There are numerous reasons that you are thinking of selling bikes at this point. Biking maybe your interest, and you are well-versed about the specifics of such a pedal-driven vehicle. It’s your passion, and you know the language. You want to rave about it and promote it to turn your enthusiasm into a revenue-generating business. 

In doing so, you aren’t only living your passion, but it also becomes your livelihood, which is a powerful driver to succeed. So, if you are building a profitable business of bike selling, then we’re here to give you viable ideas on where to start and set you up for success. 

Now, if you are here because you only want to grab helpful advice on where and how you can sell your bike, we can also help you. So, don’t feel let down. Even if not getting into an entrepreneurial endeavor of bike selling isn’t what you’ve been here for because you’re mainly interested in one-time engagement, this article will also bring you the proper knowledge to decide where to start. So, stay and continue reading.

The preliminaries 

Before you begin selling a product, you must define your product clearly. Here in our case, you must determine the specific information. These specifics should include the following, but they shouldn’t be limited to the type of bike you are selling, its condition, and even the brand. 

The type of bike 

The type of bike should give the prospects an idea if they are in the right place. Mountain Bikes and Road Bikes are two common types, which fitness bike enthusiasts and athletes commonly look for. 

Take note that while these two are most common, the list goes on and isn’t limited to just two. To name a few more, other types of bikes are BMX and Cruiser bikes, which have specific uses. When selling a bike, the most important information is highlighting the types and features of it to ensure that soft shoppers are given the correct information if they are in the right place. 

The bike’s and the parts’ condition, compositions, and brands 

After making the product you’re selling clean, you must declare its condition to avoid misleading prospective buyers. If the bike is in a brand new state, slightly used, and/or reconditioned, you must be honest. 

When talking about the condition, it shouldn’t be limited to just as simple as stating its condition. It’s equally important to acknowledge the brands and the composition (or the materials they are made of) of the bike parts, such as the frame, chainrings, and gear. Take note again that the bike parts include more than the ones above. 

It may also be helpful to describe the history of the bike, so consumers get a better or image of it in their mind that may help convince them to buy the bike and close the sale.

The used vs. new bicycle

Used bicycle

While new is often more exciting to hear, effectively marketing old ones should not be hopeless. There is a huge market for it, especially that there’s a significant number who’d choose saving bucks over spending more for just the sake of having new. 

If marketing used ones, you must highlight the price and the best features that come with it despite not being brand new. When you emphasize the value they’re getting for their paying price, you overcome the biggest challenge associated with selling used items, so go all out for it. 

However, don’t play too safe as even second-hand bikes deserve the best treatment to look good. So, make sure they are clean, and they look their best. So get them cleaned up, reconditioned, and polished. It just doesn’t come down to a good price, great quality, but an equal opportunity to take advantage of it in making it look new and excellent again like it was before. 

New bicycle

At first, one may think that selling new bikes is readily easier than selling old ones. It’s true to a certain extent, so it’s already a low-hanging fruit. One has to make sure that fact is highlighted enough to get attention. It also pays to be mindful that the biggest obstacle in selling new items is the price tag that commonly comes with it. One way to make selling more enticing is by providing extra items bundled or attached to the main product. 

Now that we’ve provided you with just enough preliminaries let’s hop into where you can take your bikes to market them to your prospective buyers and sell them. We have two main ways to do that in today’s age, via online and physical selling.

Selling Online

Online Listing Services 

Online listing services have been around for as long as the internet age or close. The basic idea is you post your product on a platform on the internet. Then the platform does its end of the bargain that when a consumer searches for a product you have listed, they get to see your posts. Online listing services’ main job is to connect you and your prospective buyers. They act as a bridge, and here we’ll let you know the among the best that you can certainly rely on. 

Craigslist.org 

Craigslist is one of the first to be recognized as a trusted online listing platform because it’s free. It also has an expansive scope. It’s available to most countries worldwide. Despite originating in the United States and having its headquarters situated in San Francisco, California, it’s known across the globe. 

When starting a post, you will first have to define the posting for your advertisement. Two main options would be: For Sale by Owner (if you are selling for personal benefit) or For Sale by Dealer (selling for your business). Once you’ve identified which suits you, you must pick Bicycles as the product category. 

After selecting that, you will be redirected to the next page, where you must fill in the posting title, the price, locality, and description section. There are other input fields that you must satisfy about the bike, such as the type, frame, wheel size, suspension, brake type, handlebar, etc. This is the section where you must also include your contact and email. You can post an ad without creating an account, but you must create one for your business. 

FreeAdsTime.org 

Free Ads Time is another outstanding choice if you would like to maximize the opportunities that allow you to post your ads at no additional or extra cost. It may not be as famed as Craigslist, but when it comes to the scope, you surely can benefit from it. It also offers its free listing services throughout the globe, with some notable exceptions. 

