At re-CYCLES (in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) we try to take a practical approach to pricing by balancing the need to keep our prices affordable while still paying our rent. A couple of years ago we adopted a 2 pronged system. Nicer bikes (basically those without stamped steel brakes) are completely overhauled (stripped to the frame) and priced between $80 and $200 (with the odd exceptional case priced higher) while the cheap bikes that don't need too much work are tuned up and sold as-is for between $20 and $100. This has kept our average bike price in the $65 range for the last 2 years.
We have actually been making a steady profit for the last few years (which is a bit uncomfortable for our non-profit organization). We are currently working on acquiring a larger shop to meet demand and are hoping to increase our throughput to cover the increased cost while holding our bike prices at the current levels for the foreseeable future.
Chris
--- Velocipede Bike Project info@velocipedebikeproject.org wrote:
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.
that's just my point, it's requires a huge pool of knowledge to accurately price bikes. More than I have, and much more than the average collective member. Using the "halfing method" assumes that you know the original price of the bike. Plus the "art" of the whole thing in my mind means pricing can become relatively arbitrary. We've had a few situations where two people with similar amounts of knowledge about this type of thing priced bikes at wildly different prices. If you look on craigslist in the baltimore area people are selling bikes at crazy prices. Sometimes someone will be asking 300 for a mongoose mountain bike from walmart, and then the next add will be 25 bucks for a classic road bike. Since using bikes as transport and not as recreation is a relatively new idea in this area of the country there isn't a standard for fair market value and it's hard to come up with a fair price by looking at what other bikes are selling for in the area. Also I find that E-bay prices are often artificially inflated. It makes it hard for us to figure out prices for the things that we sell.
So what I'm wondering is, is there enough demand these days to approach someone in the publishing world to create a resource that compiles at least the original prices(taking inflation into account) of bikes we all are seeing daily. Or is there a good resource out there already to get that kind of information? If someone really needs a bike and can't volunteer for it we make sure they can afford it, but generally we don't want to undersell, because that can lead to flipping bikes and also selling bikes is how we pay the bills.... -beth velocipede bike project baltimore, md
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)
Chris Wells (Head Mechanic & Email Handler)
re-Cycles Bicycle Co-op 112 Nelson St. Ottawa
Open 6pm-9pm Tuesdays & Thursdays
info@re-cycles.ca http://www.re-cycles.ca/