Selling a bike at this time of year..
Discussion
Unfortunately Drs orders means I need to hang up my helmet with pretty much immediate effect 
So I now have the bike sat outside looking lonely doing nothing. I’m not going to comment on the bike itself as I don’t want to break the rules and this be seen as an advert, but it’s worth about £5.5k, it’s niche bike. It’s not rare or special, but they didn’t sell many (only 2 currently on AT).
I know selling during the winter isn’t ideal - how much of a hit am I going to take selling now, as opposed to waiting until March/April time? I could wait until then, but seems pointless as the bike will literally be sat not turning a wheel.
Thoughts?
So I now have the bike sat outside looking lonely doing nothing. I’m not going to comment on the bike itself as I don’t want to break the rules and this be seen as an advert, but it’s worth about £5.5k, it’s niche bike. It’s not rare or special, but they didn’t sell many (only 2 currently on AT).
I know selling during the winter isn’t ideal - how much of a hit am I going to take selling now, as opposed to waiting until March/April time? I could wait until then, but seems pointless as the bike will literally be sat not turning a wheel.
Thoughts?
Biker 1 said:
Surely you can find a lockup/dry storage for it? A relation's house perhaps?? Whip out the battery, top up fluids, throw on a cover for protection & raise the wheels if possible. Then sell in Spring.....
And that’s the issue, the answer to that is no. Garages seem to be a rare commodity nowadays. So whilst it’s on the drive (covered) obviously I need to keep it insured.
I might just stick it on AT for a slightly ambitious price and see if I get any nibbles.
Not the best time to sell as most bikes tucked away for the winter so riders not interested in another. Bargains for the buyer to be had though and as your bike has limited availability for sale at present it may sell well as in the spring more might hit the market? Sold now and youd save on 3 months tax and insurance
I follow the bike market quite closely and certainly from advertised prices and what is out there I don't think winter is a bad time to sell.
Lots of people take the view of only selling in spring / summer so the winter sales market is pretty thin.
If you are looking for a bike the choice is less and I think good bikes stand out from the crowd.
You may well have weather limitations with people not wanting to come if its icy or wet but other than that I think advertising it now isn't a bad option.
That being said private sales have looked very slow all year unless its a popular bike at a good price.
If you aren't too worried about squeezing the last £100 out of it you may well get dealer interest at this time who are looking to fill their stock for next season.
Lots of people take the view of only selling in spring / summer so the winter sales market is pretty thin.
If you are looking for a bike the choice is less and I think good bikes stand out from the crowd.
You may well have weather limitations with people not wanting to come if its icy or wet but other than that I think advertising it now isn't a bad option.
That being said private sales have looked very slow all year unless its a popular bike at a good price.
If you aren't too worried about squeezing the last £100 out of it you may well get dealer interest at this time who are looking to fill their stock for next season.
trickywoo said:
I follow the bike market quite closely and certainly from advertised prices and what is out there I don't think winter is a bad time to sell.
Lots of people take the view of only selling in spring / summer so the winter sales market is pretty thin.
If you are looking for a bike the choice is less and I think good bikes stand out from the crowd.
You may well have weather limitations with people not wanting to come if its icy or wet but other than that I think advertising it now isn't a bad option.
That being said private sales have looked very slow all year unless its a popular bike at a good price.
If you aren't too worried about squeezing the last £100 out of it you may well get dealer interest at this time who are looking to fill their stock for next season.
Ok, that’s a positive note, thank you. I’m not fussed about getting top dollar, but similarly I don’t want to sell it for a song. It’s also difficult to get a feel for its worth when there are so few other examples on the market. Lots of people take the view of only selling in spring / summer so the winter sales market is pretty thin.
If you are looking for a bike the choice is less and I think good bikes stand out from the crowd.
You may well have weather limitations with people not wanting to come if its icy or wet but other than that I think advertising it now isn't a bad option.
That being said private sales have looked very slow all year unless its a popular bike at a good price.
If you aren't too worried about squeezing the last £100 out of it you may well get dealer interest at this time who are looking to fill their stock for next season.
Leaning towards putting it out there, and just being firm as to what I want for it, and if that doesn’t happen hang onto it until the season opens again.
I've often bought bikes at this time of year - but then I'm in London and there are a lot more year round riders here. I did once buy a Ducati in the snow in December (
) which was being sold by the dealer for a percentage of sales cost.
Might also help the advert if you got shiply quotes to London / Manchester / Glasgow or wherever.
) which was being sold by the dealer for a percentage of sales cost. Might also help the advert if you got shiply quotes to London / Manchester / Glasgow or wherever.
Judging by the bikes i've been watching on Autotrader that seem to have sold, plenty are selling.
Lots of people do their bike buying in the winter. Cash on the hip looking to get something sorted for the spring.
But like anything the deal has to be right, and you're more likely to sell to a trader, or someone who's looking for a project/fix-her-up type of thing with a bike trailer than someone looking for a minter who's going to ride it away.
Lots of people do their bike buying in the winter. Cash on the hip looking to get something sorted for the spring.
