Re: [TheThinkTank] selling bikes, making bikes for yourself?

-- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Project Coordinator 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 On 9/18/07, Kyle McKinley cariadkyle@hotmail.com wrote: > > hi y'all- > > I don't think that Paul's secondary question about volunteers/patrons > fixing bikes and selling them outside of the co-op/project (ie on > Craigslist) was addressed, and I think is a good question for us to ask > ourselves. > > Clearly, many of our shops have a sturcture through which staff/volunteers > (maybe even trained patrons?) can fix a bike in the shop, sell it to a > patron who isn't interested in doing the work zerself, and split the money > with the shop in some equally agreeable manner. (I think the BICAS process > was already sketched out, Bike Church Santa Cruz deducts the wholesale of > new parts from the top, and splits the rest 50/50-- this does encourage some > 'cherrypicking' as Jessica of Freeride points out, and so a bike must be for > sale 'as-is' for one month before a mechanic can take it on as a floor-bike > project--does that make any sense). > > But how do different projects deal with patrons who use the shop as a > venue to fix up bikes and sell them on the street/at flea markets/ on the > web? What about patrons who are primarily interested in 'gleaning' parts > (digging through the parts everyday, buying the best ones and leaving)? What > do you do if a patron brings a different bike in every week, possibly using > your project as a chop shop for stolen bikes? > > Bike Church Santa Cruz tries to take serial numbers of bike as a deterant > for this last problem, and I believe that Bike Kitchen LA says you can't buy > a part unless you need it for the bike you have with you (which I don't > completely understand--if the bike is busted, how do you get it across town > to buy the parts?). Do other groups have other ideas on this? > > On a final note, I want to clarify that I am not necessarily opposed to > patrons using the shop as a space to fix bikes to sell; because of the glut > of cheap new bikes on the market, I think we all understand how difficult it > would be to sell the bike for enough money to pay oneself a resonable wage, > and I admire the resourcefulness of people who get by outside of formal > employment. But I don't like the idea of our shops/ our generosity being > taken advantage of, and less still the idea that people steal bikes, fix the > damage they have done with our tools, and then sell them on the street. I > don't believe in private property, but bike theft (much like the Magna full > suspension 'mountain bike') is a crime against the bicycle, and thus a crime > against humanity. > > yours, > > in long wind and long rides, > > kyle > > ------------------------------ > From: *freeridemp@riseup.net* > Reply-To: *The Think Tank thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org* > To: *"The Think Tank" thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org* > Subject: *Re: [TheThinkTank] selling bikes, making bikes for yourself?* > Date: *Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:30:21 -0700 (PDT)* > > > >Hey Paul (and Think Tank), > >Sounds just like what we have been doing here in Montpelier. We haven't > >had to worry about internet sales yet. Our sales also account for half or > >more of our income, and we sell whatever our volunteers care to fix up. I > >believe that any sales of goods are subject to sales tax in any state > >(they are in VT), and you didn't mention it, so I figured I would, > because > >tax evasion, while arguably awesome, is also potentially catastrophic. > >Colin Gunn > >Freeride Montpelier > >www.freeridemontpelier.org > >freeridemp@riseup.net > > > >P.S. Paul, I looked at your picture website, and we went to college > together! > > > >P.P.S. Everyone, I don't think anyone made it to BikeBike with info about > >our shop, but I am really glad we made it onto this email list. If you > are > >ever around central VT, please drop by! > > > >P.P.P.S Yes, I think we stole the name from Pittsburgh, but I don't know > >how. Thanks Free Ride! > > > > > > > Hi all, > > > > > > At the Mount Rainier Bike Coop in Mount Rainier, Maryland, a suburb of > > > Washington, DC, we are working how to sell our bikes that we > refurbish. > > > We > > > really don't have any fixed or regular costs; the city gives us the > space > > > (a > > > garage), so we just use our money on spare parts and tools. We have > an > > > earn-a-bike program so youth can build up bikes for us, learning > mechanic > > > skills, and then after fifteen hours of voluteering, the youths can > build > > > a > > > bike for themselves. Volunteers who have already put in 15 hours of > work > > > can basically just keep refurbishing bikes. No one gets paid anything > at > > > this point. Generally, at this point, we just sell our refurbished > bikes > > > in > > > one way or another. Do other shops do this? Also, presumably, > volunteers > > > could, after working fifteen hours, refurbish bikes for themselves, > and > > > then > > > sell them on craigslist or something. Do other coops have a policy > with > > > regards to refurbishing bikes for yourself, one after the other, and > then > > > selling them for your own profit? Or perhaps a system where you > refurbish > > > a > > > bike and then you have to give a certain percentage of the sale to the > > > coop? > > > > > > > > > -- > > > PJ Park > > > http://www.biketobrazil.blogspot.com > > > http://www.imagestation.com/members/pjpark > > > http://picasaweb.google.com/PaulJosephPark > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Thethinktank mailing list > >Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org > > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o... > > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o... > >