Parting out bikes for fun and $$$???

So, I picked up an '81 650 CSR parts bike a month or so ago for 50 bucks (actually, 60). It didn't have a rear wheel or a front end on it, and the head and cylinders were off of it (but came with it). The guy who was selling it to me, who was three sheets to the wind, told me he'd been planning on rebuilding it, but "a couple of bolts and things" had fallen down into the cases when he'd been tearing it down.

He started out asking 200.00. "Well, I said, that's a little steep ..." and launched into a laundry list of what was wrong with the bike. Before I could get going good, though, he took a pull on his Busch and said:

"Can you go fifty?"

I felt terrible. This guy was out of work and drunk. I was taking advantage of him. I didn't feel that terrible, though, so I gave him 60 bucks and loaded it up before he could change his mind.

I got the three-phase stator and RR off of it for my @#$%^&!!! KZ650. That alone would have cost me more than 60 bucks. I also got the electronic ignition, coils, and airbox, as well as the tail light, brake light switch, and other small, miscellaneous spares. I'm probably going to hang onto the head and valve cover as a "just in case", too.

That leaves me with a lot of parts to sell. Clearly, I'm going to make a couple of hundred bucks, minimum off of this bike.

That's gotten me to thinking. For a long time, I've come across similar deals on bikes and considered picking them up to part out. Not as any kind of a full-time business thing, but as a sideline to rathole parts for that @#$%^&*!!! KZ650 and to make a few bucks to support the habit.

Regardless of whether I do more bikes, or not, I'm definitely going to sell the extra parts off of Fitty, the 50.00 '81 LTD. I'd have to think there are guys on here who are parting out bikes, so before I start selling parts off of Fitty, I wanted to get some advice on parting out bikes in general.

Among the questions I have are:

* Is ebay the best way to go? Is it worth the expense of setting up a store, or is it best to wait till later, when you're sure you're going to be doing it for at least the immediate future.

* What venues other than ebay are good?

* What is the best way to learn the intricasies and potential pratfalls of selling on ebay?

* What is the best way to get shipping materials? Every place I've looked, they're pretty expensive.

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions as time goes on.

What's your ebbaayy username

It had a 16" rear wheel on it. I thought only the LTDS had those.

Ebay's fees (FeeBay I call it now) will kill you unless you do quantity. Try CL first or even forums.

You are a BAD boy youre a very bad boy.Outta work and drunk then you come along and rape him for his Kawi some one had a bad day.Poor guy

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so ..... parting out bikes?

I have parted out a lot of bikes. When it gets down to it,eBay is the only way to go.

I use to have fun and made a lot of money on eBay but they have raised thier fees so much and changed the rules so often that I just hardly sell anymore.

I found a complete kz650 yesterday and I will buy it and part it out.

I don't open a store on eBay. I usally sell only auction style.

I ship free using priority mail. Flat rate on the heavy parts. The boxes are free from the post office.

Clean your parts. That way you can inspect them at the same time. Be polite to your customers.

Check your bidders feed back and block them if they have the habit of leaving bad feed back.

Ship the parts as soon as they are paid for.

Here is my feed back.

feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewF...y-b&ftab=AllFeedback


Check the auctions on the parts you are wanting to list.

Never list a part for $0.99.

Be realistic on your shipping.

I think you were very generous for giving 50 bucks.

Thanks for the advice.

One question, though. Why should you not sell anything for $0.99? Not saying I would, just wondering why.

I would like to know why no .99 cent starts also? How is international shipping, I have heard horror stories where the buyer is protected but not the seller. Is international shipping a pain and how do you figure out overseas shipping?

Well, I know a bit about international shipping ....

I was selling off a bunch of Firebird parts I'd ratholed on my Firebird forum.

A guy in Canada wanted to buy a camshaft I was selling. He wanted me to declare the value at 19.99 so he wouldn't have to pay taxes on it. I agreed, as long as he understood he was accepting all risk for the sale.

A week or so later, I get an email from him asking if there's a problem with it. I checked the tracking number I'd sent him, and it said the shipment had been refused on delivery.

He said he'd never gotten it.

UPS said they'd left it on his doorstep (despite the fact that I'd paid for delivery only with a signature), and that he'd called them the next day saying they'd delivered an empty box. Their driver said he was sure he wouldn't have left an empty box, but since he'd never signed for it, technically, it had never been delivered.

I had them send me pics of the box, and one end was clearly open. The driver would've had to have been a moron to deliver it that way.

Still, after I'd dropped the package off, I'd been a little concerned over the way I'd packed it; specifically, with the way I'd sealed the ends of the package, so I decided to give him the benefi of the doubt and refund his money, then put in a claim with UPS.

It's been 3 months, and I'm still chasing them. And, of course, they're only willing to refund me the cost of the shipping, plus the 19.99 declared value of the package, even though I paid to insure it for 200.00.

I guess the moral of the story here is, never do a "favor" and underdeclare the value of a package.

If you start your auction at 99 cents. You might save 40 cents for a listing fee.

Ebay has a lot of free listing fees lately, free if it starts at 99c.

But If only 1 person dids on it , It sells for 99 cents pnly!

Alot of people now, have fake bidders to jack up the price also.

I sold alot over the years and always started at $9.99.
This way that was the minimum bid to buy it.

Plus paypal fee, which ebay owns anyway.

But figure 75% profit 25% to ebay. That is actually pretty damn good. If you have stuff that has been sitting for years like me.

Just might start selling again. I have a whole project that has been sitting for 6 years. Winter is pretty long in Buffalo.