Would a Bike Prices Wiki work? Seems like publishing something wouldn't keep up with trends, and, since its used bikes, wouldn't have the pay off in advertising, etc. that an auto blue book has.
Someone could post a bike and let everyone go at it. Comments, discussion and regional pricing included. Cites to local shops, craigslist, and esteemed commentators encouraged.
And, as much as this would help us by shortening those pricing arguments, it would be an even greater help to the bike illiterate who search craigslist and don't know whether they're getting ripped off, so don't buy a bike or get sold on way too much bike at an aggressive LBS.
Would people - us & the rest of the cycling community - be willing to do the maintenance? Or would the resource be irrelevant since we all have different priorities, business models, & audiences?
- Colin
On Feb 10, 2008 12:30 PM, Jonathan Morrison jonathan@slcbikecollective.org wrote:
- The Kelley Blue Book for cars is also affected by region too. We have
a unique issue because to keep our shop from getting too full we sell the bikes for next to nothing, or give them away to people who have a letter from a good will agency, just so they don't start stacking up. Working Bikes in Chicago is a great example of an organization who makes their margins in quantity.
-- Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/ On Feb 10, 2008 12:17 AM, Angelo Coletta ruotangelo@yahoo.com wrote:
While there is no comprehensive pricing book for cycles, there are ones that have been done for those who collect "classic American bikes(1930 to 1960)"
I have used a halfing method for appraisal. $200 was the new selling price; 1yr old $100; 2yr $50.00 and so forth. That is a base line. Then comes the art and the subjective: condition, desirability, rarity. Any up-fitting done? Frame type and size. Component quality. Accessories. All factors that affect value. Also there is the wholesale price and the retail price. That would reflect any labor invested in making the unit saleable.
Hope this helps.
Angelo
*Velocipede Bike Project info@velocipedebikeproject.org* wrote:
So here are two hare brain ideas that have been thrown out here in baltimore and i wanted to get y'alls take on them...
- a bicycle blue book...we were talking about pricing bikes and how
arbitrary it often seems,(often two members will claim wildly different prices with equal authority and citing the same number of sources) and someone mentioned that in this time of the growing bicycle collective/community shop projects there may be enough of a market to be able to approach a publisher about creating a blue book that would price for instance, a 1982 murray...I know this sounds crazy, but I was wondering how crazy was it really....
- Someone approached us recently about a bio friendly parts cleaner.
Apparently it has enzymes that eat oil so less bad stuff going into the environment/less exposure to toxic chemicals ourselves. He said he may be able to get us a machine for free, but it would cost around a grand to fill it up. does anyone have any experience with this kind of machine or technology? Is it worth our time and fundraising? I've been thinking alot lately about ways to make our shop more green friendly by doing things like cutting down on plastic use and using vinegar and baking soda as cleaners instead of bleach and such...
http://www.biocircle.com/portal/page?_pageid=73,394253&_dad=portal&_...
what do y'all think? am I crazy? -beth velocipede bike project baltmore, md(hey, try to remember to include your city and shop in posts)
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