How to sell a Rivendell Bike

[Cecily Walker]

As many of y'all know, I live in a part of the world where Rivendell bikes aren't widely known. After saving and scrimping for four years to buy my Betty Foy, poor health/chronic illness means I need to sell my Betty Foy for something else - perhaps a Clementine?  My problem is that I really doubt I'll be able to get anywhere near the asking price for a bike that's in darn good shape. 

Do you have any suggestions for how I might make a bike with an $1800-ish asking price more attractive to local buyers? I might go as low as $1500, but that breaks my heart when you consider I paid close to $2500 CAD once all was said and done. 

Thanks,

Cecily

[Patrick Moore]

Cecily: sorry to hear about your health problems.

Why would a Clem be better for you in this case than the Betty?

I've sold many bikes and frames over the years, and these are some more or less general rules that may or may not help answer your question.

1. If you sell nation wide, the demand and thus the price may well increase. While I hate ebay, I'll suffer it and its fees to get a wider market.

2. Make your FS ad attractive. Photos, adequate technical information, and -- go overboard and be a bit literary. What makes the Betty Foy special? Why should Joe Shmoe in Des Moines or Betty Boop in Austin buy your bike instead of something from XYZ.com for $500 less?

2. You can have FedEx or a local shop pack and ship; I just found out from my local FedEx that they will pack a bike "well" for $25. If you don't trust FedEx, you can have a LBS pack -- again, $25 seems to be our local rate -- and ship yourself. I would not leave it to the LBS to ship, unless they are experienced with economic shipping. I had a very good LBS pack a bike for me, and asked them to ship via their UPS account. UPS wanted some absurd amount -- $275? I forget, but fortunately I was able to rescue the package from UPS and ship it for a far, far better price with Bike Flights.

3. Bike Flights. They are almost holy. Mumble mumble mumble, amen. (I realize that that will make no sense to anyone who wasn't an alter boy parroting memorized Latin responses in the American, pre-Vatican II Catholic Church. But no matter.) Bike Flights is the ne plus ultra of friendly and fairly priced bike/bike bits shipping. They basically buy room with Fed Ex ground, pass on quantity discounts to you, and act as the very humane interface. Get the LBS or whomever to pack, and ask Bike Flights to pick it up from where ever you want it to be picked up from.

The best thing about BF, even better than their proprietary rates, is that when you call their number, you get a real, actual, human being person who actually knows English, who knows what is going on, and who can actually fix your problems.

4. If you have a strong sale, leave it up to the buyer to arrange shipping. A few years ago, I asked a LBS to pack a British Racing Tricycle (like packing a tandem) and ship it to the buyer; I arranged with the buyer to deal directly with the shop. Now the buyer new that shipping a trike would be complicated and expensive, so he was prepared, but I knew the shop and the owner, and I was pretty confident that they would pack well and ship for as reasonable a price as they could. At any rate, I never heard a complaint from either packer or buyer.

5. Lastly, if you can afford to wait for a sale, be prepared to wait if after, testing the waters, no one bites. I've found that demand can vary greatly, and that today's drug on the market can be tomorrow's "must have."

Good luck!

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--

Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews.

By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching.

Other professional writing services.

http://www.resumespecialties.com/

www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/

Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique,  Vereinigte Staaten

****************************************************************************************

The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a circumference on the contours of which all conditions, distinctions, and individualities revolve. Chuang Tzu

Stat crux dum volvitur orbis. (The cross stands motionless while the world revolves.) Carthusian motto

It is we who change; He remains the same. Eckhart

Kinei hos eromenon. (It moves [all things] as the beloved.) Aristotle

[Patrick Moore]

Whoops: FedEx will pack the bike for $25, and that includes the box and packing material.

[Patrick Moore]

Whoops again; I take this back. The packing work is added to the cost of the box, but they don't charge for any padding, tape, and so forth. 

I recently had a Macbook shipped FE Ground, total $44, of which $15 was box and $7-$8 was work, the rest postage. Rather big box for the size of the machine, so shipping was in the ~$20 range.

[Sky Coulter]

Hi Cecily,

Sorry the Betty isn't working out for you. It's super hard to sell any bike in vancouver for more than $500.  But maybe try a local CL ad for a couple weeks to see if it gets any interest. If not, I'd recommend trying to sell though ebay or the rbw group.  If you drive the bike down to Bellingham or blain and then ship from there, it may be more practical. 

Sky in New West

[Tim Butterfield]

If the bike is in Vancouver, BC, it could be advertised in the Seattle Craigslist.  Just note the location as BC to manage expectations.  Someone came up from Seattle to Anacortes to get my AWOL and that's not nearly as nice a bike as a Betty.  It would have been as easy for them to go to Bellingham.  If someone were interested, you could also offer to meet part way to save them having to cross the border to either reduce their travel or in case they don't have a passport.

Tim

--

[Cecily Walker]

On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 8:11:47 PM UTC-7, Patrick Moore wrote:

Cecily: sorry to hear about your health problems.

Why would a Clem be better for you in this case than the Betty?

Lower step-over height and a little more room in the cockpit. The RA means I'm not as flexible as I once was, so I need to be as upright as possible. I haven't had any luck with getting the Betty to be comfortable enough. 

 

[Cecily Walker]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! They're very helpful.

