Last week I wrote about a difficult decision I had to make about selling my motorcycle. This week I can tell you that the bike was sold in less than three days.
I remember the days, long before this thing called the internet when selling something (almost anything) was done using this thing called a newspaper. Not many years ago, before computers and “Google”, the process would have involved contacting a newspaper to have a classified ad published so prospective buyers would know your item was for sale. Then you’d wait a few days and hope for a call from the right person looking to buy what you had for sale. Depending on what the item was, and how much you were asking for it, you could wait for weeks to have that right person stumble across your ad. You could increase the odds of a sale in your favor by contacting more than one newspaper.
Then came the internet and this thing called Google – which I had to look up to find a definition for – google is the misspelling of the word “googol”, which by definition is the number one followed by 100 zeros. It’s what I used to look up “how to sell my motorcycle” – after hitting “enter” I had my options. One of them was through the motorcycle manufacturer’s web page that listed (in this case) four dealerships that might be interested in purchasing. After checking the one I preferred to try dealing with I was asked for details about my bike and then given the option to download pictures. After filling out the fields and sending the photos an email arrived thanking me for my submission, giving me a range of expected purchasing offers, and letting me know someone from the dealership would be contacting me. Within minutes I received another email from the dealership that told me someone would call me to get more details because the web page I filled out didn’t allow for any extras when giving a purchase offer.
I waited a few minutes and my phone rang. It was the dealership. They wanted me to bring the bike to their store so they could “appraise” my bike. An appointment was set for the following morning.
I went to the dealership with pretty high hopes. The bike I had was one of the best made by Harley-Davidson. It was a tri-glide (three-wheel) CVO. CVO stands for Custom Vehicle Operations. When you purchase a CVO it means it comes to you with factory-installed accessories – almost every chrome accessory is on the bike when it arrives at the dealership. It also has a better seat, a better radio and speakers, and a bigger motor. It also holds its value better than a standard motorcycle that owners have added extras to – why, I don’t quite understand.
The bike I just sold was only manufactured in 2020, 2021 and 2022. I figured this would play in my favor when it came to getting a purchase offer. Mine was a 2021 with fairly limited miles on it.
The first dealership I selected was the one I had do my service work, figuring they would be familiar with my bike. I sat at the dealership while they looked at my bike. I had a number in mind; I had done pretty extensive research, so I knew a value range and I knew a low value I’d accept. After nearly a half hour the sales manager approached me and told me his sob story about how soft the market was and how people weren’t buying motorcycles right now. His offer was nearly $10,000 below my minimum. I told him I was insulted by his offer. He made it worse by telling me that as recently as one year ago he would have offered me double what he was offering that day.
I went home feeling dejected, but not ready to give up. I went back to that web page and selected another dealership – this one was in Tennessee. I figured it was worth a try, but didn’t have a lot of hope.
That evening my better half posted our bike on Marketplace. Within a few minutes, two guys contacted us to make an offer. Those offers were slightly more than the dealer’s offer, but still too low.
More offers came to us from companies that buy wholesale, then sell at dealer auctions – still too low.
The very next day, while I was golfing, I received a call from the Tennessee dealership. I waited for the sales manager to tell me his offer – expecting a low-ball offer again. To my surprise, his offer was above my minimum. I accepted. A contract will be sent, arrangements will be made for shipping and money will be sent – all should be done by the time you read this.
I was surprised things happened so fast and the evening after accepting the offer I got to thinking about how long I’ve been riding and that I won’t be riding again – probably ever. It was depressing. I thought about it for a long time – not sleeping and feeling worse and worse about it as the minutes ticked by ever-so-slowly. Then my brain’s light bulb went on – this sale doesn’t have to mean the end of my riding motorcycles, I can always rent one if the urge becomes too strong. That light bulb eased the burden of selling my pride and joy and now I don’t have to deal with the scam artists who have plagued that wonderful thing we call the internet.
By the way – newspaper classified ads still work, and there’s way, way less chance of being scammed.
Have A Good Week!
