A couple years ago I bought a bicycle off of Ebay. Unfortunately, the bike’s 18″ frame was too small for my towering 6′4″ frame. It has sat in my garage since then, with the intention of reselling it on Ebay. I have sold a couple dozen items on Ebay in the past, but my procrastination has been fueled by the fact that it is a pain to box and ship a bicycle.
The other day I got the idea to sell the cruiser via an online consignment shop. These places take your item, do the research, determine the target price, showcase it on services like Ebay and, if successful, pack and ship it once the auction is over. Their take is upwards of one-third of the winning bid price, but the selling points are 1) the chances of selling the item for more money is greater (due to their expertise); and 2) they take all the hassle out of the transaction.
Today I drove the van to work and over lunch went out to the NuMarkets drop off store in the Shallowford Business Plaza. There are three NuMarkets locations in Chattanooga. Since the company sells franchises, I have no idea whether the stores are owned by the same people or not. I just chose the Shallowford location because it was closest to my office.
I walked into NuMarkets and immediately felt nervous. The waiting area was cluttered with boxes of people’s junk. You could see the rear of the store and it did not look much better. Selling random items may be messy, I thought, but there are ways to hide this from your potential customers. A woman at the counter was talking on the telephone and looking at a computer. Another woman walked up from the back to assist me. She looked slightly dazed and confused, as if she had just rolled out of bed five minutes earlier.
“Hi, I would like to sell a bicycle on Ebay,” I said. “This is the first time I have been here.”
“Oh,” the girl muttered. “We haven’t had much luck selling those lately. Getting like $9.99.”
“Uh-huh,” I replied as warning shots rang out in my head. I sort of stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds as I tried to comprehend why the clerk was trying to lose my business. For all she knew I could have had a $5,000 Trek Madone sitting outside. Maybe she is used to people bringing in their cheap Wal-Mart specials, but she at least could have started by asking what kind of bike it was that I want to sell.
“You know what? Thanks anyway,” I said as I rapped my fingers on the counter like a drum and pointed an air drumstick in her general direction and backed away (why I did this gesture I have no idea…maybe I have a Shooter McGavin complex?).
As I turned around she called out, “I can look it up for you?!?”
By then it was too late and I repeated that I was not interested. Fuming all the way back—frustrated that I had wasted time and gas—I decided to give craigslist a try. It is free, easy to use and from what I hear, is fairly successful at connecting buyers and sellers. I posted the ad this afternoon with no problems. If it does not work, then after a while I will suck it up and list the bike on Ebay. Maybe I can get one of the local bike shops to box it for a small fee (and add that to the auction’s shipping and handling charges)?
I am not trying to get the most money possible out of the bicycle, but I do want to make a few bucks to add to my much needed mountain bike fund. I do not think that I will ever go back to NuMarkets. My faith in them is gone. Hopefully craigslist will work, but if not, then at least I know that with Ebay I will get equal returns for the effort that I put into it.
