Is the 2nd hand market dead?

[Ozzie NL]

On 5/10/2023 at 11:49 AM, DanMan said:

I think there is ceiling price of around 40k for a secondhand bike. Any higher and the buyer could just consider buying new even if it's a lower model. I don't see people spending 100K on secondhand bike even if it was new 200K plus.

I do think people need to realize that market value has a cap for 2nd hand bikes. You would be lucky if you can get more than 50% of the original price of your bike. If you want to sell you need to be comfortable selling at a lower price than what you expect your bike is worth. That might be the only offers you get...

Have bought multiple 2nd hand bikes well north of R40k mark ... not sure if I'm an outlier in that sense but quite a few mates have done the same

[dre]

First off - I only read the first 2 pages, and skipped right here to add my 2 cents. 

I have been away from this forum for a few years (got busy), and came back here to sell a used Spez DS 26" that is not being used anymore, and then someone makes this thread. 

Not cool 😜

*Any way, as with most people I need some cash, so if someone wants a 26" dual susp with 140mm travel, go check the classified 😉 

[DanMan]

42 minutes ago, Ozzie NL said:

Have bought multiple 2nd hand bikes well north of R40k mark ... not sure if I'm an outlier in that sense but quite a few mates have done the same

My observation could be inaccurate or like you said you and your mates are the outliers but who will know? It would be interesting to know when you spend that kind of money on a secondhand bike did you not consider buying new? And what made you decide buying that bike instead of new? 

[Ozzie NL]

4 minutes ago, DanMan said:

My observation could be inaccurate or like you said you and your mates are the outliers but who will know? It would be interesting to know when you spend that kind of money on a secondhand bike did you not consider buying new? And what made you decide buying that bike instead of new? 

In all cases we could pick up a top level bike (~2y old) at around 50% of the new price. Think that answers both questions?

[MORNE]

Ok ok…ill post one 

Ive paid R50k for a used bike without wheels haha🤷🏻‍♂️

but it’s not a cookie cutter bike you can just walk into any bike shop to buy and it was roughly 50% cheaper than what it would have cost to build myself. I don't own ‘mass produced’ bikes.

so i was happy buying it. It was available and it tickled my interest, pressed my buttons, got the juices flowing and i was willing to spend the money to get it. And I love it. It really is that simple.

[Robbie Stewart]

4 minutes ago, MORNE said:

Ok ok…ill post one 

Ive paid R50k for a used bike without wheels haha🤷🏻‍♂️

but it’s not a cookie cutter bike you can just walk into any bike shop to buy and it was roughly 50% cheaper than what it would have cost to build myself. I don't own ‘mass produced’ bikes.

so i was happy buying it. It was available and it tickled my interest, pressed my buttons, got the juices flowing and i was willing to spend the money to get it. And I love it. It really is that simple.

ja. but to be fair, farm gates for the most part go for much cheaper . . . 

[MORNE]

1 minute ago, Robbie Stewart said:

ja. but to be fair, farm gates for the most part go for much cheaper . . . 

You say farm gate, I say adult size. Hey my steel sled looks nothing like a farm gate, neither does my new hardtail👀

[Robbie Stewart]

6 minutes ago, MORNE said:

You say farm gate, I say adult size. Hey my steel sled looks nothing like a farm gate, neither does my new hardtail👀

this is true. Can't deny that logic . At least it is able to do proper sending down some proper gnar.

wait wait, did the man just say "new hardtail" ? Pichas?

 

[MTBRIDER1234]

18 minutes ago, MORNE said:

Ok ok…ill post one 

Ive paid R50k for a used bike without wheels haha🤷🏻‍♂️

but it’s not a cookie cutter bike you can just walk into any bike shop to buy and it was roughly 50% cheaper than what it would have cost to build myself. I don't own ‘mass produced’ bikes.

so i was happy buying it. It was available and it tickled my interest, pressed my buttons, got the juices flowing and i was willing to spend the money to get it. And I love it. It really is that simple.

I only buy 2nd hand bikes. Period. The depreciation on  new bikes is far too significant to make me even think about buying one.

Building up my bike, I bought a mixture of good condition 2nd hand parts, and some new. It ended up costing me 15k or so less than what that bike would have been worth in the 2nd hand market. I am saying this because there were a few of the same bike with a similar, or lesser spec for sale for far more than what it cost me. So people very often overestimate how much it costs to build up a bike if you are patient, and able to spot good deals. 

[The Ouzo]

6 minutes ago, MTBRIDER1234 said:

f you are patient, and able to spot good deals. 

This is the crux of it. Immediate  gratification has a price. Not many have the will to wait, and some the ability to collect the correct parts and assemble the bike.

[MTBRIDER1234]

4 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

This is the crux of it. Immediate  gratification has a price. Not many have the will to wait, and some the ability to collect the correct parts and assemble the bike.

Yep. It was a long and honestly pretty time consuming process to source everything. Countless hours of scouring the classifieds, making calls, sending emails and WhatsApps etc. but the stoke the bike has given me, the money saved and the fun of building it made the process worth it for me.

But it won't be for everyone. Or most people for that matter. Building a bike isn't that easy for everyone (routing cables, bleeding brakes, setting up tubeless, spacing the BB, setting gears, and so on...) means that for the average rider it is out of the question to do it entirely on your own. This isn't even including how damn expensive all the bike specific tools you need are...

[MORNE]

41 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

this is true. Can't deny that logic . At least it is able to do proper sending down some proper gnar.

wait wait, did the man just say "new hardtail" ? Pichas?

 

Still building it….see post above lol. 
but saw a frame at the @droo’s and (see second to last post above) instant gratification called🤣

but my reasons are sound (i tell myself). I mean N+1 and all, but also…most of tygerberg is pretty boring on a 160mm shredsled. So a trail hardtail firs the bill perfectly.

Edited May 12, 2023 by MORNE

[Robbie Stewart]

18 minutes ago, MORNE said:

Still building it….see post above lol. 
but saw a frame at the @droo’s and (see second to last post above) instant gratification called🤣

but my reasons are sound (i tell myself). I mean N+1 and all, but also…most of tygerberg is pretty boring on a 160mm shredsled. So a trail hardtail firs the bill perfectly.

If I had the spare dosh lying around a proper trail HT sounds like a ton of fun. Even more so if I built one myself. Maybe that's not a complete bad idea after all. mmmmmm.

[MORNE]

8 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

If I had the spare dosh lying around a proper trail HT sounds like a ton of fun. Even more so if I built one myself. Maybe that's not a complete bad idea after all. mmmmmm.

 

[RRIBike]

On 5/10/2023 at 11:49 AM, DanMan said:

I think there is ceiling price of around 40k for a secondhand bike. Any higher and the buyer could just consider buying new even if it's a lower model. I don't see people spending 100K on secondhand bike even if it was new 200K plus.

I do think people need to realize that market value has a cap for 2nd hand bikes. You would be lucky if you can get more than 50% of the original price of your bike. If you want to sell you need to be comfortable selling at a lower price than what you expect your bike is worth. That might be the only offers you get...

Do you perhaps work for WeBuyBicyles? Either you do or they read your post.

[LazyTrailRider]

4 hours ago, DanMan said:

My observation could be inaccurate or like you said you and your mates are the outliers but who will know? It would be interesting to know when you spend that kind of money on a secondhand bike did you not consider buying new? And what made you decide buying that bike instead of new? 

I’ve bought and sold multiple bikes worth double that. When a year old *mint* condition bike with 300km on it can be had for R80k instead of R110k, it’s a no-brainer.