The big sales slowdown

[nstarmore]

Purely speculation but all those bikes people bought during the covid had to go somewhere eventually as people are sure as hell not riding them from what I've seen.

Also I don't know if the experience of the working world for me and those around me is the same across the country but since covid, workloads have gone up with no investment in resources. I seem to have much less free time and when I do have it energy levels are lower so getting out the door on the bike is that much harder.

 

[Cheshire1980]

Think it’s a combination of things, firstly post covid hangover, the cost of living, the introduction of Ebikes, gravel bikes, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love my gravel bike and and sold half of my retro projects to facilitate that. (with no regrets). Just generally I have to be more careful where I spend my disposable income, with modern bike parts being so expensive, it limits what I can spend on the Retro side of things. Certainly for the foreseeable unfortunately.

 

[mk one]

Personally I think less people visit the site regularly, I find if I leave ads up long enough someone will find it and buy. However some things I just move to another platform and they sell straight away most the time, at a higher price also.

 

[clubby]

People were asking too much for what some stuff was. Lots of us have also been around here for years and have built what they wanted to or indeed have space for. When I started here prices were reasonable, then more people started to realise what their old stuff was worth on here and prices went up. Loads bought at those prices but are now trying to sell for the same in a very different market. It’s not unlike the housing market.

Postage prices have gone way up. Stuff that used to cost £2 to send, now costs £4. I think that really affected small part sales.

 

[Cheshire1980]

would agree, some of prices I see, are mind boggling. Equally if am selling something, I know the market is poor right now, so pricing unfortunately has to be in line with that. Also I tend to offer free posting if it means a sale

 

[d8mok]

Also I’ll add that sales via this forum have effectively stopped I’ve found (maybe started 3-6 months ago) so in turn I don’t take the time to advertise much here now as it’s time consuming with not much chance of a sale.

Same for wanted adverts - they very rarely get a response here now.

FB marketplace / groups seems to be growing in my opinion with lots of traffic and sales. It always surprises me the amount of guys that are into retrobikes but aren’t members / actively using this forum.

 

[Cheshire1980]

Would agree in regards to sales.. plus there is plenty of folk on Facebook which don’t use this site sadly. Still this tends to be my first source of selling.. and generally enjoy reading through a more detailed resource in the main. Facebook tends to be more pictures and less content. But In terms of time, it’s obviously more time efficient for the seller.

 

[slimjoe]

Not long ago I put a rare great bike up for sale. Didn’t even get a sniff on here. Even after suggesting offers on the parts & kit. The boutique brands from the usual suspects still seem to sell ok though

 

[legrandefromage]

Reasonable mid range kit used to sell quickly and quietly without fuss, now its beyond pulling teeth

I've had cheap clean bits up for sale for months and hardly anything has sold. Or its some 'retro newbie' whining on that they cant send PMs and get antsy over a £5 nech

Watching ebay, theres some very high end kit going for for less than 30% of it original retail along with a shitload of stuff that simply goes unsold over and over again

facebook bikes and parts are way cheaper too

but then during covid, I was filling my boots with decent XT kit for what seemed like absurd low prices but complete ready to ride bikes were selling for inflated amounts

 

[Imlach]

I wouldn't know about all the prices, but forum as a medium for selling has been declining steadily for a long time. I prefer the humble standalone forum as a social media, but pretty much all my hobbies, which have dedicated forums, have taken to the more populated selling/social media platforms to increase interest and likely their prices. Selling on dedicated forums only works if the user base is accepting of the fact that it comes with a communal aspect, in which you accept that you're probably getting a bit less for what you sell, but it goes to people that are enthusiasts. This is true of some of the oldest Danish hardware forums that we have over here, folks only sell their hardware through that if they're not desperate to maximise profits. And I suppose with the financial struggles people are faced with, it is natural that they'd want to sell for more.