? Working on bikes | Main | My first year of bicycle commuting ?
March 31, 2005
1963 Raleigh Sports Men’s 3-Speed
As I mentioned, I was trying out eBay to buy a bike. Below is a history of the bidding that went on. It only shows the others outbidding me and all of my counter bids are not listed. My limit was set to $50 dollars, which in my opinion was more than the bike is really worth. I’ve seen similar bikes that are in near-perfect condition that are selling for $120.00. This bike needs a LOT of work and cash to remove the rust, repaint and restore it to that kind of condition. If I had actually won this bid at 50.00, the minimum it would have cost me would be $80.00 with shipping, maybe a little more. How much does it cost to strip and paint a bike frame, two fenders and a chain guard and have it look professional? Let’s say conservatively $100.00 for that whole process. That puts the cost of this bike for me at $180 dollars and rising. New cables maybe, or possibly $10.00 for new brake pads? Maybe the tires are dry-rotted. If I buy standard road tires for this bike at $30.00 for both, then my cost of ownership just became $220.00. Is this rusty old bike really worth $220.00 to me? And then the current high bid is at $66.00 so if I happened to be able to hold on to a $70.00 bid, that cost would actually be $240.00! No. I’ll let someone else restore this one. I don’t think even a collector would spend that much for this bike in the poor condition that it’s in. As a collector’s item even repainting detracts from the value as an original specimen. Anyone have an old English-made men’s 3-speed they want to give to a good home or sell to me for a reasonable cost? I might start looking at all the thrift stores and garage sales.
So far I have not had much luck with eBay. I have only tried it two times before and both times someone bid all crazy-like on items I thought were not worth as much as they were bidding. Either they know something I don’t about the value of an item, or they want it no matter how much it costs. And they will get it.
robisama ( 0 ) US $66.00 Mar-31-05 12:29:36 PST
aloyse_2 ( 0 ) US $65.00 Mar-31-05 12:20:11 PST
aloyse_2 ( 0 ) US $60.00 Mar-31-05 12:17:10 PST
robisama ( 0 ) US $55.53 Mar-31-05 10:32:57 PST
robisama ( 0 ) US $53.53 Mar-31-05 10:31:28 PST
robisama ( 0 ) US $50.53 Mar-31-05 10:28:51 PST
MY HIGHEST BID: ( 0 ) US $50.00 Mar-28-05 19:27:59 PST
robisama ( 0 ) US $40.53 Mar-31-05 10:27:59 PST
robisama ( 0 ) US $30.53 Mar-31-05 10:25:43 PST
robisama ( 0 ) US $23.53 Mar-31-05 10:24:57 PST
robisama ( 0 ) US $18.53 Mar-31-05 10:24:25 PST
robisama ( 0 ) US $15.53 Mar-31-05 10:23:38 PST
bbburke ( 31) US $10.00 Mar-29-05 22:46:22 PST
bbburke ( 31) US $5.00 Mar-29-05 22:00:46 PST
bbburke ( 31) US $2.00 Mar-29-05 22:00:21 PST
Some observations about my experience with eBay shopping:
1. It encouraged compulsive behavior in me, checking the site more frequently than I really had to in order to see if I was still winning the bid. But having someone surpass my highest bid solved that problem! ;-) Now I don’t have to check anymore.
1. The cost of shipping is stated in most cases, but it is something to consider when bidding. Depending on the item it could be more expensive than the item itself.
2. Because I’ve been outbid a few times now and my upper limit has been too low, I’m going to find a way to check the actual value of items before I start bidding on it. Maybe I’m wrong about my reasoning, but it would help me to know this value so I don’t feel bad about sticking to my highest bid number.
3. I was getting kind of excited about doing a bicycle restoration project and rebuilding something from frame up. But now I have to put that on hold until I find the right bike. I don’t need to do it, but the experience would be good for me, and it would give me a piece of history to ride around on for nice leisurely day trips in the English touring style, purposefully making as many stops as possible and sharing the company of other riders. Even if it takes all day to go 30 or 40 miles! Haha. But now that the bidding is over and I don’t have a bike that needs restoring that daydream will have to wait.
4. If people are so willing to spend their money on eBay items and pay for shipping, I should try selling some things up there. My sister does it all the time, and she says it’s easy. One of my co-workers does it and he says it’s easy. So all that stuff I didn’t sell at the garage sale that’s taking up space? Ebay? Anyone want an old electric typewriter? To me it sounds like more work than taking my things to the Goodwill or Salvation Army. If they don’t want it, then it’s probably not worth anything to someone on eBay. But then again, someone wanted to spend $66.00 for a really rusty Raleigh 3-speed that I was hoping to buy for .99 cents plus shipping.
Honestly I did feel kind of a let down when those other two bidders out-bid me. It’s ok, it was an experiment for me anyway, but I did still feel like I lost a contest or something. I’m actually glad I did not have to spend what I put down for a maximum bid, because I was feeling like that was even too high for that item. But then when I saw someone over-bid that maximum, I did think about raising my bid. That would have been irrational though, I think, so it was a fleeting thought.
I wonder if there are people who do not control themselves on eBay and end up getting a bad deal? I’m not saying this bike wasn’t worth what it will go for because I don’t really know the collector’s value of a bike in this condition without somehow looking it up. I guess any object is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.
This experience was valuable to me and I didn’t actually have to buy anything. How nice is that?
Posted by carl1236 at March 31, 2005 05:02 PM | Learning
Comments
You write:
"Because I’ve been outbid a few times now and my upper limit has been too low, I’m going to find a way to check the actual value of items before I start bidding on it."
A key thing: check completed auctions on similar items. You can check a box to search for completed auctions, and get an idea of how much the item typically goes for.
Also, I'm excited to hear about the Sibley Depot. I've been meaning to learn more about working on bikes, and that looks like a nice opportunity.
Posted by: Dan at March 31, 2005 10:15 PM
I agree with Dan on checking the prices paid for previous auctions for similar merchandise. Conventional eBay wisdom holds that it isn't generally worthwhile to buy bikes that are worth less than $100 because the shipping costs will increase the price substatially. Also, old Raleigh 3-speeds are pretty easy to find locally. Watch craig's list, garage sales, and thrift stores.
Posted by: Jim at April 1, 2005 08:47 AM
Also, One on One Bicycle Studio has a few nice old Raleighs in really good shape. I think they cost more than $50 (probably negotiable though), but they are known to last for a long, long time.
Posted by: Jim at April 1, 2005 08:49 AM
Thanks for the tips! I still have to check out One-on-One Bike Studio. It sounds like a really cool place.
And I discovered these old bikes with their totally upright position are kind of cool. Yesterday we were collecting those homeless bikes from the woods and a homeless guy came up to us and started asking what we were doing and he checked out our bikes. He commented on my friend's Cannondale bike with thin wheels on it, then he looked at my 1971 Schwinn Suburban Five Speed for a while, then said, "And you are riding and old 5-speed."
It's all fun.
Posted by: John at April 1, 2005 11:38 AM
I just checked my email from yesterday and found out that bike I bid on actually sold for $102.00! It was all rusted! wow. Is someone getting ripped off , being foolish, or are my sensibilities way out of whack? As I said I found almost mint condition bikes very similar to this in age and quality selling for 120 or less. Why is this one bike worth 102? And for me it would have been 132-152 depending on shipping costs. eBay is very strange to me.
Posted by: John at April 1, 2005 09:44 PM
Let me know if you find a better source for used Raleighs... I need to buy a bike, and I've always liked Raleighs.
Posted by: Kurtis at April 5, 2005 03:56 PM