First, you must select Sell a Product, then pick Post a Product for Sale, which you will find in the next section. When choosing a category, you must like Sporting And Outdoors Goods, and then in the subcategory section, you should find Bicycles. In the succeeding sections, you should fill out the description section and other information that your consumers will be interested to know. Like Craigslist, you can get away without creating an account.

Kijiji.ca 

Kijiji holds a lot of promise because it’s designed with the user in mind. It’s well laid out. Everything is easy to find. The process of posting an ad is seamless. You would be able to get everything done in a few minutes. But the one biggest setback here is they are exclusive in Canada. So, unless you are in the country, this won’t benefit you to a large extent. However, to post an ad, you must have an account, which you can register for free.

Findermaster.com 

Finder Master will surely be among the users’ favorites. To an extent, it is very much like Free Ads Time, but it’s constructed to be more orderly and easier to figure out. Publishing Your Ad button, which should get you started, can be easily seen right away, so make no worries about it. After clicking on that one, you must pick Items in the category section and Other Items in the subcategory section. 

Unfortunately, there’s no specific category for sports and outdoor contraptions. It’s free to post or list an ad. Like always, while you can post an ad without having an account, you must still consider creating one. 

Olx.com 

Olx is also famous, just as Craiglist worldwide. While Craigslist remains mostly a listing platform, Olx now doubles itself as a retail platform. 

If you are an ardent seller with steady supplies, Olx can be your partner platform in marketing and selling your bicycles. You can create your sales channel within the platform and build a bike enthusiast audience. It is one of the leading in its industry, so you can safely bet your business will thrive here, provided that you have a great product to bring to your prospective buyers. 

Gumtree.com 

Gumtree can be the best choice on the list, and that is for not being a listing service alone. In addition to its offering of being able to post an ad. You can do many more things, such as providing articles about the product you are listing or selling. It’s an extra that is essential in improving the customers’ experience, engagement, and conversion likelihood. 

Once you’re in, the posting or listing process is pretty much straightforward. You may use your Gmail or Facebook credentials for the log-in to start posting. If you don’t want to, you may create an account with a valid email address. 

Classifiedsfactor.com 

Classifieds Factor resembles Finder Master. The color palette on its interface makes it different from Finder Master. So, if color is an issue for you or you prefer the classier color choice on Classifieds Factor, you better pick this one than Finder Master. 

To publish your ad, select For sale in the category field. After that, select the subcategory Sporting Goods, which is the best choice as bike alone as the subcategory isn’t indicated in the list. After doing that, you must provide a catchy title for your products and an accurate description of them.

Social Media 

For this part of online selling, we’ll mainly be talking about the power of social media and the features that some platforms have to increase entrepreneurs’ sales. 

Facebook Marketplace 

In the simplest sense, Facebook Marketplace is a Facebook-powered listing service. If you’re now thinking about what I mean to say, here is your correct: This platform is within the Facebook app, where you use your Facebook on your phone. Even if you are using your Facebook on a browser, Marketplace should also be there. 

Like a listing service, you also have to fill out a few input fields wherein you must put a title, descriptions, price tag, and photos. So when a Facebook user searches for a product of the same type as you posted, they can see your post. 

And because Facebook’s algorithm is powerful, even when someone searches on a search engine on a browser, there’s still a good chance that your post can be crawled by the search engine’s crawler and be found. 

Other social media platforms 

Social media is very effective when it comes to selling because it is always about creating short, effective content that catches the attention. It is all about the noise that can be easily heard, for example, on Instagram and Twitter. 

You can already create impactful and functional content in a few snapshots or a few words. As a seller, you may want to take advantage of such platforms.

Physical Selling

For this part, we’ll talk about a way to sell any relevant and timeless product, which is physical selling. While some may quickly assume that such kind of selling is already useless, it is not. It will always be relevant because people will always want contact and to be able to see the product.

So here, we’ll talk about how you may want to reach out to a local bike shop or hold your garage sale to sell your bike. 

Local Bike Shop

Selling to a local bike shop is best, especially if you are selling an old or used one. Your local bike shop is run by people who already have enough knowledge about bikes and can give you a justifiable assessment of the value of your bike. If you reach out to a trusted and reputable one, you may get your bike’s actual value and be able to sell it reasonably. 

But before you do that, do your due diligence, check other bike shops and get their estimates. You don’t want to undersell your bike even if it’s used. Like always, you want to sell it for its actual worth.

Make a garage sale. 

If you are selling a couple of bikes, either used or brand new, then it may be a good idea to organize a garage sale in your front yard or your neighborhood. This can be stressful, though, so make it systematic and orderly. Set a specific time with a particular duration – a regular schedule. Send out invites to get the word out. 

Donate 

Donation is always great as you can help someone use the product that you don’t use anymore. If selling isn’t the right option for you, it’s best to donate it to someone who may use it, like a shelter to your relatives or close friends who can’t afford to buy a new one or even a used one.