If you have nice pictures of your bike, you have to think about who the potential buyers are and where they can be found. If you would like to sell a cheap women's bike, you will certainly find grateful buyers in your area. But for high-quality bikes, you probably have to expand your buyer search because it is a "top target group". In addition, you should present your bike differently depending on who your buyers are. There are roughly 4 groups of bikes, each requiring a different sales strategy:

1. Sell ​​cheap bikes for everyday use (< 800 €)

BK Grand Sport, a stylish women's bike for everyday use. In good condition, it costs around €600

In this price range, it rarely makes sense to offer the bikes with a shipping option. The effort and costs for shipping and shipping packaging are too high. The good thing is, potential buyers for everyday bikes are almost everywhere, so probably in your area and therefore these bikes can easily be offered with the "Collection Only" option.

eBay classified ads is certainly the best-known and cheapest way to sell a cheap bike. You don't pay any commission there. Facebook Marketplace is also a fee-free option, but with significantly fewer visitors (traffic) than eBay Classifieds. Is Ebay (“Collection Only”) an alternative for selling cheap bikes? Probably not, because you currently pay 11% of the sales price to Ebay for each bike sold.

The disadvantage of eBay classifieds is that you often have to spend some time communicating with strangers before they can look at your bike. And even then, it's not certain that customers will actually buy it. At least the last disadvantage does not exist with Ebay, because the entire payment process runs securely via Ebay before collection. However, the commission is due for this.

2. Sell ​​very good bikes (800€ - 2nd class) 000 €)

Peugeot from the 80s, depending on the condition it can be over 1. 000 € cost

There are still enough potential buyers in your area for such bikes, but fewer than for the cheap bikes. eBay Classifieds, Ebay and Facebook Marketplace are still going to be good choices here. If you live in a less densely populated area, it is worth considering additional shipping options. Because you can use it to expand your radius to cover the whole of Germany and thus achieve a higher sales price.

Usually the buyer pays the shipping cost. In the end, the total sum is decisive for the buyer. Whether the buyer has to pay the shipping costs separately or the seller adds the shipping costs to the price, the result is the same.

A simple example: You can only sell your bike with collection and without commission on eBay classifieds for 1. Sell ​​€500, then it's not worth buying the same bike on Ebay with shipping and a sales commission of 11% for 1. 700 euros for sale. The commission and shipping costs exceed the €200 price difference. However, you can sell your bike on Ebay for 2. If you sell € 000, then after deducting the commission of around € 220 you still have € 280 more. Less shipping and packaging (total about 100 €) you end up with over 180 € left over. It is worth the effort of a bicycle dispatch for this. For simplicity, it is assumed here that the seller pays the shipping.

3. Sell ​​high-end bikes (1. €500 - 8th 000 €)

Colnago C60 high end racing bike, used in very good condition for more than 3 years. 000 €

Used bikes in this price range are less for everyday use and more for bike tours, training sessions, competitions or other special journeys. Therefore, there are also significantly fewer potential buyers in your area and you should at least offer your bike with the shipping option. The sales price will increase again significantly if you can offer the bike for sale not only throughout Germany, but throughout Europe or even worldwide. For some bikes there are buyers in countries such as Japan, the UK or the USA who are willing to pay a significantly higher purchase price than buyers in Germany. It is therefore worth offering your bike for sale with a good shipping option.

Could you take your bike for supposed 5. 000 € in Germany, there may be buyers in other countries who will give you 5. Bid €600. Shipping with sales fees is always worthwhile for this.

With Ebay you can offer your bike worldwide. But first you have to find out what your bike is worth on the world market. You also have to take care of the shipping yourself. Finding the right sales price and organizing shipping requires a lot of effort, because the bike must be packed securely.

If you value speed, little effort and a lot of safety when selling the bike, you can also sell your bike directly to VeloBird. The VeloBird company offers you the opportunity to obtain a price offer online very quickly. If you like the offer, VeloBird will take care of the shipping and you only have to pack the bike in a bike box.

4. Sell ​​bikes as collectibles (from April 4th) 000 €)

Ciöcc San Cristobal Oro 50th Anniversary Bike, vintage racing bike over 8. 000 €

Collectibles are very special and rare bikes. They can be special editions, custom-made bikes, bikes from famous cyclists or rare bikes from a specific era. The common trait is that there are not many of these bikes and the high price is mostly driven by history. There are many collectibles, especially among vintage racing bikes. Shipping worldwide is even more worthwhile than with high-end bikes. The reason is simple: there are not many people who collect bikes and are willing to pay such high prices.

Significantly more collector's bikes and vintage bikes are bought outside of Germany than inside.

With such bicycles, there are particularly high demands on the shipping so that it can be carried out quickly and safely. Pricing is also a challenge for sellers who don't know the value of the bike on the world market. It can quickly happen that people try to sell a bike on Ebay for months at a price that is twice as high as the actual market value. Because the price for collectibles is just as difficult to determine as for art objects.