Why is it hard to sell a Second Hand Mountain Bike in SA

[MORNE]

24 minutes ago, cadenceblur said:

But wait! those are rim brakes - you need to upgrade!! if not for anything else -  for the vastly superior stopping power that awaits

 

[GLuvsMtb]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

everybody wants 5 star treatment, fancy shiny dealerships that also offer aftersales service and qualified staff, but nobody wants any % of the cost of all of that to come from their purchase.

This thread proves the opposite. People are willing to pay a premium on the true value of an item (the secondhand value) for:
- Choice of spec, colour and size
- Sales and product expertise 
- Warrantee
- The option to finance the bike
- A pleasant retail experience 

[Mook]

21 minutes ago, MORNE said:

 

And then click bait in this shape comes around ....................... some might call it resourceful advertising. I'd rather not print my opinion 💩

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/road-bikes/833440/omega-v-max-ii-50cm-see-description

[LazyTrailRider]

19 minutes ago, Mook said:

And then click bait in this shape comes around ....................... some might call it resourceful advertising. I'd rather not print my opinion 💩

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/road-bikes/833440/omega-v-max-ii-50cm-see-description

They had me at Pazzaz.

[Zebra]

19 hours ago, Jaco Steyn said:

But, I did a bit of online searching before I bought it, if I purchased that same bike locally in South Africa, it would have cost me ±R45 000. That just goes to show how much of a mark-up we have to endure in South Africa.

 

Mark-up; yes, and…no! You do not mention how MUCH discount you received, to get the bike ‘down’ to R22.5k, maybe it was R35k, then that would put a bit more perspective, and bring it a fair bit closer to the ‘SA’ price? possibly. Not arguing about mark-ups, which DO seem high in Sunny SA, but we ARE the back end of the world, probably low sales VOLUMES, and, and, and.

But i D-O agree with your sentiments!
Cheers

Chris

Edited July 19, 2025 by Zebra
Edited for context

[ChrisF]

On 7/16/2025 at 10:05 PM, daveno7 said:

who can exactly ? l look at the commuters at work who ride in...not a new bike to be seen...sometimes a few disc bikes buts the average bike age in about 5 years or even more...Rims etc..

you have to know what will suit your needs...

 

You dear sir are not going to make it in sales, nor in marketing .....

 

Sales and marketing LOVES "sports enthusiasts" !!  The most gullible market !!  

 

I was reading something a pro-photographer posted.  I know him, and I know his work, as well as his gear.

 

EXCELLENT photographer.  He has the "eye" for his trade.  He has the patience and skill the catch the best photo.  Yet he uses decent, but not the latest, equipment.

 

In fact, very few professional photographers use the very latest kit .... except guys like Grant, Justin and Riaan who are "brand ambassadors" ...

 

Go to a photography club.  Look at the amateurs if you want to see THEE latest and best equipment ....

 

 

 

And by the way ..... camera equipment has barely better secondhand value than bicycles.

 

Yes, the pro's love the amateurs .... especially those that cash in after a few months ....

[ChrisF]

9 hours ago, MORNE said:

Might have popped up here somewhere already…if so, apologies. 

A while back someone created a thread querying why their basically new (2023?), high end Trek wasn’t selling for something ridiculously low like R35k or something.  They were reminded that Trek decided to shaft him by selling the top end full carbon model on one of their ‘stock purge sales’ for 10-15k more than his asking price. 

Lets be clear, the big cookie cutter brands controlling the supply chain, then purging R100-150k bikes for less than half price -  are a big part of the problem. Also why smaller brands need to do flash sales to keep up and/or go bust…latest one being YT. 

So…it’s hard to sell a second hand bike if its not something particularly special or unique, there are 14 variants of it already in classifieds, and you can get a new version next month on a flash sale for the same price as secondhand. These points all of course feed each other too.

 

 

A friend wanted to get into cycling, but was torn between new being too expensive and not comfortable with the risks of a secondhand bike.

 

I told him to wait out the holiday period, and by late January he picked up a Trek for some 30% off ....

 

These sales are so predictable.  You just need a bit of patience.  And thus the astute buyer KNOWS that the "good 2nd hand price" is actually too close to the flash sale price.  My last couple of bikes were all bought on these flash sales.

 

SAD for the person that paid full price for the bike .... but it is what it is ....  (been there myself, paid the school fees and framed the T-shirt)

[Jaco Steyn]

18 hours ago, cadenceblur said:

But wait! those are rim brakes - you need to upgrade!! if not for anything else -  for the vastly superior stopping power that awaits

My average speed of 28 - 30km/h does not justify spending money on something that has not bothered me ever since I got that bike. 

But, the itching to do some upgrades are definitely beginning to develop...😉The pensioner's income is unfortunately damping that itch.   

[DJR]

On 7/19/2025 at 7:11 AM, Jaco Steyn said:

My average speed of 28 - 30km/h does not justify spending money ............