On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 7:44:23 PM UTC-7, Cecily Walker wrote:

[IanA]

As you're in Vancouver, it's a relatively easy trip to Pt Roberts or even Seattle.  RBW listers are your best market, most of whom are located all across the USA, so if you ship it from WA to all points (or at least the lower 48) you have the best chance of making a bit of money back.  Couple that with the US dollar being stronger and you could do alright.  You would need to pack the bike very well, but that's not hard to do.  BikeFlights via FedEx to destinations within the USA is a great option.  Inexpensive, Insurance available and easy to book.

Otherwise, if you want to sell locally,  I'd say drop in at Dream Cycle on the Drive and talk it over with Darren (the owner).  I haven't been there for ages, but last time I was in, he was into Rivendell (had a butterscotch Saluki and a Bleriot on the sales floor).  He seems like a good fellow and might have some new bike ideas for you.

If you sold it complete with shipping and insurance packed and shipped to the lower 48, you should have no problem selling for US$1650.00 ($1550 after shipping would get you close to CAD$2000. That might be a bit ambitious, but that weaker Canadian dollar makes our re-exports more attractive!  And, you can claim to the US customs people that it's US Goods returning - they might not charge you any taxes at the crossing.

Ian A/The North!

[dougP]

To Patrick's point #5, the market is in "year end close-out" mode. Spring is better, but that's half a year from now.

Doug P

[Tim]

I think I would start off with the bike on this list, and maybe list it as well on the iBob group. You (and the buyer) will be much more likely to get a fair deal, with the added bonus that it will be going to someone who really wants and appreciates the bike. And, yes, I'd let your LBS pack it for you, then ship via Bike Flights.

[Surlyprof]

I agree with Patrick about selling in the fall.  That's the best time for buyers and worst for sellers.  If you run an add in an area that RBW isn't as well known, you may want to add links to their site (http://www.rivbike.com/Bikes-s/619.htm) or any reviews that you can find online. (http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2010/11/popular-girl-test-riding-rivendell.html  or possibly https://letsgorideabike.com/2009/03/19/say-hello-to-the-future-rivendells-betty-foy/)  Having others taking nice photos and gushing about the Betty Foy's lugs couldn't hurt.

Good luck with your continued riding.

John

On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 7:44:23 PM UTC-7, Cecily Walker wrote:

[dougP]

You want to sell a Betty & get a Clementine: perhaps trade with another list member?

Doug p

[Cecily Walker]

I hadn't thought about that... 

[velo59]

Cecily,

Ssd to hear that you're still struggling with your illness.  Best wishes for the future.

Selling and shipping a frame might be easier than selling and shipping a complete bicycle.  If you're happy with your choice of componentry on your Betty Foy, perhaps you might consider disassembling it (or have a local bicycle shop do the work), sell the Betty Foy and transfer the parts to a new Clementine.  You may even be able to accomplish getting the Clementine purchased and assembled before you sell the Betty Foy, if you can find a used Clementine frame.

Jason Cloutier
Pawtucket, RI

[blakcloud]

Cecily, I have a friend in Vancouver ask to buy my wife's Betty Foy but it's not for sale. By chance what is the size of your frame?

[dstein]

I've had good luck with craigslist but I live in the bay area so no surprise there. But I'd recommend simultaneously listing on here and craigistlist for a few weeks to see if there are any bites. Not many people buy a bike like a Rivendell impulsively, it usually appeals to someone who knows they want one, don't want to spring for a new one, and check craigslist and this list regularly. After a few weeks I'd throw it on ebay as a 'buy it now' with a set price. You can start with a higher asking price to make up for the fees, and I'd also let someone make an offer on it (this feature is nice because you can set a floor for an offer and the system will automatically reject or accept it). From there, if its still not selling and you're desperate you can send it to auction with a minimum price (or keep relisting it at a slightly lower price till someone 'buys it now'.). It'll eventually sell, its a combination of patience and also adjusting your price accordingly to meet market demand. But definitely list on ebay if it doesn't sell locally in a few weeks.

[dstein]

Also, if you have any bells and whistles on the bike (racks, leather saddle, dyno lights,  fancy pedals, saddlebags, rando bags, etc), i'd sell those separately. Plenty of people on here will buy them for a reasonable price, and it allows you to list your bike at an even lower price since you removed some expensive accessories.

[Cecily Walker]

It's a 55. Though now I'm having second thoughts. 

[Joe Bernard]

Cecily, I strongly encourage those second thoughts. The Betty is a gorgeous and discontinued bicycle, and I'm not convinced the standover difference between that and Clem L is worth swapping for. If you think you can work around your mounting issues by lowering the bike almost to the ground for mount/dismount, it would be great if you could keep riding it.

I think most of us developed the habit of swinging high over the bar - or even saddle - when we were young and spry, and it's hard to rewire our brains to lower the bike instead. Give it a try!

[dougP]

Also strongly encourage second thoughts & trying alternates that may allow you to keep Betty. It's surprising what you can do if you don't know you can't.

Doug p

[Don Compton]

Cecily,

I have read your posts from time to time. I suffer from arthritis. Whatever happens with your bike, figure out a way to keep riding. "Quality of Life".

Just a thought

On Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 7:44:23 PM UTC-7, Cecily Walker wrote: