its full value. Make sure your bike is sparkling clean before you take a picture. A clean bike looks newer and better taken care of. Use a good camera if you can. These days everyone has a smartphone and it might be easy to just point and click. A high quality image can go a long way to elevating your listing above the crowd. 

Choose a good background. No one wants to see your dirty laundry scattered on your bed. A cluttered photo distracts from your bike and will decrease the amount people are willing to give you. Make sure you have good lighting. Natural lighting is a great option. It’s much more forgiving than artificial lighting. Include multiple pictures from different angles. Include close ups of any special features or defects. Being honest about any scratches or dings your bike has will create trust with your buyer.

Writing an Amazing Product Description

Your product description is where you get to really sell your bike. Make sure to list all of the features of your bike. What size is it? Is it a full suspension mountain bike or a hardtail? Does it have a lightweight frame?  How many gears does your bike have? This is where doing some research on the manufacturer’s website can really pay off. You can see how they are selling their bike and include those features and benefits in your listing.

Be sure to write a complete and honest description of the condition of your bike. Did you replace or upgrade a part? Include that information. Your buyer is going to want to know about it. Likewise make sure you are honest about any defects. Listing any dings, scratches or mechanical issues will create trust and make your bicycle more like to sell and not less. If your gears are slipping or the brake pads need to be replaced, please include that information! 

Where Can I Sell My Bike?

There are a plethora of options out there to sell your bike. It might be a little overwhelming knowing which one to choose. Each of these options has their benefits and might be the right option depending on your situation. Here are four places where you can sell your bike.

Rerouted

Listing your bike on Rerouted is easy and straightforward. We specialize in buying and selling used adventure gear. Our goal is to be the best place to sell used outdoor gear by making the process of giving your gear a new loving home as easy as possible. We are constantly researching new technologies to streamline the used gear selling and buying process. We know that the easier we make it to sell used gear the more people will do it and as a result the environment will benefit. The more we reuse and recycle our gear the less trash ends up in landfills and the less greenhouse gasses get pumped into the atmosphere.  What are you waiting for?  Go start selling and list your gear.

Used Sporting Goods Shop

You might be lucky enough to have a used sporting goods shop in your town. Some used sporting goods stores operate with a buy, sell, trade model. With these types of stores the main benefit of selling your bike is that you get cash that day and you don’t have to wait for your bike to sell. The downside is that you won’t get as much for your bike. These types of used sporting good stores usually take a bigger cut leaving you with less. If you want cash now and you don’t care about getting the maximum value this could be a good option. 

If the used sporting good store uses a consignment model then you have to wait until the equipment is sold before you get paid. If the store doesn’t get a lot of traffic it might take some time for your item to sell (if it sells at all). Some used sporting goods stores may charge consignment fees of 25%-60%. If you’re lucky your local store might charge something reasonable like 12%-15%. You also need to keep in mind that the store is going to set the price of your gear. If they choose a price lower than you expected you might not get full value and then have to pay a fee on top of that. For these reasons used sporting good shops are a great place to be a buyer and less exciting if you’re trying to sell. 

Craigslist

This may have been one of the first options that came to mind when you decided to sell your bike. To be honest the drawbacks of craigslist outweigh many of its benefits. Being fed up with craigslist was one of the reasons we started Rerouted. Craigslist limits you to selling locally or managing shipping logistics by yourself. If you’re in a small town there might not be enough demand for your bike at the price you want. If you’re in a big town then your ad will continuously get bumped down by new listings. When your listing does get interest you have to deal with people, including negotiating prices and finding a safe place to make the transaction. If you’ve ever sold on Craigslist before you’ve probably encountered your fair share of scammers. If you want to work hard and interact with people then maybe you have what it takes to sell on Craigslist

Ebay

The benefit of Ebay is that their buyer pool includes people across the world. They give you the option to list your bike and whether you want to give people the option to buy it now, bid on it in the auction or both.  The main caveat is developing a seller reputation. Buyers are more likely to purchase from a seller that has completed many transactions and was able to maintain a good rating. If you don’t have that seller rating you might not get the full value of your bike. Similar to craigslist you need to be careful about scammers or flaky buyers. You might think you can rely on eBay to help you resolve any issues, but they have a reputation for poor customer service and you might get left high and dry.

Go get selling now!