Anyone can recommend a good place to sell a bike?

Danilene

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I've been trying to sell a bike second hand. I had a guy who seemed interested... but who's stood me up TEN times now. Obviously I'm at home a lot due to the Covid-19 situation but I have other things to do than sit around in the entrance (in case I miss the guy). Today I just spent nearly one hour and a half waiting for him outside my place (in case he struggled to find the address, which was his last excuse). He messaged me to say he was leaving his place 15 minutes after the end of our appointment slot.... then 20 minutes later messaged me to say that he couldn't find the house. He's got the house number, the street, the postcode, I've told him which part of town it lied (naming 'landmarks' such as nearby shops and supermarket). I am really ready to blow a gasket. From his messaging style I got the impression that he's either very young (and I'm really uncomfortable selling anything to a teenager) or special needs (ditto). Maybe that's just his 'style'. Anyway I've messaged him to say I was done wasting my time with him.
I have only had one other buyer, and there is no longer a bike shop in my town. Any idea where I could sell this bike, without having to bump the price down too much, and without too many no-shows?
Thanks in advance, and sorry for the rant!
 

Jon

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Since I would guess you don't want to package up the bike and post it I would say you options are

Ebay - Collection in Person
Facebook Marketplace
Gumtree
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Shpock
 

Danilene

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Cheers Jon. I had been using Gumtree, I'll try the others. I bet you the guy is going to show up on my doorstep unannounced, now that I no longer want to sell the bike to him! Now I understand why, every time I have an appointment at a NHS dentist, the secretary calls me 2 weeks before the appointment to confirm whether I'm going to turn up or not, then 1 week before the appointment, then 2 days before the appointment...
 

Danilene

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The guy who didn't turn up 10 times has been trying to book another appointment with me. I refused, he's started to insult me. I've reported him. I really don't feel safe now as he has my address, and I have another potential buyer who is coming tomorrow. I know there are quite a lot of chavs where I live, but this is really making me quite upset (I have been having stomach pains for the last couple of days - hadn't any for 6 years!)
Be careful when selling stuff online, folks, especially if it's stuff you can't send in the post!
 

homie

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Yeah, I always avoid having people come to my house if I can.

I bought some gold coins, long time ago, from ebay. Noticed it was local so asked if i could collect them, as then I could check they were ok and save on postage. When I went round there it was a little old lady selling off her deceased husbands collection. She had loads of gold and silver coins listed. It struck me that anyone could have done the same as me and got her address and would see by the listings she had all these valuable coins in the house. Bit risky.

I hope your next buyer buys the bike.
 

Danilene

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Old people will do that. Where I once worked, we received a handwritten letter from a guy who wanted to trade in a gold coin (a bullion I think) for stocks and shares. The gold coin was actually enclosed in the letter. It was worth a couple of hundreds of quids only, but he had sent it 1st class, not registered, or tracked, or anything! We sent it back to him, by recorded delivery, I added a list of places where he could sell it without getting fleeced, and explained he could then use the sale proceeds to buy stocks and shares, but we couldn't pick them for him, and he had to fill in the enclosed forms. He never got back to us, but the small parcel did reach its destination and he signed for it (I checked the signature matched that on the letter).
 

AWW

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I live near a corner shop, normally I meet people there as I feel safer that way :) (plus I can then buy ALL THE CHOCOLATE with the proceeds
 
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mabozza

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I sold 2 bikes a couple months ago..posted them on facebook marketplace and was inundated with messages... got 50 plus PMs within 5 mins of posting it... bikes were sold withing 10 mins (a pain having to reply to every single PM to say "sorry sold")
 
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Danilene

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I sold 2 bikes a couple months ago..posted them on facebook marketplace and was inundated with messages... got 50 plus PMs within 5 mins of posting it... bikes were sold withing 10 mins (a pain having to reply to every single PM to say "sorry sold")
Facebook Marketplace, hadn't thought of that one! I would have to go back on Facebook though. Not sure it's worth it, just for the sake of selling a bike!
 

Jon

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Old people will do that. Where I once worked, we received a handwritten letter from a guy who wanted to trade in a gold coin (a bullion I think) for stocks and shares. The gold coin was actually enclosed in the letter. It was worth a couple of hundreds of quids only, but he had sent it 1st class, not registered, or tracked, or anything! We sent it back to him, by recorded delivery, I added a list of places where he could sell it without getting fleeced, and explained he could then use the sale proceeds to buy stocks and shares, but we couldn't pick them for him, and he had to fill in the enclosed forms. He never got back to us, but the small parcel did reach its destination and he signed for it (I checked the signature matched that on the letter).
reminds me of when my parents would send me money in the post

like actual money

notes and coins!!

