Islabike Prices on Ebay

By Julii Swindells 12 Dec 2011 | Comment
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What prices do second-hand Islabikes fetch? Here are my findings based on a year-long study of auction prices on eBay.

Here is a chart showing the spread of prices that Isla bikes fetch on eBay (as a fraction of their new price), organised by wheel size:
Key for chart right, wheel size is 12=Rothan, 14/16=Cnoc 14/16, 20/24/26/29=Beinn 20/24/26/29, 23/25=Luath 24/26, 27=Creig, 31=Luath 700.

Findings

:
  • About 15 sales per week, typically; peaking at 60+/week near Christmas.
  • Bikes are/were cheaper to buy close to Christmas (from late November+; yes, you read that right, prices went down, makes sense with high supply, perhaps). Some of the price falls were dramatic. Prices remain depressed until mid Feb, and climb again near Easter time. So your best time to buy is January; best time to sell was October. There was no observed summer dip in prices (held high all summer).
  • Results are standardised as ratios: Ebay sale prices as % of price of equivalent new product; These are gross ratios, Ebay/Paypal fees (which can easily gobble up to 15% of sale price) not deducted.
  • Typical sale is about 65% of new product price, so maybe 58% to seller with Ebay fees deducted (down to 54.3% if paid via Paypal)
  • No striking correlations between price ratio and day of week or time of day. That said (2 month sample period for these statistics)...
  • Some observations on just first 2 months, applicable to all year though in % terms:
  • Beinn 20 (small or large) and Beinn 24 are similar. 46-90%, 73% avg. for the Beinn 20 (26 sales of all sizes), and (5 sales) 63-84% with 74% avg, for the Beinn 24
  • Cnocs (either wheel size) had returns of (52 sales) 34-87%, avg=68%
  • Rothan had returns (25 sales): 42-79%, avg=65%
  • Luath 700 (any size) doesn't hold up as well as other Islabikes (too many competing products?): 4 sales, 50-62%, 54% avg. return.
  • Very Limited data on Creig (2 sales, 67% avg) and Beinn 26 (2 sales, 74% avg).
  • No sales so far for Beinn 29 or Reis models.
  • Luath 24 and Luath 26: much bidding but tend to end abruptly when item obviously sells privately off of Ebay. Of the small number that completed auction on Ebay, most sold for over 75% of new price (one went for only about 50% though, no obvious reason why, either).
  • Saturday evening sales do best, Friday, Sunday and Wednesday eve pretty good, other weekdays not great
  • Sunday is the most popular day by far for auctions to end
  • The average price doesn't change by day, but there's more variation in ratios achieved on busy days
  • Most bikes are sold local collection, pick up only
  • Offering courier/postal service seems not to decrease sale prices.
  • Bikes in London tend to sell for significantly more than bikes in other English urban centres, which sell for more than in other central English places, which sell for a bit better than remote English places and Wales/Scotland-based bikes
  • I roughly categorised bike condition (or bike package) as Excellent (like new, or lotsa extras), Good (typical, probably well used but well-looked after, too) or a bit poor (needs TLC), some stats re condition and yield (all % values cover the period 26 Aug - 27 Oct 2011)
  • Excellent condition bikes fetched 59-87% of new price, 71-72 % avg/median
  • Good condition but well used bikes fetched 46-90% of new price (73% avg, 79% median)
  • Somewhat poorer condition Islabikes still fetched 50% median or average

DATA CHARTS

These are based on only 2 months of data but the overall patterns are same for the full year of data. In the charts below, the y-axis is always the Ratio of New product number, as explained above. Delivery charges not included in ratio calculation. X-axes are explained in title or with text next to the x-axis. Keep in mind many auctions come with small extras, like mudguards or spare tyres.

Days of sale 1=Sunday, 2=Monday, etc. until 7=Saturday.

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About the author

My name is John Swindells and I'm a keen recreational cyclist with a preference for long one-day rides. I've also previously dabbled in time trialling and cyclo-cross. See more of what I get up to on Strava!

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