Looking For An Alternative Way To Sell Your Motorbike? Try these…
If you are looking to sell your bike, you are probably just thinking of slinging an advert in BikeTrader and waiting for the phone to ring. But there are other, sometimes cheaper, ways to reach out to potential buyers in your area. With online sales sites, auctions sites and even owner forums all offering access to potential buyers throughout the UK, could you be missing a trick? Here are some alternative ways to consider selling your motorbike, if Biker Trader just isn’t cutting it with you.
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eBay
Online auctions sites like eBay have completely changed the way we buy and sell used goods, including cars and motorbikes. eBay Motors operates a little differently to the main auction site, but it is still an affordable way to advertise your bike for sale. Be aware that you will need to list it as a classified advert, and there will be fees payable. These are usually around £10-15 for the advert itself, and then a percentage of the sale price once a sale has been agreed.
For this fee, you do get a slightly higher element of protection than a private sale, in so far as eBay does offer dispute resolution systems, and payments via Paypal have their own inbuilt protection for both the buyer and the seller.
Gumtree
Selling on an online site like Gumtree allows you to reach out to local buyers without paying to advertise. You can list your bike for free, and there is plenty of scope for adding lots of pictures and a detailed description. Like any private sale, you will need to deal with potential buyers direct. There is however, the option to have your messages from Gumtree sent via a protected phone number or email address, meaning that you are not putting all of your personal details on the internet for all and sundry to see.
If you choose to sell using Gumtree, they offer plenty of advice on how to safely undertake a private transaction including always meeting during the day in a public place, having someone else there with you and agreeing payment terms and document transfer before handing your bike over to its new owner.
Specialist Sites Like Car & Classic
Car & Classic claims to be Europe’s No 1 web site for classic cars and bikes. It is a very busy and successful website, that is used by thousands of classic car and bike enthusiasts alike.
If you are looking to find a buyer for your beloved classic motorcycle, Car & Classic is probably your best option. You can list your bike for free, and include lots of images and details for potential buyers to swoon over. Much like other online sales sites, you will be contacted via the website with messages from buyers, and you should not post your own private email or telephone number online.
Car & Classic is specifically designed for the classic vehicle market, so be prepared to be contacted by fellow enthusiasts who know their onions. You can enter into a dialogue online with potential buyers before arranging a time and place for them to see the bike in the flesh. As always, you need to be aware of the potential pitfalls of private sales, and make sure you keep your wits about you.
Forums like Motoforum
If you have a specific type of bike, in this case, a racing bike or a trackday bike for sale, a forum that is full of fellow enthusiasts is a great place to sell online. Over and above general vehicle selling websites, a forum offers a way to reach out to like-minded bikers who will appreciate your bike as much as you do.
Anyone can join a forum by simply providing their details at sign up. They can then usually access all posts, although some may be restricted to trusted or longer-term users. For sales posts you should, as always, include plenty of images and information about your bike.
Another good forum to try is the RiderSite Motorbikes For Sale forum, where it is free to post your bike for sale and their regular newsletter sends the for sale ads out to its members.
If you do wish to sell on a forum, you will need to make private arrangements directly with the interested party in terms of viewing, payments and collections.
Owner’s Clubs
Often great places to buy as well as sell, owner’s clubs often have websites and forums, with a dedicated motorcycles for sale forum or, if you’re lucky, a fully-fledged classified ad system.
Owner’s clubs are great places to buy bikes as often the sort of biker who is a member of an owner’s club is going to be more clued-up about that particular bike and will no doubt look after it well.
Ads on owner’s forums often start with ‘Offering it here before going to the dreaded Fleabay’, which gives you some idea that the best bikes come up for sale elsewhere before ending up on auction sites.
See historical motorcycle sales prices
One of the best ways to figure out what your motorcycle or scooter is worth is to look at recent sale prices.
If you have a common motorcycle, this is fairly easy. You can go to eBay or BikeTrader and look at what bikes are being offered for. On eBay you can click on ‘Completed Listings’ and see the bikes that have sold and what they sold for.
However, this is harder for less common, classic and vintage motorcycles are they are by nature rare and sometimes unique, so pricing them is hard.
However there is another website which will help you. Just visit motorcycle-trader.co.uk a website that records all the prices of motorcycles being sold in the UK. It shoes you the price the bike was listed for, when it was listed, along with a description and images. It’s a great tool to use when you’re looking to answer the question: ‘How much is my motorcycle worth’.
The final word
However you choose to sell your bike, never hand your bike over to anyone without having received full payment first.
Questions or Comments?
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