How to Buy or Sell a Vintage Trek
This page has tips for finding a Trek to buy
and for selling your vintage Trek.
Some suggestions for photographing
your bike for the sale process, or for providing photos for the
Vintage-Trek Gallery, also are included at the bottom of this page.
FINDING A TREK TO BUY
Here are some suggestions for finding a vintage Trek
bicycle to buy. Remember - the hunt is part of the fun. Finding a local
bike is always best - as you can inspect it personally and you can avoid
shipping costs (on the order of $50). Sales are slow for road bikes
in the Fall and Winter, which can be good times for negotiating a lower
price.
eBay.com is probably the easiest way to find
a vintage Trek. One can search for "Trek road" or "Trek
racing" with words to exclude "aluminum carbon". Typically,
there are 3 to 10 vintage Trek bikes on eBay.com at any one time. You
may need to return every few days to locate the right bike. For members
of eBay (joining is free), they have a service that will send you an
e-mail when an item is listed that meets your description (search preferences).
The downside of eBay is that packing and shipping will cost extra and
there is some risk of shipping damage.
OldRoads.com You could post a "wanted to
buy" (WTB) note on the vintage lightweight discussion list at http://oldroads.com/d_ltw_def.asp?rec_count=1.
Few rules there.
Bikelist.org is home for
non-commercial bicycle-related mailing lists. http://www.bikelist.org/.
It has a searchable archive at http://search.bikelist.org/.
iBOB You could make mention of your needs on
the iBOB discussion list. You will have to join first but it is easy.
http://www.bikelist.org/mailman/listinfo/internet-bob
iBOB is Bridgestone Owners Bunch, but they have a kinship with vintage
Treks. A couple of cautions: 1. This is an unmoderated list. A small
number of the folks there are pretty rude, and 2. You will get dozens
of emails a day from the list.
BOBishBikesFS · BOBish Bikes For Sale
on Yahoo Groups http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/BOBishBikesFS/
A forum to list (and discuss) BOBish bikes for sale.
Classic Rendezvous You could try posting a "Wanted
to Buy" message on the Classic
Rendezvous Mailing List. You must first join the list before posting.
Important - Read the rules before posting. Dale Brown, the site owner,
limits bikes and discussions to pre '84.
rec.bicycles.marketplace
This is a usenet newsgroup that can be accessed through Google Groups.
(Google Groups can be accessed at Google.com
by clicking on groups.) One can search for particular items for sale
or can make a wanted to buy (WTB) post.
Craigslist http://www.craigslist.org/
This giant site includes sections for used bikes for
sale by city or region. You can post a "wanted to buy" note
here.
One can search for an item on Craigslist overall (not just by region).
Use a search engine (Google or Yahoo etc.) and include "Craigslist"
as the first keyword. Follow this by what you are looking for. For example
"Craigslist Trek 760".
Used Bike Shop There may be a bike shop nearby
that specializes in used bikes. Seattle is fortunate to have Recycled
Cycles and Second
Ascent. Portland has Sellwood
Cycles. Be patient - it may take weeks or months to find a suitable
Trek.
Bike swap meets are a good place to find used
bikes. Even cruiser bike swap meets can be a source of bargains for
vintage lightweights. To locate swap meets, try searching on the Internet,
visiting local bike club web sites, or talking to folks at local bike
shops.
Garage Sales and Rummage Sales. Finding bikes
at garage sales takes diligence. People visit perhaps 20 sales before
finding a vintage lightweight of any description. However, there are
plenty of stories of people "striking it rich". Rummage sales
(including church rummage sales) have lots more items. Get there early
before the good bikes are gone.
Thrift Stores: Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul
Stores, The Salvation Army, Value Village, Savers, Thrift Town, and
others. These are good places to look for used bikes, but the selection
is spotty; one had to be diligent. With the return to popularity of
road bikes, prices have gone up; the $5 bargain bike is rare. For some
stores, employees have first choice at the new items, which limits the
quality of the bikes for sale on the floor. Stores in higher-income
neighborhoods tend to have bikes that originally sold for more money.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SELLING A VINTAGE
TREK
Sheldon Brown Excellent information is given
at Sheldon Brown's Guide to Selling your Used Bike http://sheldonbrown.com/selling.
eBay.com is the probably best place to sell a
bike that has some value. The buyer paying $50 to pack and ship makes
little sense for a $100 bike. It is a hassle to post the listing, and
then you must be prepared to pack and ship the bike, but the best price
is gotten here. Good detailed pictures are a must! Close-ups are critical.
Good pictures can mean 30% more in price. (See bike
photography below.)
Classic Rendezvous You could try posting a for
sale message on the Classic
Rendezvous Mailing List. You must first join the list before posting.
You must by specify a price; it is not acceptable to list it there as
best offer. Important - Read the rules before posting. The site owner's
requirement is pre '84.
iBOB You could make mention of it on the iBOB
discussion list. You will have to join first but it is easy. http://www.bikelist.org/mailman/listinfo/Internet-bob
iBOB is Bridgestone Owners Bunch, but they have a kinship with Treks.
Their vintage interest overlaps with the date of vintage Treks. A caution
- this is an unmoderated list. A small number of the folks there are
pretty rude.
BOBishBikesFS · BOBish Bikes For Sale
on Yahoo Groups http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/BOBishBikesFS/
A forum to list (and discuss) BOBish bikes for sale.
OldRoads.com You can also list it for free on
the OldRoads.com discussion forum for vintage lightweights http://oldroads.com/d_ltw_def.asp?rec_count=1.
No firm rules here and it is easy to list. Just click on post.
rec.bicycles.marketplace
This is a usenet newsgroup that can be accessed through Google Groups.
(Google groups can be accessed at Google.com
by clicking on groups.) One can search for wanted to buy (WTB) posts
or can make a for sale (FS) post.
Craigslist http://www.craigslist.org/
This giant site includes sections for used bikes for
sale by city or region. Post your for sale listing here.
Used Bike Shops There may be a local bike shop
that specializes in used bikes. They may buy yours, or take it in on
consignment. A used shop typically will buy a bike for 40 to 60% of
what they will sell it for. They may offer more if you take the money
in store credit. If they don't sell used bikes, your local bike shops
may have bulletin boards where you can place a 3 x 5 card with picture
offering the bike for sale. This can be very effective.
Selling success can vary by season. Road bikes
typically sell for more money and more quickly in the Spring and early
Summer.
BIKE PHOTOGRAPHY
Here are some suggestions for photographing bicycles.
For selling on eBay.com or for the Vintage-Trek gallery, you need close-ups
of various parts of the frames, so you will need a camera that can handle
that: either with a zoom lens, or a camera that can focus as close as
a foot or so. Use a tripod or other support to reduce shaking of the
camera, especially if a zoom is used. Even two crossed sticks, with
the camera held above the cross, will help a lot. Hint: clean the bike
first.
Try for a neutral, contrasting background. Outside on
a cloudy day or in the shade works best. Bright light, a flash or the
sun, makes highlights that mask the details of the frame. Sheldon Brown
offers an alternative method that uses a flash, which gets good results:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/selling.html#photos.
It is good to have one overall picture from the left
side, OK to cut off the ends of the wheels. Close-ups should include:
the lugs, bottom bracket, fork crown, brakes, decals, dropouts derailleurs
and crank.
For this web site, the best digital picture size is
generally in the 1024 to 2048 (across) pixel range. However, as small
as 640 pixels across is adequate. If you only have paper prints, I can
scan them and return them to you. The .jpg file format is best for sending
photographs. Uncompressed formats (such as .bmp and .tiff) are fine,
but the file size tends to be very large.
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