How do I figure out a fair price for a used bike + accessories?

acetanilide@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 31 points –

I am wanting to sell a used adult bike with some accessories (a camelbak and a helmet). I don't think the bike is worth much but the bicycle blue book doesn't list this brand (genesis from walmart) and other calculators are pricing it at $50+ even in poor condition (not ridden much, tires need to be replaced). I don't think it cost more than $180, if that, when I bought it 4 years ago.

If anyone could point me in a good direction I would be grateful.

I am in the USA.

8

Low end bikes like that just don't have much value used. They are generally considered disposable. Still if it is in good ridable shape you might get $50. Some times you cant give them away... Used helmets are iffy to the buyer. You never can be certain they are in good safe condition, even if they look nice. A nice camelback might be worth more than the bike and helmet!

One of the things I learned in my motorcycle class was that motorcycle helmets have a 5-7 year life span and then are considered no longer good for protection because of the interior padding they use that degrades with time.

I’m sure bicycle helmets are no different to this rule except that the speed difference may play a factor to abide more closer to this when riding a motorcycle than a bicycle.

All bicycle helmets I used had no functional padding to speak of. There were strips a few mm thick at the places where your head touches the helmet but I don't think that'd be significant in a crash.

Best advice I have is just give it to a local donation place and see if you can get a tax write off. Imo you'd spend more time than you'd make off the bike with bs offers, bots and the like. But what could be at most $50 bucks to you could be the difference in a job to someone else.

You only get a tax write-off if you itemize your deductions and most people don't have enough deductions to make itemizing worth it over the standard deduction.

If it's a Walmart brand you'll have trouble giving it away. The tires are probably more than just getting a new bike at Wally.

Check your local used items marketplace (no idea which sites works in the US).

Honestly, I doubt a cheap bicycle retain any value on the used market. I mean a good maintenance will cost more than the price of the bicycle (Just look at the price of tire, pinions, chains and you're already above the price of your cheap bike without counting the labour)

I usually search the model on eBay, CL & fb marketplace, at the least you’ll find similar stuff and have a ballpark