Entertaining eBay Story

[Don49]

Here's an account of a recent eBay experience that some might find entertaining.

I decided to sell my 2002 Titus Racer-X (Hammerhead H100 frame) mtb on eBay as a complete bike. It was a fairly high end build with a CK wheelset, and mix of XT and XTR, plus name brand components. So it sold for about $1k to a buyer from an eBay store selling bike components.

Looking around eBay a week after the sale I found my entire Racer-X, now for sale as individual components at the eBay store. It had been completely reduced to the smallest component level (grips, chain, skewers, etc) with each component as an individual auction.

I'm not finding any fault with the buyer, although I do feel a little shocked and remorseful, like my race horse ended up at a glue factory. So I'm following the pieces of my former bike with interest to see what the total sale price will be. I'm guessing they make about 20% by parting out a bike this way.

[vqdriver]

i'm curious to know the total value they get by doing that.
but seriously, used mtb grips? c'mon.

[dannyg1]

I had the exact thing happen to my Serotta 50th Club Special recently and it made my heart thud to the floor to have seen the bike parted out (Who could do that to a 50th anniversary frame matched to an under #5000 Campagnolo 50th anniversary group?).

The fact that the pieces sold for over 3x what the guy paid me for them didn't make me feel any better. I do admit though, watching him get over $6000 for that bike was spectacular.

[tmessenger]

With ebay and paypal fees figure around 15% of the sale price so his break even is $1,150 + whatever he paid for shipping and his time to re-market and ship the individual parts.

[Don49]

i'm curious to know the total value they get by doing that.
but seriously, used mtb grips? c'mon.

Yup. These were my grips:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ODI-YETI-LOCK-GRIPS-24-Value-/120560147193?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c11f1daf9#ht_1175wt_1167

[vqdriver]

just checking out the guys feedback. he really scored on that ellsworth for a 1000.

[Moontrane]

I met someone in the car business who buys new cars and trucks and sells the parts. He said that he makes a lot more than he pays.

[54ny77]

wasn't it a light blue (or something like that)?

if so, i think i remember that bike. wasn't it listed here?

I had the exact thing happen to my Serotta 50th Club Special recently and it made my heart thud to the floor to have seen the bike parted out (Who could do that to a 50th anniversary frame matched to an under #5000 Campagnolo 50th anniversary group?).

The fact that the pieces sold for over 3x what the guy paid me for them didn't make me feel any better. I do admit though, watching him get over $6000 for that bike was spectacular.

[daker13]

I can see the attraction of making a little money on the flip, but I think if I found myself trying to come up with a rah-rah description for a pair of used mtb grips, I'd want to shoot myself.

[AngryScientist]

there is a popular bike shop here in the nyc area that will take bikes on trade in or whatever and break them down fully and e-bay them for you. apparently this always raises more $$

[Don49]

I can see the attraction of making a little money on the flip, but I think if I found myself trying to come up with a rah-rah description for a pair of used mtb grips, I'd want to shoot myself.

Yeah, but the guy's pretty poetic,

"Developed in conjunction with the world's top riders, the Yeti Hardcore Grip offers the perfect balance between comfort and performance. The large reversed Yeti logo pad absorbs vibration to reduce numbness while the smaller logos provide additional traction."

I wish I'd been more attentive to their virtues while I still owned them.
Oh well.

[BengeBoy]

I'm getting ready to "kill" a vintage bike I restored. It's worth much more dead, and parted out, than alive.

[rugbysecondrow]

mo money, mo money mo money!

[pbjbike]

Best way to avoid the 'should haves', IMO, is to not follow up on your item or the Buyer's auctions...Tracking things in their new life only leads to heart break. :crap:

[Marcusaurelius]

As someone said ebay/paypal fees add up in a hurry. You don't really found the damage till the end of the month that being said I've seen used campagnolo bits sell for much more than I paid for the stuff new.

[vqdriver]

he's making up most of it on the shipping.

[fogrider]

Yup. These were my grips:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ODI-YETI-LOCK-GRIPS-24-Value-/120560147193?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c11f1daf9#ht_1175wt_1167
hey, if you need a good pair of grips, you need a good pair of grips! complete bikes are a gold mine! I bought a complete cross bike and the guy had a set of campy record hubs with ambosiso rims and competition spokes...we're talking 1400 gram wheelset here. guys that sell compete bikes just want to get rid of the bike to make room for the next project...ebay stores are on the hunt for parts.

so did you tell him how many miles on the bike?