At what point do you think f+++it I will buy new?

diy

I regularly peruse the classified/ebay for bits and bobs and will normally always start with the view of buying second hand rather than new. generally you can get something current for about 30% off and the previous model for about 50% off or more. However, a couple of ads have made wonder what planet people are on.

I was looking at used carrara's for my son, but 2 year olds were being advertised no less than £30-50 off the new price. It would seem daft to buy second hand in that scenario. I know halfords prices fluctuate, so there is a chance that people have paid top money. I also saw a couple of Ribble 12-18 month old road bikes, which were asking for 90% of the new price (having carefully priced them up on the bike builder). Although looking at the number of didn't sells, would suggest that these bikes don't hold the value the owners think they do.

At what point do people decide to go new? For me I'm looking for 20% off of a "As new, never been used" deal and "30% off a good condition, but used" item at least, but then I tend to value the benefit of buying something covered by a warranty and statutory rights.

1mancity2

About the same, but it also depends on the actual purchase price for me if its say £50 I would probably go new, anything over that I would have a look on ebay etc.

I find a lot of the smaller, cheaper items on ebay usually described "good condition" are in fact knacked.

Tony__B

It never ceases to amaze me how much people will pay for stuff on Ebay. A year or so ago I was after a bike for my five-year-old, and gave up on Ebay after everything I looked at had been bid way above what it was worth with days left to go. I bought new.

It's not just bikes. I work as a photographer and a year or two ago had a clear-out of little-used film cameras. They all went for more than I had paid for them. One in particular, a medium-format rangefinder camera, illustrates the point - I'd bought it two years previously, from a reputable dealer, for £199 with a six-month warranty. It got £420 on Ebay and the buyer sent me an e-mail to say how delighted he was.

Mojo_666

I sell stuff on ebay for more than it is worth all the time, I don't get the people who buy this stuff tbh, but I always by new (bargains) anyway as if it is looked after you can always sell it on for a good price.

delcol

i always try to blag a deal when shopping if you dont ask you dont get... but 20-30% is reasonable...

to sound like a snob i never bought a second hand bike always bought new, i usually buy abroad in canada or use the net to find the best deal on what i want.... and for parts canada when i'm there, internet deals. or my friend lee who runs a bikeshop....

as for ebay maybe i should try to sell my demo on there...... ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

diy

it doesn't sound snobby, if you'd said Bentley it would

Neal_

I recently bought a Specialized Hotrock 12 on eBay for £46 which my son will be getting at the weekend for his birthday as his first proper bike. Bit of a bargain considering they're £140 new and usually go for £80ish on eBay. I've resprayed the few scratched bits, regreased everything and made it all shiny so it's as good as new now. I don't see a problem buying second as long as it's enough of a saving and not knackered.

bluechair84

To the contrary, I've watched some really wonderful bikes - well specced Spesh Enduros for instance - go for around 50% of value on here and have come to the conclusion that there's sod all money to be had in second hand bikes! But I've not bought anything for a while. I couldn't trust a second hand set of bars for fear of going straight through them. But wheels, forks, frames, brakes I'll happily service myself so I don't need a warranty. If it needs a repair, it's a bit of time and cost of parts but I'd rather save the money compared to new. Generally, I save 50%-70% and occasionally above. My Moment frame, with Pushed RP23, a DHX5, a Ti spring and a King headset cost me 350pounds, that must be around 2k new. Only serviced the King so far.

delcol

diy wrote:

it doesn't sound snobby, if you'd said Bentley it would

sold the bentley to make way for the Aston martin vanquish..

dan shard

I always buy from ebay. bought a 9month old cube ams last year for £650, then sold it at the beginning of this year for £850 so that I could buy my current trek remedy for £900 (£2700 new)

As long as you know how much its worth and dont get tempted to go over that price then ebay can be great.

diy

Perhaps I am missing something, but there are currently half a dozen bikes in classified being advertised at close to or even above the price of new models.

cat_with_no_tail

diy wrote:

Perhaps I am missing something, but there are currently half a dozen bikes in classified being advertised at close to or even above the price of new models.

The point you are missing is that if you add a colour matching seatclamp or some QRs, and a set of superstar grips, you automatically double the value of that bike, regardless of what it is.

I hate it when people list a bike as "upgraded", and then list every single replacement part they have on there (along with the full RRP of each bit that they didn't in a million years pay). When you look through the list, there are almost NO "upgrades".

People need to learn that swapping one QR seatclamp for an identical one in a different colour with "hope" written on it does NOT constitute an upgrade.

THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU HAVE SPENT GLUING SHlT TO YOUR BIKE DOES NOT REPRESENT IT'S VALUE!!!!!!!1

majormantra

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I hate it when people list a bike as "upgraded", and then list every single replacement part they have on there (along with the full RRP of each bit that they didn't in a million years pay). When you look through the list, there are almost NO "upgrades".

People need to learn that swapping one QR seatclamp for an identical one in a different colour with "hope" written on it does NOT constitute an upgrade.

THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU HAVE SPENT GLUING SHlT TO YOUR BIKE DOES NOT REPRESENT IT'S VALUE!!!!!!!1

qft

ilovedirt

I imagine that most of those people selling those carreras for 90% of their new value whilst stating "excellent condition" when in reality it's probably been ridden to the shops and back about a thousand times and had pretty much zero maintenance know fuck all about bikes and their relative values.

As for selling other second hand bits in general, I've lost a helluva lot of money selling parts that i've bought new, and used but maintained. I always try and sell for a good price but end up getting low-balled and going for that as I don't really have any other choice. It's not a cheap hobby...

tom_howard

Type Item #: 200677562580 into eBay, I'd buy new I think!

diy

what a pile of s***e - based on the description I was looking for the flow and return.

The Spiderman

It does require a lot of patience and dedication to score a bargain these days but it is possible:

This year I bought:

An as new Giant Defy Advanced for £800 from ebay.(rrp 1750)
A 2 year old but good condition GT Aggressor 24 for £50 via a wanted ad in a local mtb club website forum.
An as new Scott Voltage for £120 via my LBS rrp (£350) susequently sold for the same as it was too big for my son.
Best deal however was getting an immaculate Carrera Luna 16 for £16 for my daughter.Saw the same bike in Halfords at the time for £180!

So in my expereince it is possble to get secondhand bargains,but it has taken a lot of research and effort.

For some reason,I have never managed to find a good deal on the classifieds here.Sometimes I think that people who are really into cycling are reluctant to give up what was there pride and joy,or need as much cash as possible to fund ever spanglier new bikes!

Also new bikes have gone up even more this year,so I think sellers of bike a year or two old are realising that they can sell bikes almost for what they paid for them

One tip to finding a bargain on ebay I have found is to look for collection only,crap photos and low feedback ratings!

The Spiderman

DIY How old is your son? I have a 20" wheel Claud Butler Razor possibly for sale for £50 if interested?

diy

I have sourced bikes for the kids, Carrara blast 24 for the 8 year and the 5 year old gets the old blast 20. I'm actually looking for a road bike myself and have been finding the bikeradar classifieds amusing. There are a couple of ribble's going above current Ribble direct sale prices.