Valuation for Old high end bicycles

My brother is a hoarder, and he has collected quite a bunch of bicycles that would have been pretty impressive when new. He hasn't got a pot to piss in, so I want to help him by finding a marketplace for these bikes.

1- is there a resource to value them?

2- is EBAY the best place to sell?

Examples are...

2000 Cannondale Super V 800

Ciocc road bike with hamdmade Reynolds 531 frame, custom paint

LOOK carbon fiber road bike with Shimano Dura Ace gear. [Greg Lemond TDF era]

There are more.. but the last 2 were bought from a guy who owned and closed a bike shop, they were used only for display.

...He has somehow managed to buy lots of old cars too (W126 MB500, 633CSI, 928S, 72 Celica for example) some of those would even have increased in value remarkably... but he lost most of those due to unstable living situation and starving actor salary. Still has the Benz and needs to sell it..

I've sold high end bikes on eBay and Craigslist. eBay is challenging because they are difficult and expensive to ship.

I'd suggest joining this group (CLASSIC MTB trading center) and posting the Cannondale here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/579498092116390/

For the road bikes, Craigslist is probably your answer, but it isn't a great time of the year for most of the country. Where is he located?

Thanks Woody. I don't Facebook but my wife does, so I will check it out.

He lives in Pasadena CA but the bikes are stored in Wooster, OH

Has anyone used these guys?

https://theproscloset.com

Is the W126 in Wooster? I may be interested in it.

There is this subforum of a forum I visit often:

http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage-bicycles-what-s-worth-appraisals-inquiries/

Schwinn bicycles are getting crazy asking prices for crap I used to pay $5 for at garage sales. Because I live in Chicagoland everyone feels these old Schwinn's are priceless due to it being their hometown. Schwinn Krates can get crazy money but not an old Suburban.

Unfortunately, a 2000 Super V 800 was not really a "high end" bike. Compared to dept store bike prices? Yes, but component-wise it was one of their lower-end models at the time. Cannondale bike model designations were done by number: 3000 and 4000 being highest (most expensive) depending on model.

I've sold a bunch of stuff on the Facebook group linked above. The sad part is selling prices are still a lot less than what most of the stuff sold for new, 15-odd years ago, so I'm mainly just getting space back.

I second using BikeForums C&V to help value and sell the road bikes. Ebay will give the biggest exposure, but like Woody said, the shipping can be a pain.

For something with such a narrow focus of interest, CL will probably end up an exercise in frustration. I just finally sold an 80s Trek road bike after a couple months of repetitive 'I'll give you $30 cash now' offers.

I think that high end ridged frame mountain bikes are probably easier to sell for bigger numbers. There was always a great deal of innovation/experimentation in suspension bikes. Some worked, some didn't. Almost all of it is obsolete by now and possibly difficult to service. A lot of people are afraid to take a chance on them. That doesn't really happen with a good ridged frame.

My father-in-law is a serious road biker. For 10 years he's been peting high-end bikes out. eBay is expensive to ship while bikes, so parting them out made sense. He's also making more money that way.

In reply to chandlerGTi:

Benz is in Pasadena, sorry

In reply to SEADave:

Thanks for the tip

Ohhhh a 633CSI would be fun (always wanted one of those when I was younger) where is it and what is the condition?

dean1484 wrote: Ohhhh a 633CSI would be fun (always wanted one of those when I was younger) where is it and what is the condition?

that one was sold for scrap after striking a deer. Celica also gone. 928 sits in a garage in OH, MB is in Pasadena.

Point was, he has an eye for things of value (to 1% of people).. and some have even appreciated, but being broke leads to selling out of desperation -typically before they climbed in value.

Advertise in Portland, they are changing the name to bicycle land...

Oregon of course, stealing gas tax money to build bike lanes everywhere.

Bike shops have lots of bike boxes, and some will do some of the boxing / shipping / or even listing for you. For a price.

Easy button is to drop them all off and wait. eBay takes 10%, shop takes whatever, and check arrives some time later. Even better since he is remote.

Wait until spring if you can.

In reply to OHSCrifle:

I'm late to the party on this response, but--

While not super high end, Cannondale Super V's have a big cult following--especially in England, for some reason. A friend of mine flipped a few of them for decent money.

The Ciocc is worth money. Vintage steel frames are in vogue at the moment.

The Look might be of interest to someone. Vintage steel is more desirable than vintage carbon, but the components are of value for sure. Still, it's a high-end vintage race bike, so it'll probably find a buyer fairly easily.

+1 to posting something on the appraisal board on Bike Forums. I've done that before and it was quite helpful.

bentwrench wrote: Advertise in Portland, they are changing the name to bicycle land... Oregon of course, stealing gas tax money to build bike lanes everywhere.

89% of Oregonians with bicycles also have cars, so the vast majority of cyclists already pay gas tax and vehicle registration and licensing fees, so they are paying for the roads they use. It takes somewhere around 10,000 bicycle trips over a road to equate to the road wear of one motor vehicle, so when those cyclists get out of their car and onto the bike, they are saving a massive amount of wear on the road, reducing the cost for all of us. The money spent locally on bicycle facilities and infrastructure is only a tiny percentage of what is spent on road maintenance.

Thanks for some great input

ae86andkp61 wrote:

bentwrench wrote: Advertise in Portland, they are changing the name to bicycle land... Oregon of course, stealing gas tax money to build bike lanes everywhere.

89% of Oregonians with bicycles also have cars, so the vast majority of cyclists already pay gas tax and vehicle registration and licensing fees, so they are paying for the roads they use. It takes somewhere around 10,000 bicycle trips over a road to equate to the road wear of one motor vehicle, so when those cyclists get out of their car and onto the bike, they are saving a massive amount of wear on the road, reducing the cost for all of us. The money spent locally on bicycle facilities and infrastructure is only a tiny percentage of what is spent on road maintenance.

Amen. I own two cars along with my five bicycles. I also own a home and pay decent taxes for that. Trust me, my bicycle isn't a burden on the taxpayers.

RI is poised to be quite Portland-esque in terms of bike advocacy and I'm pretty stoked about that. Not getting run over is a bit appealing to me.

gamby wrote:

ae86andkp61 wrote:

bentwrench wrote: Advertise in Portland, they are changing the name to bicycle land... Oregon of course, stealing gas tax money to build bike lanes everywhere.

89% of Oregonians with bicycles also have cars, so the vast majority of cyclists already pay gas tax and vehicle registration and licensing fees, so they are paying for the roads they use. It takes somewhere around 10,000 bicycle trips over a road to equate to the road wear of one motor vehicle, so when those cyclists get out of their car and onto the bike, they are saving a massive amount of wear on the road, reducing the cost for all of us. The money spent locally on bicycle facilities and infrastructure is only a tiny percentage of what is spent on road maintenance.

Amen. I own two cars along with my five bicycles. I also own a home and pay decent taxes for that. Trust me, my bicycle isn't a burden on the taxpayers. RI is poised to be quite Portland-esque in terms of bike advocacy and I'm pretty stoked about that. Not getting run over is a bit appealing to me.

+1! Investing in infrastructure isn't a bad thing. If you have decent bike lines and the bike guy doesn't want to drive anywhere after a long day of work but all of a sudden has the option to bike to the nearby grocery store....more sales tax.