What's a fair price? | GTAMotorcycle.com

What's a fair price?

TikiTom

TikiTom

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Hey members. I'm selling my 1999 Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom here and on Kijiji.ca. I wasn't getting any bits so I've dropped the price a couples times, and still no interest. I know the paint will only be on interest to specific people, so some time is needed to wait until that person comes along. But I'm still wondering if I've priced the bike fairly. Should I post it on Facebook, AutoTrader or another platform? Any feedback is appreciated. Cheers, TikiTom
 
The more you post it, the more attention it can receive. It's a nice looking bike. Good luck!
 
I really like the paint colour on that bike. Personally, I really dislike the V-star 650 (seating position, power, brakes, etc). I know some people feel differently and if I liked the bike, I would strongly consider yours. A repaint sets off alarm bells with buyers as they expect it was crashed before the respray. Sometimes dated before/after pics can help alleviate these worries.
 
1st impression? someone uh ...is really going to need a love for that uh unique paint colour

no insult intended, just me gut speaking..

looks very well kept, but it might have to drop in price for a sale 1999

I think it would get interest at 29 certified
 
Did I miss it or did you not post the mileage.

If you want to benchmark pricing make a list of Kijiji and Autotrader bikes for sale, the year, the mileage, how long the post has been up and note special accessories. This should give you some indication of where your bike sits in terms of its price vs. the competition.

Don't expect any or much special consideration for the accessories you put on the bike or the special paint job. You might attract a few people, but many will be turned off and those you attract might give you an extra 10% - 15% if they see value in the customization you did.

Overpriced bikes sit for 4 - 6 weeks and in updating your list periodically you'll see prices start to ratchet down as the owners grow frustrated. Key thing is do you want to price your bike to sell it or price it to keep it.
 
Without showing the mileage many people will just skim on by because they expect it to be high.
If it's over 40,000km - I think you're about $1k over the price people will start showing interest.
 
Personally I like the paint. But custom paint can be a fickle thing with buyers.

I would agree that you might be about $1K high on the price. I'd lower it $500 now if it was me (and you really wanted to get rid of it another $500 in a few weeks) as reality is in another 8 weeks the market is mostly done until next year. Only someone who falls in love with the paint would probably pay that price (and hey, that could happen), but unfortunately despite the investment in that sort of thing, you rarely get it back at the time you sell it.

Do you have it listed on Facebook marketplace and the buy and sell motorcycle groups, etc? More eyes matters. And as much as Kijiji was huge in the past, it's starting to play second fiddle to Facebook Marketplace.
 
GreyGhost said:
I really like the paint colour on that bike. Personally, I really dislike the V-star 650 (seating position, power, brakes, etc). I know some people feel differently and if I liked the bike, I would strongly consider yours. A repaint sets off alarm bells with buyers as they expect it was crashed before the respray. Sometimes dated before/after pics can help alleviate these worries.
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Thanks for the feedback, GreyGhost.
It was custom painted by the original owner, a dealership in Quebec. It came loaded with Yamaha accessory parts and I've only added Yamaha parts. As far as I can tell, only the leather panniers aren't Yamaha.
 
boyoboy said:
1st impression? someone uh ...is really going to need a love for that uh unique paint colour

no insult intended, just me gut speaking..

looks very well kept, but it might have to drop in price for a sale 1999

I think it would get interest at 29 certified
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Thanks boyoboy.
Custom paint definitely narrows the pool of potential new owners. It's totally subjective and no offence is taken. But $2900 is quite low, compared to other V-Stars for sale – based on year, milage and equipment.
 
ReSTored said:
Did I miss it or did you not post the mileage.

If you want to benchmark pricing make a list of Kijiji and Autotrader bikes for sale, the year, the mileage, how long the post has been up and note special accessories. This should give you some indication of where your bike sits in terms of its price vs. the competition.

Don't expect any or much special consideration for the accessories you put on the bike or the special paint job. You might attract a few people, but many will be turned off and those you attract might give you an extra 10% - 15% if they see value in the customization you did.

Overpriced bikes sit for 4 - 6 weeks and in updating your list periodically you'll see prices start to ratchet down as the owners grow frustrated. Key thing is do you want to price your bike to sell it or price it to keep it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply ReSTored.
Now that you mention it there isn't a milage field in this form's selling page. I just added it – Kilometers: 49,430. Most of the other stuff you mentioned has been considered. When I bought it there were a lot of ’99 V-Stars available and this was about 10% higher. So, that's were I tried to set the price.
For me, it might be more a matter of waiting for the right person to come along to appreciate the overall bike. My wife and I fell in love with it immediately. But I had choices so I negotiated the price down a couple hundred, which I'm also willing to do. It's been a great bike, but I finally saved up for a Multistrada for much longer trips.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Personally I like the paint. But custom paint can be a fickle thing with buyers.

