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Do bike shops offer part-exchange?

by parksey
Tue, Sep 23, 2014 11:28
9

Just a thought, but do many bike shops take bikes in part-exchange against new ones?

I've never seen any obvious stock of second-hand bikes on display in either my local independents, or places like Evans, which leads me to think that it's not something that bike shops tend to do. There is clearly a market for second-hand bikes out there, and so surely there must be money to be made by retailers in offering part-exchange?

I don't mean these schemes where you can effectively scrap a knackered old bike in return for a nominal discount on a new one, but a proper part-exchange where fair market value would be given for a bike based on its condition and perhaps with proof of purchase. It would definitely appeal to me if I could quickly and easily boost my budget by part-exchanging a bike, rather than going to the hassle of selling privately.

Similarly, if I was looking to buy a second-hand bike then I would personally rather pay a small premium to buy one from a bike shop, where it could perhaps be guaranteed for a short period of time, rather than just take a gamble with something bought from eBay.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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9 comments

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parksey | 10 years ago
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bdsl wrote:

What about the other end of the same question? Do people know trustworthy bike shops that sell second had prices at good prices? ...it would be nice to know I'm buying it from someone with a good reputation.

This was basically my thinking for enquiring about it. With some bikes costing more than you could buy a reasonable new car for, you'd assume there would be a market for decent, secondhand bikes sold through reputable stores? Thing is, I guess shops don't want to take that risk themselves anymore than I do, unless the provenance of a bike can be absolutely guaranteed.

stumps wrote:

Possibly due to the cycle to work scheme whereby you can get a good bike for what a lot of people are selling ther second hand ones for ?

This is a fair point too. My Trek was a C2W purchase, will cost me about £750 all-in against the £1k price. Prices for basically the same bike secondhand on eBay seem to sit between £600 and £700. I'd happily pay the extra £100 or so for a brand new bike than to gamble on how well a secondhand bike has been looked after.

I wonder too how many year-or-so old £1k bikes being offered secondhand on eBay or wherever are actually C2W bikes that *haven't* had ownership passed to the seller yet? Comments on places like the Cyclescheme Facebook page (and even occasionally on here) suggest that not everyone participating in these schemes fully understand how they actually work, so it wouldn't surprise me.

MaxP wrote:

but you get a lot less than you actually think you could get.

I think this is probably the crux for me. Even if I did find a store offering PX, the offer would be nothing like what I would want. I've been disappointed with PX prices for cars, phones and PlayStation games in the past, so why would I expect a trade-in price for a bike to be any better?

I did actually enquire in my LBS at the weekend and they said they don't offer part-exchange, just recommending me to eBay instead for offloading a bike. Their reasoning is that they do well enough on new bike sales not to worry about dealing in secondhand, and so wouldn't see themselves shifting the bikes in the sort of time that would make them any money. Fair point really, but this is the sort of store where a £1k bike is small fry for them, they've got people all the time splashing 6 grand without thinking.

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MaxP | 10 years ago
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Leisure lake bikes

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/

Do PX and buy bikes, but you get a lot less than you actually think you could get. Better off selling the bike yourself, just avoid Gumtree and the likes. People get aggressive when you don't accept there offer.

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bdsl | 10 years ago
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What about the other end of the same question? Do people know trustworthy bike shops that sell second had prices at good prices? At some point I may well want to buy a second hand bike, and it would be nice to know I'm buying it from someone with a good reputation who I can take it back to if things go seriously wrong too quickly.

I haven't heared about anything like that though - nearly all used bike sales seem to be direct from one rider to the next.

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Stumps | 10 years ago
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Possibly due to the cycle to work scheme whereby you can get a good bike for what a lot of people are selling ther second hand ones for ?.

My LBS does take in second hand bikes but they have to be in really good nick and be a viable future sale.

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comm88 | 10 years ago
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Unlike cars, there seems to be little or no value to second hand cycles - even when sold personally. I've seen a few cycle retailers who do offer used stock, but they are selling cycles aimed at family oriented riders - not serious roadies.

It's like cycle shops offering a recycling facility - there's none as far as I know that do! Yet, think how many chains and cassettes are thrown away every month. Saddles too. i'd like to think they don't all end up as landfill, but ...

We cyclists could help ourselves by implementing a service book procedure, like cars do, so that they user knows just what they are buying. If the bike comes with certified provenance and a properly logged service history then retailers would have an incentive to sell it on and the buyer would have the assurance needed to buy it. And resale prices would then reflect the control imposed by good rider practice.

Surely that would create a much-needed resale market for all of our used steeds that are still in excellent condition? Just a thought...

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glynr36 replied to comm88 | 10 years ago
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comm88 wrote:

Unlike cars, there seems to be little or no value to second hand cycles - even when sold personally. I've seen a few cycle retailers who do offer used stock, but they are selling cycles aimed at family oriented riders - not serious roadies.

There's value in mid-highend kit.
A mate sold a year old set a Mavic Kysruim SLS's for £450 on eBay about 6 weeks ago.

The high end kit is more desirable for one and is usually in better condition as people look after it better/it's better quality.
Very little goes second hand intp a cycle retailer as someone can get rid of the middle man trying to make their cut by selling direct, take a look on eBay, forums, the cycling classifieds on here & CyclingWeekly, plenty of second hand gear out there!

Quote:

We cyclists could help ourselves by implementing a service book procedure, like cars do, so that they user knows just what they are buying. If the bike comes with certified provenance and a properly logged service history then retailers would have an incentive to sell it on and the buyer would have the assurance needed to buy it. And resale prices would then reflect the control imposed by good rider practice.

What about people who are more than capable (and some times more capable than LBS mechanics) who look after their own kit? How do they get this 'stamp' and a FSH for the bike?
You're overthinking this massively.

A decent second hand market exists, it's just a peer to peer market, via the use of online meduims, not a bricks and mortar shop.

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parksey | 10 years ago
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Ok, perhaps I'll ask the question when I'm next in there.

Just a speculative thing really, the original plan to pick up a cheapish hybrid as a second bike has now resulted in me looking at the Whyte RD7 range, particularly the rather nice Suffolk...

At £1200 its over budget, unless I could part-ex a Trek Madone I bought last year (from the same LBS).

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Gkam84 | 10 years ago
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Most independents will take part exchanges on bikes that they already retail, but don't try them with a specialized when they retail cannondale or something else 19

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IngloriousLou | 10 years ago
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A friend of mine recently traded in his Defy against a new bike so some shops will do it.

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