Motorcycle buying and selling: Things I've learned

I just sold my bike this weekend, and these are some things I've learned, maybe others buying and selling can also benefit:

- Autotrader, Autotrader, Autotrader! It's astounding how much readership this publication and website gets! $40 got me over 50 calls in three days. The ad came out on Thursday and I had 7 people lined up this weekend to see my bike, and it ended up getting sold yesterday. The nice weather probably had something to do it as well... For those buying, scour the ads 1st thing on Thursday morning, if you find a good deal, make sure you see the bike as early as possible. Two people who were driving in from out of town had to turn around on Saturday afternoon because I had sold the bike while they were on their way. If you want to sell your bike fast - AUTOTRADER!

- Be nice. People tend to feel better about buying from and selling to people they like. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. If you are selling and someone lowballs you, don't get offended (especially if you asking "Or Best Offers"). Politely decline, and give the buyer an opportunity to bid up. It costs you nothing to be nice, and you don't lose a potential buyer in the process.

- Along the same lines, I really liked when buyers asked me, "I don't want to disrespect your bike, and I don't want to play the negotiation game, so give me your lowest price". I then felt comfortable giving them my "Buy-it-now" (BIN) price.

- If you are inspecting a bike for purchase, ask the owner's permission to sit on in, start it up or do anything to it. Treat the bike with respect - you haven't bought it yet, you are not entitled to do anything to it. A friend of mine was selling his bike and the buyer almost did a burnout and rocked the front shocks without permission. Even though he was willing to pay the BIN price, my friend sold it to another buyer who treated his bike and the owner with more respect.

- Don't waste the buyer or seller's time. If you are a seller, disclose everything wrong about the bike before they view it. If it's been dropped, rashed, etc., send pictures of the damaged parts and even go so far as to do the research to find out what the replacement/service costs are to repair the damage. If you're a buyer, tell the seller what your purchasing timeframe is, and make sure your insurance and financing is in line before you go inspect the bike. If you just want to sit on a motorcycle, visit a dealership.

- Price your motorcycle accordingly. You love your bike, it's almost as if it's part of your family, maybe even an extension of yourself. But buyer's are not going to see it that way. Look in the Autotrader and other classifieds and see what similar bikes are going for. Your sentimentality doesn't automatically add another $1,000 to the asking price. Also, bikes are cheaper in the fall/winter and more expensive in the spring. If you are a buyer and you see a really good deal in March/April, don't haggle or hesitate or you'll be scooped. Conversely, if you're a seller in October/November, you won't be able to ask the same price as in spring, because buyers will factor in the cost of storing the bike for 5 months.

- Be flexible. If you have a BIN price in mind, add more $$$ to it and offer to be negotiable. Everyone loves getting a deal. You'll get more interest in an ad that has OBO on it, then you would with FIRM on it. If you're selling the bike, be open to the fact that your BIN price might have to be lowered, especially if you don't see a lot of interest after a long time. And if you've been nice and politely declined previous offers, you'll still be able to go back to those buyers to tell them you're able to negotiate a bit more off the price without having to lose face or eat crow!

- Learn to create a website with all the information on it so you save time and point buyers to it. Geocities (http://www.geocities.com) has a free web space with content creation tools. To all the buyers who called or e-mailed me, I just pointed them to the website with pictures of the bike, any damage, location, asking price, reasons for selling, all the typical questions a buyer would ask. That way you don't have to explain it over and over again.

The above are just my opinions having gone through the selling process. Your mileage may vary. Hopefully some folks here will find it useful.

Good informative post. Thanks.

Well put.

Very well put. :wink:

great post.

should be a sticky in buy/sell forums

great post.

should be a sticky in buy/sell forums

Agreed.

The more info, the better.

Don't be a tool in your responses.

That is all.

Gene, tnx for taking your time, and the timing couldn't be better for me - puting my bike into the Trader next week:)
Thanks again.

thanks, Gene

lots of good info there
*should be stickied somewhere*

Well summarized. Thanks! :D