Why are the bikes overpriced?

[Oldgit]

Why is it that the bikes advertised on this site are way way overpriced? Are people really that optimistic?

[peteR]

I think you must be missing the reasonably priced ones!  I've bought two excellent bikes here at very good prices.  I guess the overpriced ones just stay on the site longer.....  The cheap ones disappear a lot quicker!

[Martin_UK]

I don't think the bikes on the site are necessarily over priced, just read some of the prices and adverts in the magazines being asked for plain ordinary bikes. Whether or not you agree that a mid 50's -60's Triumph should command £6000 - 8000 or that a BSA Gold Star is really worth £10,000 -12,000  (for what is a glorified B31 or B33 !!) isn't really determined by one individual, it's down to good old supply and demand and market forces. After all would you sell your pride and joy for less than it was worth to the market ?

If you can find the bike you want at a reasonable price, good luck to you !!

[Oldgit]

Well how about these?:

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/811/ajs_350cc_1955.html

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/804/1977_kawasaki_Z1000A1.html

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/803/DKW_WANKEL_2000.html

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/794/indian_powerplus_x_two_scar.html

[url][http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/788/Matchless_G80S498_year_1955.html/url]

 

[L.A.B.]

Well how about these?:

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/811/ajs_350cc_1955.html

Yes 100000....but 100000 what?

As the bike is located in INDIA I would guess he means 100,000 Rupees? (£1,216GBP)


http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/804/1977_kawasaki_Z1000A1.html

£4,500 Is a fair price I would have thought? (if you have one for sale just like it for a lot less then let me know?)

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/803/DKW_WANKEL_2000.html

6000 Euros = £ 4,209 GBP possibly a little steep? Also the actual value may well be different another country?

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/794/indian_powerplus_x_two_scar.html

$48,000 AUS = £20,000 GBP Maybe too high for the UK but prices could well be different for Aus.?

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classifieds/listing/788/Matchless_G80S498_year_1955.html

8,000 Euros = £5,612 GBP Yes a bit pricey for the UK maybe but again these bikes I'm sure will be less commonly available in Finland than they are in the UK and the price structure for these bikes in Finland could very well be different to the UK?

[Martin_UK]

The Indian in Australia for £20K is actually for 2 bikes and a sidecar...and as one similar Indian Power Plus was listed at £18,000 at Netley Marsh in September 2007,  a bike which contained several major non-orginal parts, I think £20K for 2 and a sidecar is pretty good value.

If I was a vintage Indian fan instead of a vintage HD fan I would be knocking on the door.

No-one has mentioned ebay yet for comparative prices, have you seen some of the prices on there recently ?? even for late 70's Japanese bikes and parts. I personally think the relative scarcity of the earlier bikes (I'm taliking pre-50's) and parts deserves to be reflected in their prices.

[Goldy]

I agree with you oldgit, old bikes are definately overpriced. The touble is that the value of anything is the amount that someone is prepared to pay and there are an awful  lot of people with an awful lot of spare cash. I poked my head into the auction at Stafford Show last month, and some of the prices, no just for bikes, but for memorabilia where ridiculous. So long as people are prepared to pay, then the prices will just go on increasing.

[L.A.B.]

I agree with you oldgit, old bikes are definately overpriced. The touble is that the value of anything is the amount that someone is prepared to pay and there are an awful  lot of people with an awful lot of spare cash.

I fail to see how that makes old bikes (or anything else for that matter) overpriced if somebody is willing to pay the asking price.

I think 'overpriced' is just another way of saying that it is more than you or I would be prepared to pay for something? Or that we maybe have less money to spend than we would like?

(Hmmm....in that case I think Learjets are a bit 'overpriced'....but then it wouldn't fit in the garage anyway!)    

[daddymull]

HAVEto go with L.A.B. onthis ..one persons overpriced is anothers bargain...if its too expensive it dont sell....

[twolitre]

I'm another 'oldgit' and I love old bikes which often cost more than a brand new bike out of a showroom.  I have never bought a restored bike or tried to restore one to concourse condition.  My bikes are for riding.  However, I have found that even restoring a bike to safe and reliable riding condition costs more than generally expected.
  I suspect that many 'overpriced' older bikes represent a financial loss to the restorer and the seller is out to recover as much of the cost as he/she can.

[george_the_second]

I think that most people think that they have a goldmine and that everyone is willing to pay for it.
The big probleme is the internet on which people can see askingprices.
If your neighbour dies and has a motorbike, the children go on the net to look what they can fetch for it and your bargainbike is gone.
The only possibility is buying a basketcase that nobody wants, but then you need the time and skills to restore it.
And there are of course a lot of not so interesting bikes for reasonabel prices.
I bought my ariel G special 2 years ago with all the right parts for 1700 pounds and spend some money and a lot of  time on it , so you can imagine that if I wanted to sell it( I don't) the price would be much higher.Logic?
george the second.
Look on british bikes ,ariel G special if you want to see the result

[Tinker]

It makes a difference what you want to do. If you are primarily intersted in riding bikes that are in decent shape and phrases like "all original paint" mean nothing then the fully restored bikes are too expensive. But pick up a good example of a rideable Classic bike, now thats doable.

I chose a Honda CB400A, because I had not ridden a Hondamatic, and I found it pretty much at the original (new) salesprice, with under 12,000 miles. But I also saw a 2 stroke Kawasaki, at a good price, and a fairly nice Yamahas XS 750. So without further work, I can ride around on an original classic bike.  And get 50 mpg, reliably, into the bargain.  They are not selling similar general purpose motorcycles any more, they are all skewed to one extreme or another, and they are all (way too) expensive.

That's my view, anyway. You do have to resist repainting it.  After that it's all down hill.

From Candy Sapphire Blue to Tahitian Red?  Hmmm. I wonder if the decals are out there...

[33d6]

None of you have mentioned the obvious. You can start at a high price and let yourself be beaten down to what you want but its very difficult to start low and push the price up when you have a potential buyer.
And of course if you are very, very lucky (I never am) someone might just pay the high asking price without haggling.
All the price means is that the owner is willing to sell. The rest is up for negotiation.
Cheers, Bob

[Martin_UK]

I don't know about other sellers but I don't deliberately price something up for it to be beaten down by some tyre kicking haggler.

If you're worried about the price of something  then you can't afford it in the first place and don't waste people's time. If there's one thing I can't stand its hagglers at autojumbles. The price is usually written on the part or bike for sale. Pay it.

In the vintage movement it's a sellers market and will continue to be so as parts and bikes become rarer and less plentiful.

Just my two penneth worth.  

[33d6]

Hi Martin,
I suppose its a matter of how you view these things.I have several vintage bikes and believe it is mostly a buyers market. After all, if you have parts for a 1926 XYX for sale and there are only a dozen of this bike around and only two or three being restored then the number of potential buyers is also small so unless the price is right then your parts can take a long time to sell.
It's like everything else, people tackle things in different ways. I'm afraid I'm a haggler. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Whatever the case it never hurts to ask.
Cheers, Bob