Ha ha, yes, I also had a laugh at myself a couple of years ago when I looked at an aero road bike ....... at my average speed I'm not so sure aerodynamics play that much of a role ........... besides ......... with a rider of a certain width it becomes somewhat of a farce to get a skinnier bike.

[DieselnDust]

On 7/18/2025 at 12:28 PM, Jaco Steyn said:

I bought my bike, a Pinarello FP Quatro, brand spanking new while I was on a training course in the UK. The bike shop in Chester had a sale to make space for the next summer season's stock. I bought it as a "from dad, to dad" birthday present for me in February 2011 for R22 500 and I think my credit card to this day has not yet fully recovered from that purchase😁. 

But, I did a bit of online searching before I bought it, if I purchased that same bike locally in South Africa, it would have cost me ±R45 000. That just goes to show how much of a mark-up we have to endure in South Africa. That bike now is just over 14 years old and will probably last me till I am too old to cycle anymore. I am 62 years old currently, so hopefully another 10 - 15 years.

Below is the first photo I have taken of my bike after getting back to South Africa. 

Was that purchase from The Bike Factory run by Dave Quinn jnr?

[NotSoBigBen]

46 minutes ago, DJR said:

Ha ha, yes, I also had a laugh at myself a couple of years ago when I looked at an aero road bike ....... at my average speed I'm not so sure aerodynamics play that much of a role ........... besides ......... with a rider of a certain width it becomes somewhat of a farce to get a skinnier bike.

Makes me think of something a pro from long ago told me in his shop sometime in the early 80's  when I was looking at bikes

Asked what kind of riding I was doing ... he never had much tact, some will remember (AvH)

'Don't bother at your current level the bike is not the problem'

Same oke that told me 'just wear one sock and save the money' while I was obsessing over the weight of a component I saw on sale

[Jaco Steyn]

1 hour ago, DieselnDust said:

Was that purchase from The Bike Factory run by Dave Quinn jnr?

I do not know about the owner, but yep, that was the bike store I purchased it from. We passed that bike shop a couple of times on our way to Winsford each day where the course we were attending was presented. It was a course on the operating, servicing and maintenance of an online process magnetic sector mass spectrometer.

On my birthday (24th of February), which was on the Thursday, the second last day of the course, we stopped there. I first wanted to take a newer bike with a full Shimano 105 groupset, but decided on the slightly older Pinarello with a full Shimano Ultegra set on it. They both were the same price.

[DieselnDust]

4 hours ago, Jaco Steyn said:

I do not know about the owner, but yep, that was the bike store I purchased it from. We passed that bike shop a couple of times on our way to Winsford each day where the course we were attending was presented. It was a course on the operating, servicing and maintenance of an online process magnetic sector mass spectrometer.

On my birthday (24th of February), which was on the Thursday, the second last day of the course, we stopped there. I first wanted to take a newer bike with a full Shimano 105 groupset, but decided on the slightly older Pinarello with a full Shimano Ultegra set on it. They both were the same price.

Thats a great shop. I was a regular there when I lived in Chester. The owner stems from a line of track cyclists, They were the biggest  Pinarello and Specialized dealer in the NW. When the concept store became a thing Dave had to slit the store down the middle to appease the Spaz Gods. You'll be happy to know that I bought a Dave QUinn Road bike from them when I lived there as well as a Principia. The Quinn cracked a few years after i moved back to SA and Dave warrantied the frame, no issues. HE sent me  Pinarello Galileo to replace the Quinn. Good people in that shop

[agentorenge]

On 7/13/2025 at 9:26 AM, Bro Derek said:

So is your bike older than 4 or 5 years?

If so, it's not worth 30k?

Agreed, of it is used properly, a 200k bike is worth 50 after 5 years if you are lucky. 

[Dicky DQ]

Why would anyone expect more than 50% of the "New Price" when selling 2nd hand.
What is a MTB made up of?
Frame different between suppliers (but similar factory in China)
All the same forks to choose from
All the same shocks to choose from
All the same drivetrains to choose from.

after X riding hours they need to be serviced or replaced. That is where the cost lies. Now do I trust a guy/gal saying it was never ridden hard, they always cleaned the bike as it should be cleaned and never rode it in mud/water/whatever.

An MTB apart from the frame is a consumable item, so a 2nd hand buyer needs to estimate the ware on those parts. Damn 50% after a year is a good deal for the seller if the bike has been ridden.
 

[The Ouzo]

On 7/20/2025 at 9:04 AM, NotSoBigBen said:

Makes me think of something a pro from long ago told me in his shop sometime in the early 80's  when I was looking at bikes

Asked what kind of riding I was doing ... he never had much tact, some will remember (AvH)

'Don't bother at your current level the bike is not the problem'

Same oke that told me 'just wear one sock and save the money' while I was obsessing over the weight of a component I saw on sale

hahahaha

Many years ago I walked into my LBS and wanted some easier gearing, shop owner, also old school, told me to save my money and train more, I'd then get used to the gearing I had.