Why don't bike shops do part exchanges?
Discussion
One close to me will very occasionally have a single second-hand bike for sale they've taken in part-ex.
I asked one of the guys there in the past why they won't as a rule, he said a lot of reasons, but typically firstly, shop floor space needs to earn money, so the same applies to a part-ex, they're going to offer you say 80% of what they can sell it for - most riders seem to think their bike is exceptional in some way, or certainly it's worth more than it really is (see Pinkbike Classisifed for details) so they're going to be upset when they're offered "half what it's worth".
Secondly they're on iffy ground legally, say someone buys this second-hand bike and the front wheel collapses, the forks lock, the crank-arm comes off etc etc etc - in the best case they're going to have to p
s off another customer trying to explain it's 'sold as seen', harder again if it gets to small claims and they're trying to explain 'sold as seen' when selling bikes is clearly their business. Worst case they get a call from Claimsdirect. So they'd really need to strip the whole thing down and inspect it and replace and worn, or part-worn bits - there goes the profit margin.
The one time I expressed an interest in s second-hand bike, it was explained to be very clearly the bike belonged to a member of staff who I'd be buying it from, not the shop.
I asked one of the guys there in the past why they won't as a rule, he said a lot of reasons, but typically firstly, shop floor space needs to earn money, so the same applies to a part-ex, they're going to offer you say 80% of what they can sell it for - most riders seem to think their bike is exceptional in some way, or certainly it's worth more than it really is (see Pinkbike Classisifed for details) so they're going to be upset when they're offered "half what it's worth".
Secondly they're on iffy ground legally, say someone buys this second-hand bike and the front wheel collapses, the forks lock, the crank-arm comes off etc etc etc - in the best case they're going to have to p
s off another customer trying to explain it's 'sold as seen', harder again if it gets to small claims and they're trying to explain 'sold as seen' when selling bikes is clearly their business. Worst case they get a call from Claimsdirect. So they'd really need to strip the whole thing down and inspect it and replace and worn, or part-worn bits - there goes the profit margin. The one time I expressed an interest in s second-hand bike, it was explained to be very clearly the bike belonged to a member of staff who I'd be buying it from, not the shop.
I would have thought there was a market for this. Bikes are hardly the most complicated machines around. An hour's service and safety check would be enough to ensure a bike wasn't about to fall apart, and the shop could move it on with a limited 3-month guarantee. Obviously they would only consider reasonable bikes to start with, and some proof of ownership would be required.
I've even thought about it myself. Often in fact. At night... as I lie dreaming about a less stressful job.
I very much doubt there's a decent salary in it for the owner though.
I've even thought about it myself. Often in fact. At night... as I lie dreaming about a less stressful job.
I very much doubt there's a decent salary in it for the owner though.
Watchman said:
I very much doubt there's a decent salary in it for the owner though.
I think the above is the situation - Most bike shops probably struggle to get a living wage, so why sell an old bike and probably get less profit from it than a new one? The bike shops that are doing well and turning over lots of bikes (few and far between I suspect), won't want the place cluttered up with old bikes detracting from the nice new shiny ones! even if they could 'afford to lose some extra profit' to sell an old bike. In a bike shop I worked at in South Africa, a large number of our sales were used bikes taken in part-ex. Every bike I owned at the time was bought from the part-ex stock.
However, the market is very different over there and they certainly didn't have the claim culture which is becoming / has become so prevalent in the UK.
However, the market is very different over there and they certainly didn't have the claim culture which is becoming / has become so prevalent in the UK.
The big chains have zero motivation to do it- they make [an amount] on a new bike and know they'll have any warranty issue covered by the manufacturer.
They'd be lucky to make 5% on a second hand bike, and there is always the chance it'd just sit there, blocking space for stock with 10 times the margin, until they had to sell it at a loss to shift it.
Smaller indies might do it, but only from "known" customers- the risk of buying stolen goods is too high otherwise, with the knock on effects that that would have.
Plus, ultimately, you as the bike owner would be far better off getting rid of said bike in a private sale.
Anyway, why would anyone ever want to sell a bike?