I would agree that you might be about $1K high on the price. I'd lower it $500 now if it was me (and you really wanted to get rid of it another $500 in a few weeks) as reality is in another 8 weeks the market is mostly done until next year. Only someone who falls in love with the paint would probably pay that price (and hey, that could happen), but unfortunately despite the investment in that sort of thing, you rarely get it back at the time you sell it.

Do you have it listed on Facebook marketplace and the buy and sell motorcycle groups, etc? More eyes matters. And as much as Kijiji was huge in the past, it's starting to play second fiddle to Facebook Marketplace.
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I bought it third hand, so I got a discount on the paint and all the extras. Thanks for the rest of your advice.
 
That bike looks clean ASF - cruisers ain't my style - yet? - But for that price it looks like a good deal.

Well lookin at other kijiji ads it's probably a few hundred than average of newer ones - that and milage - you'd probably find a buyer if it's also low mileage I guess. Clean ASF.
 
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CriticalCore said:
That bike looks clean ASF - cruisers ain't my style - yet? - But for that price it looks like a good deal.

Well lookin at other kijiji ads it's probably a few hundred than average of newer ones - that and milage - you'd probably find a buyer if it's also low mileage I guess. Clean ASF.
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Honestly, I wouldnt really care whether a 20 year old star had 20K or 50K. Unlikely to wear it out with distance in either case.
 
I like the paint
but that's not a very desirable bike for most
metric cruisers are hard to sell used
and the little ones even more so
I think you'd do well to get 2,500 for a '99 650 with 50K on it
and that's because yours presents well, otherwise 2K
 
I just looked back and I sold my wife's 2002 Vstar 650 for $2300. We then bought her current Vstar 1100 for around 1K more.
 
I used to have one a year and a bit ago, 2006 mint with cobra exhaust, only 12,000kms paid $3400. Fun bike was obnoxiously loud lol
 
If it were mine I'd be in the $2200-2500 range. There are lots of them for sale, lots with low mileage that have been listed for a couple of weeks.

650 cruisers aren't the most desirable as they cater to new riders and female riders -- both may have some fear over the age of the bike. Repaint will more often than not depreciate a bike further -- paint covers things.

Good luck!
 
GreyGhost said:
A repaint sets off alarm bells with buyers as they expect it was crashed before the respray.
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The repaint definitely says that the bike was down. The other thing that bothers me is that it was in Quebec. I don't know if this is still the case, but there was a time you just did not buy a used bike from Quebec. A bike could be totaled in Quebec but still be licensed for the road, something that was almost impossible to be done in Ontario. I'm not saying it was, but the 2 things give off warning signs.
 
Klaatu said:
The repaint definitely says that the bike was down. The other thing that bothers me is that it was in Quebec. I don't know if this is still the case, but there was a time you just did not buy a used bike from Quebec. A bike could be totaled in Quebec but still be licensed for the road, something that was almost impossible to be done in Ontario. I'm not saying it was, but the 2 things give off warning signs.
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Yes, Quebec origin is always a weak selling point. I would price it at $2500 certified, $2200 "As Is" and see what happens. These 650s are not very popular, for the same money you can buy many other bigger metric cruisers (Volusia/C50/Vulcan etc).
 
I think that is like in the 1% of custom motorcycle paint jobs that actually look good... but you can already see from this thread that this is a subjective opinion. I could see someone possibly paying your asking price but more importantly I think it's not in outer space, so if people are interested you should still at least get offers on it. You can always tune the asking price over time based on interest.

Personally, my first reaction in this case is NOT that the bike has been down. I reserve that more for low effort paint jobs, and in this case it wouldn't have made economical sense - either they could have replaced just a tank or a fender, or there are a ton of cosmetic parts that would have been necessary to replace along with having it repainted - would never have paid off on a V-Star 650. My feelings as a random internet person aren't super valuable, but I feel like I've sold more bikes than the average GTAM member and this seems to me like I would have no trouble selling this one at a good price.

Edit: One thing though - you don't mention a safety certificate in the ad. I find that selling as ready to ride goes a long way with used entry level bikes
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