Bike selling storys

[kenmat]

Well I advertised my 1987 K75T and sold it to the first person to look at it. I told him that I had a number of people interested in the bike and if he were serious he would be wise to buy it because clean bikes that are priced fair sell quickly. It was my daily commuter and never let me down. What I don't understand is people that inquire about a bike and never look at it even though all of the information about the bike is positive. Why even call? I have had people call and say that they will be right over and never show up. This is so rude. One time I was selling a perfect Suzuki DRZ 400E dirt bike for a fair price. The bike was impeccable. This guy calls me from 100 miles away and begs me to hold it far a couple of days. He drives out on a friday night, tells me how great the bike looks. He rides it down the street and back and tells me that he has one more to look at and then decide. I thought, what an idiot, clean bikes are hard to find sometimes and usually sell to the first serious buyer. The next guy that came over purchased it without even starting it up.Whenever I have looked at used bikes I don't hesitate if I like the bike after properly inspecting it. What else is bad is the seller that falsely advertises a bike. I have looked at bikes that were advertised as like new that were complete junk. One time I responded to a ad that stated that the dirtbike was like new. I drove thirty miles in rush hour traffic to see a bike that was completely worn out. Now that PISSES me off! Let's hear some other bike buying/selling stories

[Kristian,CO]

How about buyers trying to negotiate the price before they even see it!

[foobeemer]

Saw my bike on ebay...it was at a dealer 2 hours away from me. It was love at first site. I went there and looked at it on a Friday, left a deposit, came back a week later and picked it up with a buddy and his pickup. I never even rode the bike before buying it!!!!! C'mon, I was IN LOVE!!!!

[mullerjd]

Bought a wrecked 04 Yamaha R1 for $2800.. fixed it and sold it for $7500!!

I hate when people ask if I will finance

[Steve Carlton]

Do you take trades?

[Ihookmup]

I thought this was kind of funny...
Before my S, I sold my 2000 ZX-7R. Well this guy Robert, had been calling me all day asking questions/ checking to see if it was still available as I was selling it pretty cheap. He's planning on being at my house around four, and sure enough this tricked out lifted F-150 rolls in with four brothers in it (not racist you'll see the relevance in a bit). Nice guys, we were B.S.'ing and finally Robert introduces me to Jermaine who is the guy that's going to buy my bike. Jermaine and I chat for a bit, and I'm like "so do you want to take her for a spin?", he's like "sure" so I ask him if he know's how to ride? A normal question I thought, which causes his buddy's to snicker profusely. Finally Robert says... "didn't he tell you what he does?" and I'm like "no"... "He's a stunt rider". Of course my mind says... uh.. Yeah.. everone in Southern California is a stunt rider. So he tells me he's filming a movie with Kid Rock, L.L. Cool J, and all these other guys, Biker Boys, and rambles off about a hundred other stunt flicks he's supposedly been in. Anyhoo... he buys my bike, and as were filling out the paperwork, I have to keep asking him his last name... Holtz he says. He leaves, were all happy, I search him on yahoo... and yep, he's pretty big time! Well, I thought it was funny, He probably figured I would have known who he was, and I don't know how many times he had to remind me of his last name.

[Steve Carlton]

I remember when I was in high school I bought my next door neighbor's CB450 cheap and spent a good bit of time cleaning it up to very presentable condition. When I sold it for a nice profit, my neighbor wanted more money!

Same thing happened again with some clown when I was a freshman in college with a Honda SL100.

[Bigred455]

Originally posted by Ihookmup
Jermaine who is the guy that's going to buy my bike.

A quick search revealed.....
lol, i guess he could ride.

[bradzdotcom]

okay, i gotta say it before someone else "jumps on it".

that is absolutely the best tankbag i have ever seen.
i want one.
i like the way it looks.
i love the way it mounts.
i assume it's available in different sizes/colors/dimensions, etc...

man, one of those would sure take a lot of the boredom out of some rides, eh?

for one of those...i might even consider paying retail.

maybe a group buy?

....brad

[BMW Atlanta]

dont even get me started on horror stories from "potential buyers". If you think salesmen can be full of BS,...........try being the salesman and hearing all the BS from various "potential buyers" I get some of the funniest stories. Nothing pisses me off more then someone calling blindly from another state trying to price shop his local dealer though,........they fail to realize they are paying for more then just the bike and I have less incentive to make a stranger a deal rather then a nieghbor who I am going to see for repeat purchases.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally posted by bradzdotcom

...that is absolutely the best tankbag i have ever seen.
i want one...

But Brad... I thought you were a tailbag kinda guy...

[SergioK]

Originally posted by bradzdotcom
maybe a group buy?
....brad

Mmmm.... do we all have to share the same one?

[motoman]

I have sold many bikes and cars. What really pi$$es me off is when they come over to see it, TAKE IT FOR A 1/2 HOUR TEST RIDE, and then say 'I'll get back to you'. We both know the bike runs fine, so my time has been wasted and my bike has been ridden by a stranger (which somehow always makes me feel a little violated.)

With the last bike I sold, I asked the guy, 1. Is this the bike you want?, 2. Is this the right color? 3. Are you OK with the price? 4. Do you have the money available? and then I told him, OK you can take it for a test ride, but if it runs OK, and I know it does, I expect to close the deal today. Otherwise, go find another bike to test ride. He bought it.

Another thing to ask the potential buyer is if they have ever ridden a (whatever you're selling) before. If they say no, then they're probably just shopping and I tell 'em that I'm not a dealer and I don't provide free test rides.

[JonyRR]

'tank bag' now there's a good one!
kinda like 'high on the hog' (what a friend USED to say about his love life until his (ex) wife overheard him once )

[bradzdotcom]

steve~
i like the tailbag and the tankbag.
i'll even admit that i have saddlebags tucked away in the back of my closet.

...ummm...we ARE talking about bike stuff, right?

....brad

[Steve Carlton]

Yeah, bikestuff... just sneaking "tail" into the conversation. And I remember you had a tailbag on your rig...

[bradzdotcom]

steve~
yep.
that "wonder why they think i'm rich?" tailbag. i like it.
my pixel monkey (canon gl-1) rides in there while shooting video.
the tankbag carries out other duties.

[JeremySmith]

I'll usually trade for stuff, which makes for some interesting encounters. The last bike I got rid of, I had a kid call from about 2 hours away and asked if I'd be interested in trading for a mustang. I said sure, and he said he'd be here in 2.25 hours to seal the deal. Kid shows up with the nastiest looking 5.0 I've seen. Bad floors, bad carpet, bad seats, bad paint, bad paint, etc. I didn't even get the bike out and told him to hit the bricks. I thought he was going to cry. I had asked him if the car was in good shape, and he had said it was. loser!

[jweicht]

I sold my KDX200 two years ago - placed an ad in the local paper for what I thought was a fair price. The phone starts ringing off the hook, and the first guy to come by was amazed at the great condition for that price. He said he expected it to have bent forks or a missing gas tank or something. Needless to say there was no negotiating on my part, and he was more than happy to give my asking price. I guess I could have done more homework on my pricing, but I was still satisfied and I know the buyer was.

[on2wheels52]

Nobody rides for free. If the buyer arrives on a bike (best) and wants to know how it runs, we first ride our own. If I'm satisfyed he's competant we switch.
If they come in a cage, I follow them with me on the bike.
I sell used merchandise every day, have gotten very good at saying "no" in a variety of ways.

Jim