I hope I'm asking in the right place ? My Dad wants me to help him sell some bikes this year. He's in his 70s now and doesn't ride all that much. He has mentioned his Ducati 998S, Velocette 500 and Honda CB 750 he would be willing to part with. I sell brake pads and some accessories on eBay (I'm a small fairly niche guy don't do loads of stuff) so he assumed I'd sell them there. I sold a VFR 1200 on eBay for him a few years back that went ok it was a bit lower than he expected to get for it but not silly. Has anyone had much luck selling bikes on eBay and or would recommend anywhere else ? Once the weather is nicer he wants to do a photo shoot and get all the information together. They are nice quality bikes that he has been collecting the Velocette was a restoration project that kept him busy for a while ! He's looking to sell them privately to their next collector at a fair market value. Is it a reasonable time to sell a bike market wise ? Would like to have them ready by Easter and let people take a look over the summer etc. Thanks for any help and advice.
Awful market right now as it seems taxes and living costs are extreme and no money left over for luxuries. That said a well documented machine like your Dads will find a home if pics, documentation and videos tell a good story.
Thank you I've seen a couple of 998S advertised. I was surprised at the prices of them. Unique rare models but wow .. https://ebay.us/m/EP6kls https://ebay.us/m/yz536X
The first week of January -after Xmas & freezing cold- isn't a good time to sell anything except weight loss & heating. Bikes sell better in April onwards, but there's also more competition. The bikes you mention are all well known models with a niche market following in addition to the norm. Properly prepared and described, you won't have much problem selling them, provided they are priced to market. The market is not buoyant, and has been in decline for at least two years imo. The high 2022 prices are a thing of the past unless you are selling rare, extremely special bikes. Do your research well. Make sure you follow all the online sales pages to see what people are actually paying for those bikes. Then deduct warranty, deduct consumer rights & finance. Then you will know the sale price. Goodluck! BTW, the ad you linked from "The Bike Specialists", they are arguably the most expensive bike retailer in the UK.
Thanks for the solid comprehensive advice I will follow it and thanks for confirming my thoughts on that ad too ! I appreciate it
what i would do is, start a few innocuous threads on various bike forums telling folks that you might have some stuff for sale. do it in a certain manner and you wont even need to pay a subscription fee.
My first experience on a 'big' Jap bike was a CB750K7. In fact it was the first time I'd ridden anything with more than 2 cylinders. I was quite impressed in a straight line. Until I got to a curve, or used the brakes. Ironically next I rode a CB900 and found now they both handled and stopped. Then that the CB550 with much the same chassis and brakes as the 750 handled and stopped, doubtless because it was lighter (though it still couldn't match the 900). Anyway, personal opinion: it offends me to see it mentioned alongside a 500 Velo.
Ahh I see. My Dad seems to think it's quite collectible. Apparently it's the first year that made them ..it does nothing for me to be honest but I've noticed that I'm not really on trend ! I'm fact if I think something is dull more people seem to like it haha
its a nightmare, especially selling private, first thing is to be realistic with the price, if competing with the trade they have VAT on so the actual value of the bike is 20% lower, and most give a warranty. in the past ive gone in just a little under the real value, but the phone rings and normally the first person to look will buy, they know good deal won't last
The vat is only on the profit isn't it not the sale value I think. I know what you are saying though and my Dad hasn't bought cheap. He's bought the bikes he wanted and looked for the condition he wanted and then paid what they were being sold for. I think a difficulty will be he's going to need to let some go for less than he's paid. It's not really what anyone wants to hear is it ?
Welcome to the forum and good luck selling those bikes for your dad, I’m sure he loves them and is proud of them and will appreciate you taking the time to sell them to the right owners - including the CB750.
I suggested to my Dad selling for less money to dealers to get things moving easily and he said he would rather keep the bikes than get ripped off. I called a dealer that sells some customers Ducatis. They wanted to change the belts even though I suggested they've probably already been done and I'd ask my Dad to check (my Dad is generally very picky and gets every maintenance job done even when bikes are not being used). Immediately they just wanted it in the workshop without even checking so I thought hmmm this might not be the best way forwards. It's still early days but I think selling his bikes will be much less fun then when he was buying them
I am no expert on Honda CB750's but have seen a few go through auctions over the years. Your Dad is correct in that if it is a first year 1969 (K0) model, they do attract higher prices. There was a very early (pre-production prototype?) with sand cast engine cases that went for a stratospheric £150k about 5 years ago. It won't fetch what it would have 4 years ago, but is also less likely to be affected by seasonal pricing than the others. The other place to try it is Car and classic. It's free to list, but because of that, many people put bikes on for kite flying prices, and they never sell. Currently 78 CB750's on there including this "sandcast" model for £24k https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1981596
If I were in your shoes I’d have conversations with The Bike Specialists Iconic Auctions Bonhams H&H Auctions The Velocette, and the CB750, if it is a K0 or even K1, will have appeal to a very discrete number of collectors. The 998S will perhaps have a wider appeal and may even be bought as something to ride rather than display but even they are rare enough (little known fact, there were less ‘vanilla’ 998S made than the sum of the Limited Edition models), look at how few appear in listings compared to 996 or even 916. However, even the 998S warrants marketing to pre-screened punters rather than the unwashed masses of tyre kickers & time wasters on eBay.
I’ve probably sold 10 bikes on eBay, my V4 SF and PP for example plus some £2k do er uppers and never had any problems, just spend the time with an informative listing with good photos, even a video. I do sell competively, probably too cheap in some cases but they sell in a few days, the time wasters are the people that think it’s too much money and then start haggling, should I , shan’t I, I have a part exchange etc etc.
