experience with consignment at dealership?

[bionicmotard]

I wanted to know if anyone has any experience selling their bike through their dealership, does it work? Is there anything you would suggest or what to look out for, what is the standard fee that they (dealer) can, should charge? I'm selling my hyper and I sent it there to get it detailed and mentioned my plans. They said they could sell it on consignment and they were confident they could move it. I just like to be informed. So any help would be really great. Also if I sell it before they do, am I responsible for storage or extra fees?

[Hazzbin]

The details on your consignment will vary depending on the contract you sign so don't waste your time asking about storage fees, etc, just read the fine print carefully.

When I was selling my BMW a couple of dealers wanted to sell it for me. The dealer I bought it from offered to sell it for a 15% commission, but I would have had to pay them to "prepare" the bike and I would have had to leave it there the whole time. All fair enough but not something I wanted to do.

Another dealer contacted me wanting to "buy" it, asking what the lowest I'd take was, and then tried to consign it at that price. Totally slimeball. Not only did I refuse but they've since gone out of business.

My own feeling is that consignment is a bad idea. If I'm a dealer I'd rather sell my bike than yours. Taking the bike on consignment does accomplish two things though, it helps fill up the showroom with no capital expenditure, and takes the bike off the market as competition.

The exception to that is when your bike is something unusual or rare that will draw in a sale they'd not have otherwise made. In other words, they sell yours without giving up a sale of their own.

Others may disagree and your mileage may vary, but based on what I've seen, that's my 2 cents.

[Greg_S]

I would definitely try to sell it on your own first. With all the internet options you have I don't think the dealer is going to get the bike anymore traffic looking at your bike. I sold my Sport Classic in a week off Craigslist. Just clean it up, post good pictures and list it for a reasonable price. If that doesn't end up working for you, then try the dealer.

[redscout]

I don't think the dealers see a consignment as competition or a replacement sale for one of their own. They're making 10-15% off your sale, investing nothing more than a little floor space. That's probably way more than they earn on a new sale.

I'd sure read the contract first, though.

[bionicmotard]

Originally Posted by Greg_S

I would definitely try to sell it on your own first. With all the internet options you have I don't think the dealer is going to get the bike anymore traffic looking at your bike. I sold my Sport Classic in a week off Craigslist. Just clean it up, post good pictures and list it for a reasonable price. If that doesn't end up working for you, then try the dealer.

Thanks so much for all of the feedback, I've been trying to sell it since april, It's on here and I think it's pretty clean, and nice and has a lot of extras low miles. I've lowered the price, raised the price, offered to pay for shipping. I'm pretty sure I've done it all. I just can't drive a bike for awhile so there's no point in keeping it. I'm getting major surgery in a few weeks. The dealer sells Aprilla and Vespa and just expanded servicing Ducati because all of the Ducati dealerships are out of business in NYC.

I've put it on Craigslist, flea bay 4 times, non paying bidder 2 times. Oh and one of them the high bidder didn't win, I asked him if he still wanted it and he said he couldn't afford the 400 dollar difference I was asking. When I offered to split the difference he then said he didn't think he could ride a Ducati because he didn't have a license. Naturally my next question was why is this guy on planet earth? I don't know what else to do.

[MarksFriggin]

Try CycleTrader.com. I had better luck with that than anything else. The guy who bought my Hyper contacted me through there.

Craigslist people just flaked out each time.

[oalvarez]

i have had nothing but successful experiences with selling my bikes on consignment at my local dealership, Pro Italia. then again, the bikes i chose to have them sell were higher priced items that made perfect sense in that i wanted to move them quickly and the financing that they offered the buying parties made all the difference in the world. my opinion is that the consignment method facilitates the sale of more expensive bikes, and that private party sales work best for those at a much lower price point. none of the above matter much if you don't have a bike that appeals to the broader market or is priced thru it. also for consideration is the time value of money and what your own time is worth.

best success,

[bionicmotard]

Originally Posted by oalvarez

i have had nothing but successful experiences with selling my bikes on consignment at my local dealership, Pro Italia. then again, the bikes i chose to have them sell were higher priced items that made perfect sense in that i wanted to move them quickly and the financing that they offered the buying parties made all the difference in the world. my opinion is that the consignment method facilitates the sale of more expensive bikes, and that private party sales work best for those at a much lower price point. none of the above matter much if you don't have a bike that appeals to the broader market or is priced thru it. also for consideration is the time value of money and what your own time is worth.

best success,

I agree, that makes total sense. I appreciate the help. I'll try cycle trader. The bike is at the dealer now. I'm just waiting for the paperwork. I hope all goes well. Thanks to everyones help.

[velocita]

Your bike will sell, its a nice low-mileage bike with tasteful mods.
It's rough out there right now.
Patience young grasshoppa

[1198freak]

Originally Posted by oalvarez

i have had nothing but successful experiences with selling my bikes on consignment at my local dealership, Pro Italia. then again, the bikes i chose to have them sell were higher priced items that made perfect sense in that i wanted to move them quickly and the financing that they offered the buying parties made all the difference in the world. my opinion is that the consignment method facilitates the sale of more expensive bikes, and that private party sales work best for those at a much lower price point. none of the above matter much if you don't have a bike that appeals to the broader market or is priced thru it. also for consideration is the time value of money and what your own time is worth.

best success,

+1, I sold my 1198 through Pro Italia, it went in about three weeks and was as painless as possible. PI handles everything, all paperwork, DMV forms, all I had to do was wait for my check. You are right, when you sell an expensive bike it is a tremendous help to have a dealer that can offer financing, otherwise you will be in for a LONG wait until a all cash buyer comes along.