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Bike not selling

TikiTom

TikiTom

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Howdy forum people.
I've been trying to sell my 1999 Yamaha V-Star 650 for several months. It's listed on this forum, Kijiji and now Auto Trader. I'm getting a few crank inquiries, but nothing legit. A couple serious questions with no follow up. And nobody's asked to come by to see it.
It's list at $3100, which now seems lower than other similar bikes. I realize the custom paint makes for a smaller buying audience. But a buddy has also had no luck selling his Goldwing.
Is anyone aware of poor motorcycles sales this year? I'm aware of lots of talk in the news about a bad economy. Is that keeping buyers away? Have people run out of pandemic pay?
Any feedback or selling ideas is welcome.
Tank you reading this.
 
TikiTom said:
Howdy forum people.
I've been trying to sell my 1999 Yamaha V-Star 650 for several months. It's listed on this forum, Kijiji and now Auto Trader. I'm getting a few crank inquiries, but nothing legit. A couple serious questions with no follow up. And nobody's asked to come by to see it.
It's list at $3100, which now seems lower than other similar bikes. I realize the custom paint makes for a smaller buying audience. But a buddy has also had no luck selling his Goldwing.
Is anyone aware of poor motorcycles sales this year? I'm aware of lots of talk in the news about a bad economy. Is that keeping buyers away? Have people run out of pandemic pay?
Any feedback or selling ideas is welcome.
Tank you reading this.
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Not a highly desirable bike (sadly, as I like them). Set the price at $2500 and it will be gone
 
Mad Mike said:
Not a highly desirable bike (sadly, as I like them). Set the price at $2500 and it will be gone
Click to expand...
Take private listing Kijiji and Autotrader prices with a grain of salt. Just because bikes are listed at a certain price doesn't mean they are selling at that price.

As MM says not a popular bike + custom paint which may be a turn off for some. I'd remove the ad, repost Thursday at $2,500 and see what happens over the weekend. No action, remove ad and repost following w/e at $2,250.
 
Beautiful bike. Well kept, good ad, and a clean bike with nice pics.

Unfortunately for me it would be a hard pass simply because of the paint job. Nothing wrong with it, and looks very nice and clean. But not my taste.

I assume there are lots like me.

Remove ad, drop price, and it’ll be gone. $2500 would be a good start, depending how quick you want to have it gone.
 
No offence, but it seems a bit high for a 23 year old entry level bike (more or less). Potential purchasers aren't just looking at your model but numerous others too.

A custom paint job would also be a barrier regardless of quality, but I don't know what it looks like.

We're now in August so it's also nearing the end of purchasing season, and I think you're also correct in that the COVID madness pricing is subsiding with normal setting back in.

Like I said, no offence intended.
 
I'm more into touring bikes but I don't see anything objectionable with the paint unless someone hates blue.

One problem with free ads is that it doesn't cost the sellers so they can ask silly prices that don't reflect the true market. Some people list bottles of ketchup for $300.00. If a sucker jumps, they score.

If people had to pay $10 a day they would start pricing closer to the market.

It looks like a good cruiser but unless someone wants that particular make, model, year there is lots of competition.

I loved all my bikes and thought they would sell in a heartbeat. They didn't.
 
In 2011 I had a tough time getting $3300 for a 2002 FZ1 in almost mint condition with 60,000 kms.

At the same time people were getting more for an SV650.

It all depends on what is in demand and the FZ1 was not a starter bike so limited demand at the time.
 
xrljoel said:
No offence, but it seems a bit high for a 23 year old entry level bike (more or less). Potential purchasers aren't just looking at your model but numerous others too.

A custom paint job would also be a barrier regardless of quality, but I don't know what it looks like.

We're now in August so it's also nearing the end of purchasing season, and I think you're also correct in that the COVID madness pricing is subsiding with normal setting back in.

Like I said, no offence intended.
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Very well stated. If more people were as polite with their comments we wouldn't have the sales forum locked.
 
I know it's US (so convert the currency) and I know the market conditions are different (but that different??) and I know this isn't what the original poster wants to hear. BUT ... 1999 Yamaha XVS65AL V-Star Classic Price

It may be somewhat higher here. Just about anything that is relatively beginner-friendly, insurance-friendly, and will pass a safety inspection and is in decent running order is worth $2k give or take.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I'll consider it all over the next day or two.
Just saying … there are a lot of metic cruisers in downtown Toronto.
I would also say that spending is more tied to debt and interest rates (housing is in that mix), and we know that's on the rise.
 
That last line in your post about accepting e-transfer only for payment might also be a factor. Some people prefer to deal in cash or even bank draft/certified cheque.

E-transfer has limits and there are also phishing scams out there involving fraudulent transfers.

This part might be also a reason for the lack of interest besides with the other members mentioned.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using GTAMotorcycle.com mobile app
 
TikiTom said:
. But a buddy has also had no luck selling his Goldwing.
Is anyone aware of poor motorcycles sales this year? I'm aware of lots of talk in the news about a bad economy.
Click to expand...
You have a desireable bike for the right crowd.

It could be a few reasons for slow sales including reduced model demand but probably more due to the end of the riding season in sight.

I posted my Goldwing last April when few were listed and advertised it as a pre-season sale. I did sell it for less than I wanted soon realizing that the market for GW's is way down. Honda's recent announcement that they are discontinuing it's model line didn't help.
 
I agree the e-transfer could be a problem. I only deal in cash (even when it was a bag of hundreds to buy a 22K camper).

FWIW I like the paint job
 
Gorgeous bike! I think the price is fair but also think the range stated by others is more attractive. Ultimately it depends on how in a hurry you are to sell it. The right buyer may just need some time to find you.

Rent hikes, and rising prices, have people rethinking fun purchases. I expect other sellers are scratching their heads as to what's going on, especially after the pandemic fueled rush for freedom machines.

Another thing could be that people look at the age of the bike as a potential reliability and maintenance problem. Objectively comparable cruisers can be had for a similar price but half a decade newer with features such as EFI and rear disk break.

In light of this, I'll probably run my vz800 into the ground before I ever think of selling it...
 
I agree with what most people are saying. I've sold lots of stuff online, and so long as you have tons of pictures, disclosed as much information about it as possible, the issue comes down to price.

I also agree that the paint job on it may turn off many buyers, so that is a highly personal decision that potential buyers might consider a large factor in not being interested in it.

Lower the price, and make a new post. Good luck with sale!
 
When I was selling my Goldwing this spring, I posted on Kijiji, Autotrader and FB Marketplace. It seems that for some reason, people have switched from Kijiji to Marketplace. I had probably 3x the inquiries from Marketplace than I did from Kijiji, which sucked because Marketplace is really poorly designed for vehicle listings. Try posting an ad on Marketplace and see what you get.
 
KLR Junkie said:
When I was selling my Goldwing this spring, I posted on Kijiji, Autotrader and FB Marketplace. It seems that for some reason, people have switched from Kijiji to Marketplace. I had probably 3x the inquiries from Marketplace than I did from Kijiji, which sucked because Marketplace is really poorly designed for vehicle listings. Try posting an ad on Marketplace and see what you get.
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I find FB marketplace to be just about useless in terms of searching.

So which of the three resulted in the sale of your GW?
 
ReSTored said:
I find FB marketplace to be just about useless in terms of searching.
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fb marketplace has potential because facebook is such a big platform, but marketplace is poorly designed and its algorithm is not as good as kijiji (which makes sense because its a dedicated platform)
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