Trade in value

[Jiyang Chen]

How much money should I expect to get by trading in a 2002
Trek 2000 (which I got for about 1 grand) that's in fairly
new condition? I was thinking about $600-700 towards next
purchase? Is there some sort of formula to calculate this?

Thanks, Jiyang Chen

 

[Paul Southworth]

In article <[email protected]>, Jiyang Chen <[email protected]> wrote:
>How much money should I expect to get by trading in a 2002
>Trek 2000 (which I got for about 1 grand) that's in fairly
>new condition? I was thinking about $600-700 towards next
>purchase? Is there some sort of formula to calculate this?

Most bike shops do not take old bikes in on trade toward new
purchases, for those that do you will be offered something
based on what the retailer thinks he can sell it for, which
depends a lot on your local market and the kind of people
who shop there.

Your $600-700 guess sounds extremely optimistic to me.
The margin on the next bicycle you buy won't be big
enough to allow it.

You can probably get the most money for the bike on eBay.

--Paul

 

[S O R N I]

Jiyang Chen wrote:
> How much money should I expect to get by trading in a 2002
> Trek 2000 (which I got for about 1 grand) that's in fairly
> new condition? I was thinking about $600-700 towards next
> purchase?

It's always warm and sunny in your world, isn't it?

Bill "gotta love an optimist" S.

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 20:25:03 -0500, Jiyang Chen wrote:

> How much money should I expect to get by trading in a 2002
> Trek 2000 (which I got for about 1 grand) that's in fairly
> new condition? I was thinking about $600-700 towards next
> purchase? Is there some sort of formula to calculate this?

There is no set formula, no blue book for used bikes. Used
bikes often go very cheap, mostly because they lack the
latest bells and whistles. Also, it is harder to get one
that fits, since there is no selection.

You might be able to get something from a Trek dealer, but I
would be surprised if you got that kind of money unless it
was a promotional gimmick.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | You will say Christ saith this and the apostles say
this; but _`\(,_ | what canst thou say? -- George Fox.
(_)/ (_) |

 

[Dan Daniel]

On 13 Mar 2004 20:25:03 EST, "Jiyang Chen" <[email protected]> wrote:

>How much money should I expect to get by trading in a 2002
>Trek 2000 (which I got for about 1 grand) that's in fairly
>new condition? I was thinking about $600-700 towards next
>purchase? Is there some sort of formula to calculate this?
>
>Thanks, Jiyang Chen

FIrst, will your bike shop take it in as a trade? Most will
avoid used bikes because of liability issues.

Second, look at the going price for your model bike on the
used market. It might be $600-700 person to person, but I
bet that is the top limit. Do a google search, look at both
the rec.bicycles.marketplace listings under groups and the
internet postings.

Whatever the bike may go for person to person, realize that
the dealer will not give you that. They will need to cover
their mechanical expenses in going over the bike and their
capital expenses in investing in a bike that may sit in the
shop for months or years. If they gave you half of the
going price, you'd be doing good, I think. So if the bike
is worth $600, they might offer $300. Consider the other
$300 money spent to avoid selling it on your own, to have
the bike shop act as your agent. 50/50 split on consignment
sales isn't unusual.

This isn't the auto market where there is a decent profit
built into every sale. A car dealer can offer $10,000 in
trade for a used car that you could sell for $10,000 because
they are giving away part of the gross profit on the new car
they are selling you, and they were going to negotiate it
away somewhere else if not here in order to make the sale.
They aren't putting out real money, only playing with
various columns of funny money numbers on a piece of paper.
A bike shop isn't playing those kinds of games, and with
those kind of profit margins.

 

[Ken]

Dan Daniel <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> FIrst, will your bike shop take it in as a trade? Most
> will avoid used bikes because of liability issues.

Is that true? There are several shops in my area that sell
used bikes. Most of these are near college campuses. I think
many high-end shops avoid used bikes because of the low
profit margin and the big hassle factor.

Regarding how much a shop will give you for a used bike, I
doubt you'll get more than half what you paid for it
originally. The shop will have a lot of overhead in
reselling it and they have to add a decent mark-up to pay
for maintenance work, sales time, floor space,
risk/cashflow, etc. You'll get a much better deal selling it
yourself, but that, of course, can be a lot of work.

 

[Gooserider]

"Jiyang Chen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> How much money should I expect to get by trading in a 2002
> Trek 2000 (which I got for about 1 grand) that's in fairly
> new condition? I was thinking about $600-700 towards next
> purchase? Is there some sort of formula to calculate this?

That depends. Did you ever mount your counterfeit Campagnolo
disc wheel?

 

[Dan Daniel]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 06:09:38 +0000, Ken <[email protected]> wrote:

>Dan Daniel <[email protected]> wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>> FIrst, will your bike shop take it in as a trade? Most
>> will avoid used bikes because of liability issues.
>
>Is that true? There are several shops in my area that sell
>used bikes. Most of these are near college campuses. I
>think many high-end shops avoid used bikes because of the
>low profit margin and the big hassle factor.
>

You could be right. Three or four bike shops mentioned
liability issues when I was looking for used bikes last
year. One specifically mentioned insurance, but I could have
misunderstood the others. Maybe it was just the 'liability'
of having to fix broken parts, constant adjustments, etc.
Too big a risk to assume a warranty without a company like
Shimano or Trek backing you?

Of maybe fifteen shops I can think of in my immediate area,
five deal in used bikes. Two are community training
programs, one is a guy in a small shop who does nothing but
scrounge parts off the street and turn them into 'bikes' of
varying creativity and varying functionality, one is geared
towards bike messengers and beaters and works on
consignment, and one was really interested when I brought in
a frame I had painted myself and wondered if I could do some
frames for them and how fast I could turn them around and
how many I could do at one time- all I could think of was an
auto body chop shop and I never talked to them again.

 

[B A R R Y]

On 13 Mar 2004 20:25:03 EST, "Jiyang Chen" <[email protected]> wrote:

>How much money should I expect to get by trading in a 2002
>Trek 2000 (which I got for about 1 grand) that's in fairly
>new condition? I was thinking about $600-700 towards next
>purchase? Is there some sort of formula to calculate this?
>
>Thanks, Jiyang Chen

Dealers that take trade-ins expect to make something on the
sale of the used bike.

If the used value of your bike is $600, and I really have no
idea what it really is, expect more like $300 for it. This
is why most dealers don't accept trades. Many people seem to
think floor space, salesperson's paychecks, and the
mechanic's time for cleaning, tuning, and reconditioning of
a used bike, are free.

Inquire at the shop about how much to pack and ship the bike
and sell on eBay. The beauty of eBay is that if it's worth
"X", chances are there is someone willing to pay "X" for it.

Barry

 

[B A R R Y]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 06:09:38 +0000, Ken <[email protected]> wrote:

>Dan Daniel <[email protected]> wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>> FIrst, will your bike shop take it in as a trade? Most
>> will avoid used bikes because of liability issues.
>
>Is that true? There are several shops in my area that sell
>used bikes. Most of these are near college campuses. I
>think many high-end shops avoid used bikes because of the
>low profit margin and the big hassle factor.

Me too, including the shop I work at.

Liability isn't much different on a used bike than a new
bike. We will only very occasionally take a trade. The main
factor is how fast we think it'll sell. Even size can be a
factor For example, we sell exponentially more 56-58 cm road
bikes than 62-64 or 47 cm models.

Barry