Help me price my used bike

[indysteel]

I might have a buyer for my Trek 7.5 FX but I'm having trouble figuring out what to ask for it.

The stats: It's a 2006 7.5 FX with only 300 miles on it. If it were a new car, it would still have that new car smell! If I recall correctly, I paid just over $600 for it. I also changed out the saddle and had a Cateye Astrale (wireless computer with cadance) installed.

Here's what is throwing me. The 2006 7.6 was really nicely speced with Shimano Deore LX. The components are high quality. The 7.5 FX for 2007 isn't as nicely speced yet costs over $100 more than what I paid. For 2007, you have to go up to the 7.6 to get decent components (Shimano 105) and that bike costs almost $1k. As such, I think I should price my bike a little on the high end but not so high that I lose the sale.

What to you think?

[li10up]

I don't think I can be much help. Two options I guess: price it a hundred or two below what you paid - depending on how quickly you want to sell it. Figure out what a bike with the same components at today's prices would cost and then knock off some for it being "used." I guess it depends on whether the buyer knows what they are getting. If not, they would likely just go to the LBS and pay the same you're asking for a lower end but new bike.

[nebiker]

A friend of mine has been eyeing the 7.5 for the past year. The big difference that you didn't mention is the 2007 version has a carbon fork, and the 2006 model is alum alloy. That can easily explain the money increase.

[indysteel]

Nebiker, thank you for pointing that out. I hadn't noticed that previously. Yes, that would explain some of the price difference. I assume that improved the ride quality of the bike, although it's still too bad that they switched to lesser components for the 2007 model.

I've giving my potential buyer a starting price of $500, and she didn't balk. Even though I want to make the sale, I'm going to be frank with her about the pros and cons of the bike and if it doesn't seem to fit her, I'm not going to sell it to her at all. She's a friend of a friend for one, but more importantly, I want to put my money where my mouth has been in complaining about how LBSs often don't spend enough time on fit.

[ehirsch83]

Another thing to do is research the bike and see if any are selling on ebay. Watch them and see what they go for- you can then price your bike based on what other similar ones have gone for.