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I was looking on their site for the first time and I see about 50 bikes from Litespeed and QR (both subisdies of ABG) and other than that there is only about 20 other bikes on the site.
Seems like a lot of overhead to sell used bikes and they aren't getting much traction...
Has anyone used the site to either purchase or trade one in? What are the opinions of the site?
I've never used the site but it appears to be the ABG way of getting rid of all the bikes that they were accepting in their trade-in program. It looks like they've got a pretty solid selection of high-end bikes and the prices look good. I wouldn't think that it would be too risky purchasing from ABG direct as long as you are confident in what size you need.
I talked to a couple of people who bought from preowned and were extremely happy. In fact, one guy thought he was getting a used QR Private Reserve and it was brand spankin' new at a great price. Granted it was a leftover but he didn't have to eat any of the depreciation that goes along with a new bike. It sounds to me like they have a good thing going and most of their bikes are pretty high-end it seems.
Team Endurance Nation
The site seems to work fairly well but the concept of "pre-owned" or used bikes doesn;t hold much water to begin with. Check this out- this is not fiction, this happened a week ago in our store:
-A guy buys a used QR Kilo for $850. This thing was ridden, maybe, 3 times. It was darn near brand new. Only $850. They are about $1300 new. He saved, minimum, $450. Shrewd customer.... or is he? He brought the bike to our store becasue he was "not comfortable on it". This is what it needed:
Complete fitting: $150.
Cranks from 172.5 to 170 mm $159.99 + $10 labor.
Stem from 110 to 90mm $69.99 + $10 labor.
New aerobars (sized correctly) $119.99.
RE-size all cables $21.99 + $40 labor.
Switch to new saddle & center mount seat post $249.99 + $10 labor.
Total cost to get the bike set up correctly: $892.46.
total cost of used QR kilo: $1691.95
We sell new ones, including correctly fitted componenets and a full credit toward any saddle swap for $1399.99.
Basically, the guy paid $291.96 more than a new bike and he still has a used one. But it fits him now. I made much more money off him by doing it this way than if he had come in and said "I want a new bike and I want it to fit perfectly".
Used is rarely a good buy in bikes.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Good stuff...has the site worked for you at all? In terms of people bringing in old QR's or Litespeeds for trade-ins? Is it a hassle to work with?
I think ebay definitely has a place in our culture and it's a great tool to unload old bikes when you "need" a new one, but there is definitely something to be said for buying locally for the tech support, labor and warranty issues that may arrive.
I was going to use it to trade in my 1998 Litespeed Blade with mostly Dura-Ace components, Thomson seatpost, 3T aerobars, Zipp carbon cranks, Quintana Roo Evo fork, Mavic wheelset. They offered me $1030.00. My ribs hurt from laughing so hard.
Once, I was fast. But I got over it.
Hey hblake, I'll give ya $19.95 for it.
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I don't work here, I just live here