But like anything the deal has to be right, and you're more likely to sell to a trader, or someone who's looking for a project/fix-her-up type of thing with a bike trailer than someone looking for a minter who's going to ride it away.
wiliferus said:
Ok, that’s a positive note, thank you. I’m not fussed about getting top dollar, but similarly I don’t want to sell it for a song. It’s also difficult to get a feel for its worth when there are so few other examples on the market.
Leaning towards putting it out there, and just being firm as to what I want for it, and if that doesn’t happen hang onto it until the season opens again.
Go on then I'll bite,what is it?Leaning towards putting it out there, and just being firm as to what I want for it, and if that doesn’t happen hang onto it until the season opens again.
I'm sure you can tell us what it is without breaking the rules as long as you don't write a full advert.
trickywoo said:
I follow the bike market quite closely and certainly from advertised prices and what is out there I don't think winter is a bad time to sell.
Lots of people take the view of only selling in spring / summer so the winter sales market is pretty thin.
If you are looking for a bike the choice is less and I think good bikes stand out from the crowd.
You may well have weather limitations with people not wanting to come if its icy or wet but other than that I think advertising it now isn't a bad option.
That being said private sales have looked very slow all year unless its a popular bike at a good price.
If you aren't too worried about squeezing the last £100 out of it you may well get dealer interest at this time who are looking to fill their stock for next season.
Dealer would pay low for it as realistically he wont sell till spring so why would he lose money sat in a showroom Lots of people take the view of only selling in spring / summer so the winter sales market is pretty thin.
If you are looking for a bike the choice is less and I think good bikes stand out from the crowd.
You may well have weather limitations with people not wanting to come if its icy or wet but other than that I think advertising it now isn't a bad option.
That being said private sales have looked very slow all year unless its a popular bike at a good price.
If you aren't too worried about squeezing the last £100 out of it you may well get dealer interest at this time who are looking to fill their stock for next season.
I have recently bought and sold a bike. From my experience with dealers, the trade in prices were a joke and they were definitely not interested in just buying a bike. I could have hung on till spring but was keen not to have 2 bikes in the garage so priced it to sell and it went quickly on ebay.
The bike I bought had been discounted although was definitely not being given away, they do seem to sell eventually from dealer or privately if priced correctly (i.e. low if you are a private seller).
I would not bother advertising at an optimistic price as you will get all the jokers contacting you and unlikely anybody will buy it....
The bike I bought had been discounted although was definitely not being given away, they do seem to sell eventually from dealer or privately if priced correctly (i.e. low if you are a private seller).
I would not bother advertising at an optimistic price as you will get all the jokers contacting you and unlikely anybody will buy it....
I've got two bikes which are both classed as classics which I'm thinking of selling, and my possibly-cunning plan might be to advertise them over Xmas. My theory is, lots of people sitting at home with nothing to do but browse for sale ads, plus both of them wouldn't hurt for some fettling so if someone is sitting at home twitching about being under-occupied, they might think it's a good time to put something in the shed which they can fiddle with til the weather improves.
I may of course be completely wrong!!
I may of course be completely wrong!!
I just bought a bike!
I think lots of people buy in winter, so they can fettle and restore in time for the summer. Those riders who get their hands dirty of course.
I'd agree in general though that the used market over a certain value is very slow. Buyers seem to have reigned in their wallets, dealers have been asking crazy money for anything desirable and seem to be out crazying eachother into the realms of the collector, but if they can afford to sit on them that's their call! I've seen certain bikes have been for sale at dealers for well over a year now.
I'd say Facebook Marketplace is a good free place to put it up for sale and plenty well make offers if they're interested. I tend to hunt ebay and facebook rather than autotrader and the like nowadays!
ps. Sorry to hear that you need to hang up the helmet. Good luck moving forward.
I think lots of people buy in winter, so they can fettle and restore in time for the summer. Those riders who get their hands dirty of course.
I'd agree in general though that the used market over a certain value is very slow. Buyers seem to have reigned in their wallets, dealers have been asking crazy money for anything desirable and seem to be out crazying eachother into the realms of the collector, but if they can afford to sit on them that's their call! I've seen certain bikes have been for sale at dealers for well over a year now.
I'd say Facebook Marketplace is a good free place to put it up for sale and plenty well make offers if they're interested. I tend to hunt ebay and facebook rather than autotrader and the like nowadays!
ps. Sorry to hear that you need to hang up the helmet. Good luck moving forward.
I recently sold a bike. It was more mainstream than yours but I phoned a couple of ‘we want your bike’ type places and one of them came up with quite a good offer.
Could I have got more in the spring? Probably, but I haven’t had a load of chancers messing me about, saying they’ll turn up and not bothering etc.
I was honest with the description I gave them over the phone. When they came round to collect it they offered £100 less than they had on the phone. We haggled and it ended up at £50 less (tyre wear).
Might not be for everyone, but it worked for me.
There was quite a price difference between the different places I called so probably worth ringing around.
Doggydog.
Could I have got more in the spring? Probably, but I haven’t had a load of chancers messing me about, saying they’ll turn up and not bothering etc.
I was honest with the description I gave them over the phone. When they came round to collect it they offered £100 less than they had on the phone. We haggled and it ended up at £50 less (tyre wear).
Might not be for everyone, but it worked for me.
There was quite a price difference between the different places I called so probably worth ringing around.
Doggydog.
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