Selling a bike is irritating

[Rudemouthsky]

  I think the most irritating thing of all is people trying to make you apologize for things you're not sorry for. The fingernail size gouge in the frame from where I squeezed a spanner in to tighten the DP breather...the scuffs on the tank where my keyring always hit...the fact that you don't like my pipe wrap or color scheme...boo fukn' hoo. All these things including the imperfections are what make it YOUR bike. I can empathize with these sentiments to a degree, the strategy buyers employ is to nit pick everything they can, basically go through and insult/put down the machine so they can make a lower offer. That works with car buying but it's offensive with a bike. I'll turn down offers that are above my threshold simply because I don't like the person. This is def going to be the last bike I sell, and I'm beginning to lean towards not selling it at all.

Tip: if you want a better price on something you're haggling for; offer what you're willing to pay and simply say that it's what you can afford. Works way better than being an aggressive, pushy a-hole.

[Skybarney]

I have the following response when dealing with those types of buyers.  "You don't like it, don't buy it" If they continue at all I follow that up with "I am a busy guy and this is not going to work out for us so I have decided not to sell it you, ciao". 

[Rudemouthsky]

   There are just as many if not more "Craigslist Crackhead" shoppers as there are sellers IME. There are ones who call, ask questions that are already answered in the ad...then follow it with an awkward heavy breathing filled silence. I don't even want some of these fu*kers knowing where my wife and I live lol

[MidnightRambler]

I just went though selling a 68 mustang I'd had for 15 years and had customized the way I liked it.  Same damn thing. My response was to simply refuse to lower the price for those people.   The guy I ended up selling it to was the one who came over and talked for an hour about the mods I'd done that he really liked, the ones he was planning on changing, and told me he wanted to take me for a ride in it after he got it fixed up the way he liked t.  Took a couple months to find a decent buyer, just hang in there.

[joshuajcrouch]

Relax man.  It is going to take time to find the right person for your bike.

Perceived value will always be different than the appraised value.

Thats why its so critical to have the patience to find the right person.

[duc_fan]

I was fortunate to be selling a nicer-than-normal 900SS.  My asking price was way on the high end of the scale, so dealers and crackhead buyers just didn't bother.  It took about 1.5 weeks, but the first guy who came to look was a very responsible, upstanding type who drove in from out of town.  Brought his Ducatisti friend with him.  They looked it over, knowledgeable friend rode it around the parking lot to make sure it all worked as advertised, we settled on a price, and made arrangements for payment and pickup.  They showed up with an enclosed trailer to bring it to its new home.  I was happy to see it go to a responsible adult.

BUT... it took patience, and a lot of silence from the ad.  I took guff from some local yokels on a Portland-area board for having what they thought was too high a price.

When it came to haggling, the buyer didn't give me any grief about the bike or its condition.  He just said it was a bit higher than he was budgeting, and asked if I had any wiggle room in the price.  I had an "advertised" price, and a "friends" price I had given out on this board.  So I gave him the "friends" price.  I got the minimum I wanted, he got a few hundred off the ad price.  No insults to anyone.

So yeah... patience.  The right buyer is out there.  Sometimes it just takes time.

[Rudemouthsky]

I know part of it is my reluctance/indifference about/towards selling the bike. If I don't like you, I'm not doing business with you. And if you seem stupid when you email me a letter full of misspelled dumb/redundant questions I'll give a curt reply or none at all. I guess I'm kind of a prick, lol.

[jjjrules]

I had the distinct displeasure of having to sell my 76 narrow bodied 911 Porsche a few years back and advertised it on a public online sales website.

I had at least 15 different people email me telling me all the faults of the 2.7 litre engine vs the 3.0 litre and how I was being ridiculous asking the price I was - some of these emails were like a 1000 word make the beast with two backsing essay! These dudes didn't even want to buy the car - they obviously spend their spare time trolling for opportunities to insult perfect strangers for no apparent reason.

I used to reply to them and ask them if they were from the Porsche police and was I under arrest - I never heard back from them.

Around 2 months later a young kid from the big smoke came and paid cash for it at around the price I was asking, more than I would have taken and twice as much as what the "experts" said it was worth.

Things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them but I agree, why people think they have to be rude and obnoxious to get the best deal is completely beyond me - I find being poiite, respectful and good humoured to be the most enjoyable way to buy or sell the things we love (or used to love)

[Steve.In.Atlanta]

Your bike is a great deal for $3500 and it is what the buyer is willing to pay for it. If you don't have to sell, have fun telling people you aren't going to sell it to them because you don't like them.

[ducatiz]

I always check out the KBB for bikes when buying or selling.  It is a good place to start the conversation.

If you've done mods, expect people to be critical, but don't be thinskinned.  You rode the bike, bikes get dirty and dinged up now and then.  So what?

If htey want a perfect looking bike to park in their garage and to sell 3 years later when their wife tells them to make room, they should go buy a new one and STFU

[d3vi@nt]

I feel your pain --been there, too.  On the flip side though are the guys selling the 7-8 year old low-mileage Ducatis, asking well over KBB because it's "like new". With no service or records, and original tires with "lots of life left in them".

Buying and selling are both a PITA. I'm contemplating putting mine on the block and cringe when I think about it.

[ab]

Low balling, that's the name of the game.  It's just part of life.

[Rudemouthsky]

Your bike is a great deal for $3500 and it is what the buyer is willing to pay for it. If you don't have to sell, have fun telling people you aren't going to sell it to them because you don't like them.

Yep, this. Right now is the slow season for my business, when things pick up I'll be even less motivated. And by then I'll have $ in my pocket again. I may not even sell it but I don't like having more than one bike.

[Steve.In.Atlanta]

Yep, this. Right now is the slow season for my business, when things pick up I'll be even less motivated. And by then I'll have $ in my pocket again. I may not even sell it but I don't like having more than one bike.

I've never owned more that one bike, I wouldn't even know what I'd want for a second one.

[RichD]

The obvious answer to the problem is DON'T SELL BIKES.

Just buy 'em.

Sometimes they get broke and thrown away,
or worn down to leaky nubs, and rolled into the back shed.

Could keep tuned, clean, and running.
But never sold.

I sold a bike once...