Used ebike market

[veloman]

I'm trying to sell a used ebike for $350. Having a real hard time. Just got an offer for $200. I live in a big cycling city. The ebike has a brand new battery (though it is SLA). This is not the first lower end ebike I've sold from listing on Craigslist. This one is a converted ebike, but it works great and has nothing wrong with it. It is a front brushed hub, so not the most desirable, but it's really smooth and silent.

I'm just having a hard time understanding why used ebikes has barely any value. New ones at the shop easily sell for $2500+ I can't get 15% of that. My ad states that I am an ebike technician, so it's not like it's some broken down POS that is a complete risk to the buyer.

I had one person come and ride it, she liked it, but was worried the range might not be enough (est 15 miles). At first she asked why it was so cheap. She recently was looking at new ebikes.

I'm about to part it out on here. I bet I could get $200 just for the bicycle alone and $200 for the kit on here. It's just a shame. I thought at $350, it would sell quick to someone wanting some cheap transportation that didn't leave them soaked in sweat. People have no problem dropping 350 on a used road bike here.

 

[bowlofsalad]

A lot of what people pay for things isn't for the thing itself, it's for the marketing. A lot of people go to a bicycle store because it looks and feels like a bicycle store, they aren't always 100% certain they want or need to spend the money on what they sell. I've worked in a lot of different industries and observed a lot of unusual behavior, a lot of humans seem to love bullshit, and adore things that look 'good' or have an edge in some way. Just giving it a few special features that don't even do anything useful and you'll find a dozen suckers who would pay double your price. "This bike was ridden by the king of paris." "This ebike is powered by (insert sexy sound chemistry) batteries, (insert celebrities name) helped design them! Cutting edge technology!"

For all you know, people expect to pay at least double what you are charging, and because of it's price they assume what you are selling is a POS or stolen. Their thoughts when they cross paths with your bike, "Ok 'mr technician', aka bicycle thief!"

If you need deeper illustration on this idea, go to a jewelry store, or a department store that sells dresses. You may learn a lot about human behavior through this. How something looks and how it's sold is -at least- as important as what it is and how functional it is. To go deeper into this subject without writing a novel, consider brand recognition and how it makes humans 'feel', "Oh damn, check out that dudes nikes! Sick!" Dresses are just fancy looking pieces of fabric stitched together, rings are just forged pieces of metal, usually paired with shiny rocks on it. Your bicycle has some real world use but some sucker isn't getting hooked because you aren't skilled at marketing.

 

[Russell]

Yeah, here in Wisconsin I see many E-Bikes go unsold for a long time on craigslist. Since most of my E-Bikes are conversions the three instances where I re-sold them I returned the bikes to normal and dumped them quickly on craigslist. The one commercial E-Bike I purchased new at an already closeout price I ended up selling for 1/2 what I paid even though It had maybe 100 miles on it.

I do hate selling items on craigslist because there are so many dufusses trolling that board who will waste your time with text messages and lowball offers. For big items however it is the most efficient method to get rid of items short of donating them. If you can ship a bike, which is a pain even with a normal bike, you can usually get far more on eBay than CL. If a bike has good parts on it then stripping it down and selling those individually can often add up to more money than selling the complete bike.

On the flip side the low resale value of E-Bikes works to someone's advantage if they are in the market to buy one. Heck that's the only way I might someday be riding one of those cool new Felt or Trek Bosch bikes :wink:

-R

 

[Eujangles]

Maybe people are thinking it's too cheap and there's gotta be something wrong with it.

Try selling it at $500 and let people 'negotiate' you down. They'll feel like they got a more expensive product at a steal, and you'll make your sale (hopefully).

 

[spinningmagnets]

I agree. Ask $500 with no battery (tell them the SLA only has half its life left)...slowly and regretfully allow yourself to be talked down to $450...and near the end of the negotiations, tell them the SLA battery will get thrown in for free.

