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Premium Bikes
It is not hard to sell a premium bike- It is hard to sell a premium bike for premium prices.
This is even more true with a frame from a small builder. Other than 1-2 guys (like Richard Sachs)- the bike depreciates heavily. Probably 50% of purchase price immediately.
A well known brand like a Trek or Specialized will do a little better- But don't expect to recoup a large % of purchase price.
Reasons?
I think that we created part of this ourselves. Several years ago shops in the UK and other places in the world started selling parts, wheels, tires, frames etc. for much lower prices than in the USA. Some of the stuff was grey market, some just loss leaders. Free shipping included.
People on the interwebs (especially here) made it their lifes work to make sure everyone knew about these prices.
This did a couple things:
1.) It flooded the market with low cost gear.
2.) It created an artificially low floor for the pricing of used gear.
Say a derailleur sells for $400 retail (like a DI2 Dura-Ace). It also sells online from Wiggle for $299. This will likely drop the going rate for a used one to $150-200, maybe even less.
The other thing is the evolution of Ebay. It used to be a great sellers market for hobby type items like used bike gear.
But now with the current fee structure and also vendors selling tons of new gear- It is a less great place to sell your used gear.
Same for bike swaps- Used to be able to go to one and sell off lots gear and do well. Now you go to one and it is lots of shops selling their close-outs.
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