Postman was like ooooooooooh! Dosh!
 
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Danilene

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reminds me of when my parents would send me money in the post

like actual money

notes and coins!!

Postman was like ooooooooooh! Dosh!
Yeah, I used to live in a block of flats (reconversion), in central Bristol, ALL the mail would be stolen or opened (to check for money, gift vouchers etc.). We spent over 1 year demanding letter boxes (the postman would just dump the mail in the staircase). Not helpful as most of us were not in during the day.
During an Easter weekend, we had a tenants' meeting in the staircase (there were about 40 of us if I recall - only a dozen at at time attended the meeting, but it was pretty lively!). We all agreed to call the landlords on the morning of the next working day. The messages all went to voicemail, as usual... but at 4pm a workman came by and installed letter boxes for the 2 dozen flats or so.
Unfortunately they were the kind where, if you have thin wrists, you can retrieve (fish out) the mail without having the key... and it didn't solve the problem re parcels. During those years I regularly contacted Amazon to suggest they get 'lockers' in railway stations or the like for people like me who couldn't have stuff delivered at work and weren't at home during the day. When Amazon lockers became available, I was so happy!
 

Knopfler

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Hi @Danilene - don't forget to check with your relatives and close friends in case they know someone who is on the lookout for one. At least you won't have to deal with strangers that way.
Workplaces sometimes have noticeboards.

If you go the Ebay route, do NOT accept PayPal for any items that are collected. Unfortunately you cannot insist on cash only in the listing but I used to put, "local collection only due to the size and weight. Please pay cash on collection" in the description and changed the postage section accordingly.
Worked most of the time. If anyone insists on Paypal be on your guard
 

Danilene

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Thanks for the tip about PayPal. Does that mean that people can pay you, then reverse the transaction? I've had several people who wanted me to post stuff to them. I'm not a small business so I don't get cheap prices on postage!
 

homie

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In a dispute, if there's any shred of doubt then paypal will always side with the buyer and refund their money from your account. It's good for buyers but shitty for sellers. Best thing to do is to send everything by recorded delivery which will go some way to protect from item not received claims. It won't help if the buyer claims the item is damaged or faulty, but they will have to send it back to you to get the refund.
 

Danilene

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In a dispute, if there's any shred of doubt then paypal will always side with the buyer and refund their money from your account. It's good for buyers but shitty for sellers. Best thing to do is to send everything by recorded delivery which will go some way to protect from item not received claims. It won't help if the buyer claims the item is damaged or faulty, but they will have to send it back to you to get the refund.
Thank you, I didn't know that!
 

Knopfler

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Thanks for replying for me @homie - I wasn't on my pc yesterday. @Danilene, unless it has changed people have SIX MONTHS to put a claim in too.
And if they want to collect via a Courier that is a big NO NO too.

It is the main reason I stopped doing Ebay as my nerves would be shredded waiting six months until the money was really mine and the fact that in some cases the buyer gets the refund AND to keep the item. Ebay and PayPal usually side with the Buyer too or it can be a nightmare disputing things.
 

Danilene

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Thanks for replying for me @homie - I wasn't on my pc yesterday. @Danilene, unless it has changed people have SIX MONTHS to put a claim in too.
And if they want to collect via a Courier that is a big NO NO too.

It is the main reason I stopped doing Ebay as my nerves would be shredded waiting six months until the money was really mine and the fact that in some cases the buyer gets the refund AND to keep the item. Ebay and PayPal usually side with the Buyer too or it can be a nightmare disputing things.
Thanks. I nearly created a listing, but they charge a fee of 10% as well? I might as well put an advert in the local paper, it would probably cost the same!
 
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Danilene

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Not yet. I called in at a cash converter shop, they told me they would only take £20-£30 for it as they wouldn't be able to sell it for more than £60-£70! I think I might just as well start using again...
 

Knopfler

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@Danilene - looks like Ebay have a £1 Final Valuation Fee offer this weekend if you fancy listing it on there (starts on the 9th and ends on the 12th Oct), if you list it on the Sunday for 7 days you will basically cover 2 weekends of viewing to increase your chances of selling.
Put it as a 'collection only/local collection' item (or whatever terminology they use these days), in the postage section AND put something like 'due to the size and weight, item is for local collection only. Please pay cash on collection.

If it sells and they pay you via PayPal, refund them via PayPal and ask them for cash on collection instead (worked okay for me in the past). If they insist on still paying by PayPal I would maybe consider cancelling the sale altogether.

Worth a try, especially if you don't use Ebay alot. Good luck.

Oh, and make sure that you don't have it 'auto-listed', otherwise if it does not sell this time, you will have to pay a far higher Final Valuation Fee if it gets re-listed automatically.
 

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