They'd be lucky to make 5% on a second hand bike, and there is always the chance it'd just sit there, blocking space for stock with 10 times the margin, until they had to sell it at a loss to shift it.
Smaller indies might do it, but only from "known" customers- the risk of buying stolen goods is too high otherwise, with the knock on effects that that would have.
Plus, ultimately, you as the bike owner would be far better off getting rid of said bike in a private sale.
Anyway, why would anyone ever want to sell a bike?
Edited by Dammit on Saturday 15th March 08:37
Fastpedeller said:
Watchman said:
I very much doubt there's a decent salary in it for the owner though.
I think the above is the situation - Most bike shops probably struggle to get a living wage, so why sell an old bike and probably get less profit from it than a new one? The bike shops that are doing well and turning over lots of bikes (few and far between I suspect), won't want the place cluttered up with old bikes detracting from the nice new shiny ones! even if they could 'afford to lose some extra profit' to sell an old bike. I never realised that Evans were being so generous when they knocked 30% off a bike at the end of the year.
To think- all this time they've been making a significant loss!
I'll never say a bad word about them again, a commercial organisation that deliberately runs in the red just to help ordinary cyclists out.
God bless Evans, and good on them.
To think- all this time they've been making a significant loss!
I'll never say a bad word about them again, a commercial organisation that deliberately runs in the red just to help ordinary cyclists out.
God bless Evans, and good on them.
Edited by Dammit on Friday 14th March 09:06
Leisure Lakes used to (may still do) off a PX. I took my old bike in, they wheeled into the workshop for ten mins, wheeled it back and offered me some ridiculously insulting price as it 'needs a few bits doing'. Concerned for my safety I asked what it needed and they couldn't tell me!
To make it worse they didn't have the brand I was interested in, as shown on the website, at the store I went to, not shown on the website. I ended up buying elsewhere, slung my old bike in the shed and eventually sold it when someone asked if I still had it, for a good deal more than LL had offered me for it.
To make it worse they didn't have the brand I was interested in, as shown on the website, at the store I went to, not shown on the website. I ended up buying elsewhere, slung my old bike in the shed and eventually sold it when someone asked if I still had it, for a good deal more than LL had offered me for it.
Dammit said:
I never realised that Evans were being so generous when they knocked 30% off a bike at the end of the year.
To think- all this time they've been making a significant loss!
I'll never say a bad word about them again, a commercial organisation that deliberately runs in the red just to help ordinary cyclists out.
God bless Evans, and good on them.
I don't know what the economics are now, but suspect they don't make much, and they may have just shifted at 30% off to get in new stock. Years ago pal had a bike shop, and the only way he could get a decent trade discount was to buy 12, which gave him one free and 10% off. Not a great way to get profit. Spares/repairs maybe more profit, unless it's high end stuff I guess.To think- all this time they've been making a significant loss!
I'll never say a bad word about them again, a commercial organisation that deliberately runs in the red just to help ordinary cyclists out.
God bless Evans, and good on them.
Edited by Dammit on Friday 14th March 09:06
P-Jay said:
Engineer1 said:
Saying bikes aren't complex, my bike can chuck out servicing bills that wouldn't look out of place for a car
Dam straight, my forks just come home from Loco with a bill for £335 taped to them, and that was at a big discount!Whilst there is an argument that you could have done the work yourself for considerably less money, I would accept that "home mechanics" isn't everyone's cup of tea. However, a shop has the capabilities just like a garage has the capabilities to service and repair cars. It's just that a bike is trivial compared with a car.
I'm no genius but I've been able to ask around (mostly here), look on YouTube and work out for myself how to service my bikes. No job is too difficult really whereas I wouldn't say that about a car. And I'm someone who has built/run a Caterham, rebuilt its engine, and kept a TVR going (no mean feat) for a while.
Someone setting themselves up to buy and sell 2nd hand bikes should **easily** be able to choose worthwhile bikes from those fit for the canal, especially those where there's a trivial problem to rectify that the owner thinks is serious and just wants rid of it for a small handful of notes. THAT'S where the profit would be.
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