Put an old sofa on the curb with a sign that says "free" and nobody wants it. Put a sign on it that says $60, and they will either talk you down to $20, or...they will steal it. People are funny creatures...

 

[teslanv]

I feel your pain. I am trying to sell one of mine without a battery. I've had it listed for 2 months. I am now considering including some kind of lithium battery just to move it, but don't want to invest in something high quality, because I sure won't get my money out of the battery. Need to figure out a way to make HK LiPo user-friendly, and sell it with $75 worth of Hardcase packs...

 

[John in CR]

$200 for a working lead powered ebike sounds about right to me. ESers attribute way too much value on what is essentially used electronic stuff, but the only thing I attribute decent value to is used batteries with low cycles, and that's because the cells and their connections have proven themselves in real world testing.

OTOH the girl who asked what's wrong with it is coming from the mindset that higher cost equates to higher value, a common trait exhibited even on ES, though you'll never catch me in that camp even if my friends and I just finished a "go ugly early" night and getting drunkenly stupid. I'll leave coyote ugly to others, ie look next to you in the morning and decide it's better to gnaw your arm off than wake her.

 

[t3sla]

Some people I've spoke to have found they sold more when they raised the price. It's a complex mix of market forces and psychology.

Try using the word refurbished, when you combine it with ebike technician your on a better standing.

 

[Chalo]

Dresses are just fancy looking pieces of fabric stitched together, rings are just forged pieces of metal, usually paired with shiny rocks on it.

Unlike those things, e-bikes reduce both your sex appeal and your status-- like it or not. It's hard to get people to spend their own money on something that makes them seem poorer, less desirable, and less respected than they would be without it. The stigma attached to bicycles has been lightening up a bit over the last few years, but e-bikes don't seem to be coming along for the ride.

If it's their idea, or they believe it is, it's a little easier for folks to spend on something like that.

 

[veloman]

The bike itself is worth $200. Yeh sla sucks compared to good lithium, but I've seen a lot of crappy lithium packs fail after a few yrs and maybe 100miles. Sla works and they are brand new. The motor is old tech but a budget consumer shouldn't care, it works fine and is a pleasure being so silent and smooth. It goes about 22mph too. All I know is if was a carless student on a budget, id love to pay a couple hundred more to get around town in this heat in a much faster pace and not sweaty. 50000 students 5 miles away.

The thing that gets me is that I often run into people in public who see my ebike and think its an awesome idea. Really. Today I had some guy pull up next to me and ask about it at 25mph. But the public doesn't want to pay more than a used plain bicycle price for it. The next step up for motors is a 50cc scooter and that's a different game with license and expenses. Easily over a grand.

 

[dogman dan]

Good thing that bike is worth 200 by itself. An old brushed hub, working, is barely worth $50.

Also good that lady didn't buy it, in summer the max range of those brushed hubs is 10 miles. Any further will melt them when its above 90F. It won't go far enough to melt on lead of course, so keep it a lead bike, or limit lithium to 10 ah.

 

[Joseph C.]

Up the price. Try six or seven hundred.

Edit: If they give you the full asking price and you still feel guilty you can always donate the excess to a charity.

 

[TheBeastie]

Yeah I agree with Bowlofsalad with the marketing...
I say put on a $5 USB DC stepdown power supply saying it can charge the latest iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy 8, then up the price by $200 and have make an offer option on the site.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XUSB+Step-down+Power+Supply+&_nkw=USB+Step-down+Power+Supply+DC+&_sacat=0

I this one has lasted me the longest, still working great, its noticeably more chunky then some of the cheaper ones so I guess thats why.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121284997402?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Annoyingly it doesn't have a voltmeter on it like some other ones, I did put one on it but some one took it off the converter/bike and left everything else believe it or not (they also tried to remove my S12S LCD ebike panel but gave up and left it hanging off the bike).

Anyway if you have the latest iPhone 6 charger port compatibility on it then its going to be a steal!
Worked for the iPhone gas stove in China.

