INCREASING SALES VALUE

A dirty, surface rust infected, and poorly tuned, bicycle will, absolutely, be perceived to be worth less, than an identical one, which has been properly prepared for sale.  Ask any used car sales person, which will attract the most buyers and fetch the most moola.

With this, nearly self evident truth in mind, ensure that you carefully, and thoroughly, clean your bicycle, before showing it to anyone, you intend to sell it to.  There is no way around this rule, if you wish to get top dollar, for your vintage bicycle, you must put its best foot forward - first time, every time!  You might not get a second chance.

Consider this lovely old Apollo Custom Sport.  As Found, with its chain hanging off, broken rear derailleur, failing spoke sets and furry paint, it is just about worthless to the average buyer.  Few people would look past the grime and disrepair, to give the bicycle a second chance.

Next, ensure that the bicycle is properly tuned up and ready to ride.  By ready to ride, one must ensure that it works properly and is safe to ride.  If it doesn't work properly, the potential buyer will loose interest, or offer less.  If unsafe to ride, and you allow a test ride, which turns into an accident, due to the bicycles unprepared nature, guess what?  You might be, and probably will be, liable for suit.

Certainly, both of the above requirements apply when selling a bicycle in person.  But what about when selling on-line?  Do they apply then?  The short answer is yes.  Yes, and a heck of a lot more preparation, believe it or not.

Since the on-line medium is the way to sell anything anywhere, these days, part of a bicycle's preparation for sale includes taking a good set of pictures.  Basically, you will need a minimum of twelve clear full and close up shots of the bicycle.  Both sides, three quarter front and rear shots help with the presentation.

For those close ups, certain parts of the bicycle need to be displayed, in detail.  The seat post lug, head tube lugs, drop-outs (front and rear), bottom bracket top (and/or side/bottom), seat stay brace, headbadge (if present), chrome plated surfaces (present oxidation, if present), fork crown,

Shots, taken from unusual angles, can still report detail and yet add more interest thanks to the unexpected perspective.  Consider the handlebars, drive train, triangles, forks and ask yourself how you can present them a wee bit differently.  Take the time to experiment and then compare the results.  Well taken and presented, pictures will help sell anything.

Components, particularly those of high end quality, need to be spotlighted also.  Ensure that you have pictures of the cranks, derailleurs, shifters, brake levers, brake callipers, pedals, hubs, handlebars, steering stem and any unusual component features that might help to set the bicycle apart.

Needless to say, that is more than twelve pictures.  Select those that best display your bicycle.  Do not waste potential customer's time with small, fuzzy shots that do nothing other than frustrate the viewer.  Do this part of the bicycle preparation well, and you will optimize your chances of getting a good price for the bicycle you seek a new home for.

Of course, if you seek to optimize how much you can sell a bicycle for, be prepared to part it out.  Parting out, simply put, is removing and selling the components, one at a time or as a complete group.  And, the frame set will be sold in a separate transaction.  Though more time consuming, this is the best way to get the most for what you have to sell.

NEXT - LOWERING THE PURCHASE COST