 

[windtrader]

Sorry to hear about the sales trouble. The term marketing has been thrown around as a potential issue. Another way to look at what you are selling is it is a homemade DIY contraption.

The problem is the vast number of potential buyers have no clue about ebikes beyond the fact they have motors and batteries and a throttle to go without pedaling. So, like all consumers who have little knowledge of the substantive details of the product, one is marketed the BRAND as that possess the qualities to attract the buyer.

If you were to sell to an experienced ESer, you might get more since there is an appreciation for the components and their potential resale value.

Maybe add 90 DAY WARRANTY to increase the comfort of the buyer that if something breaks right away due to complete ignorance it will be made whole. Detune it to make sure it will survive and not be abused. Change a gear, change a controller setting, something to ensure the bike runs mo harder than 75% or whatever.

When someone buys a used car, one can get numerous 3rd party inspections to validate its condition. I suspect the shop where you work would not be inclined to put their business rep to back the sale up. If they would, your sale will be much easier as the buyer has some recourse if it breaks or is misrepresented (no intentionally, just saying).

Good luck.

 

[tomjasz]

The bike itself is worth $200. Yeh sla sucks compared to good lithium, but I've seen a lot of crappy lithium packs fail after a few yrs and maybe 100miles.

The first problem, IMO, there sre guys around here that rummage for bikes and sell them all in working condition for $25 single speed to $75 for a nice mountain bike. All bike that sold in their day at $500-600 in 2014 dollars. Secondly, all E bike stuff more than two years old may as well be 10 years old, unless it's some highe end uber popular motor with the ability to run like hell and have lots of power options. Unless it's a really desirable model of bike and motor it's just a used bike that's been motorized by a questionable source. I suspect my BBS01 motors lost half their valuefter 4 months use. I'd be shocked if I could get $500 for a $1400 investment. Sad but, welcome to American bicycling. Toys not transportation.

 

[windtrader]

Correct on the poor resale in general of older bikes. Additionally, an ebike has a lot of electronics and trying to sell electronics is even worse than bikes. Technology changes so fast, products are obsoleted quickly and their true condition is so much harder to discern. Thus a very low actual selling price. Combining used "toys" along with used "electronics" makes it very tough to achieve the seller's desired target.

 

[veloman]

Well, to be accurate, I didn't convert the bike. I bought it from someone who bought it from a local ebike shop (not the one I work with) who did convert it. It's not refined, it does have visible wires. But it's not a scary contraption either. (I've seen those for sale too). This bike is consumer ready.
I'm not losing money on it, but I thought I could get more than 200 or 250 for it.


It's just funny, because many of the manufactured ebikes, even the ones costing over 2500, they still have their problems.

 

[windtrader]

Feel the pain buddy. When home theater started up, I bought a used projector for $7500, a fair price at the time. It now sits in the garage in the wood crate and I can maybe give it away or pay to haul it to the dumps.

It's just funny, because many of the manufactured ebikes, even the ones costing over 2500, they still have their problems.

The issue has nothing to do with actual performance or quality. To a random consumer considering a ebike, it is not an identifiable branded product and all that is embodied with the brand. Another perception is that a branded product can be serviced and spares are available vs the question mark with a non branded item. The irony is a DIY ebike based on a common hub motor or a mid-drive would be far easier to service and find parts than a branded item that had a limited custom OEM drive. Anyway done here, good luck. If not for the SLA and TX I'd be interested Don

humm.. I wonder just how much it would be to box up in a bike shipping box. If you work at a shop you have plenty of them, just one less to cut up and crush. Ditch the batteries and drop the weight and hazardous shipping charges and we might have a deal

 

[tomjasz]

Feel the pain buddy. When home theater started up, I bought a used projector for $7500, a fair price at the time. It now sits in the garage in the wood crate and I can maybe give it away or pay to haul it to the dumps.

The phrase "on the bleeding edge" applies to E Bikes as well.