Writing a good for sale advert & tips for selling your b

[Ste]

Quite a lot of times there are bikes posted in the Exchange and Mart section which have adverts which could be changed to improve the chances of the bike selling. So here's a few pointers to how to write a good advert. I'm no expert, so feel free to reply with any comments or additions for it.

- Take some photos. People like photos, and people will want to see what it looks like before travelling to come and see it, so you might as well put them in the thread rather than asking people to email you if they want some photos. You can attach images to threads which is ideal.

- Title your thread well. Rather than just saying "Buy my bike" or "Bike for sale" try and title it well so that people just browsing over the forum will see your advert and click it if it's something they're interested in. Make, model and year are good things to put, so "Honda CBR600FX 2001" is a good title unlike the ones previous. Remember you can use :forsale: which makes a little images come up in the thread title rather than saying. "For Sale"

- Give as many details of the bike as possible. People who have clicked to come into the thread are looking for information about the bike, so tell all there is to tell. Milage, colour, condition, service history, any known problems (it's best to mention obvious problems like marks on the bodywork, chain and sprocket needing changing, or burning a bit of oil it's best to tell people rather than let them waste their time coming to view the bike and then finding out. Don't go into too much detail, just be honest about the bike) number of previous owners, extras, tyres, HPI clear, how much MOT and tax are left are all things that people will be wanting to know before buying a bike so it's easier to give people the facts to start with rather than just saying for them to email if they're interested and want more information. If it is an import it is worth mentioning it to people now, it won't generally put people off, but it is a fairly important thing for people to know about the bike.

- Where abouts in the country is the bike. People will also be needing to know this so it's worth mentioning. Yes your location might be in your profile, but it's easier just to mention it not everyone who browses the forum is registered and knows that your location is in your profile.

- How can people contact you. Give at least an email address, and a telephone number will be useful if you can give a number it's good as people want to generally talk about the bike with you before travelling a long way to view it. If you're giving a phone number it's helpful to say who they need to speak to avoid any confusion and problems.

- How long have you had the bike, and why is it being sold. It's worth mentioning, as people normally say how it's such a good bike and stuff like that, which asks the question "well, if it's so good why are you selling it?" and people will ask you so save time and just put it in the advert.

- Clean bikes sell better. You wouldn't be too impressed if you went to look at a bike and it was all dirty, so give it a good clean. You might not regulary clean the bike normally, but it gives an impression of how the bike has been cared for so it's a good idea to set a good impression.

- Change your thread once it has been sold, so that you don't get people still ringing you up and asking stuff about it, just come back and change the thread to include (near the top of the thread) that it is now sold.

If you write and advert well it will increase the chances of selling the bike, and if you write a bad one people who are looking for a bike well might not even click to go into the thread. It's worth doing stuff like giving all the details of the bike and putting photos to save having to repeat yourself when/ if people email asking for them. People will need the registration of the bike to do an HPI check so don't be taken by surprise when someone asks for it. They might well also ask for the frame number, the milage and the MOT certificate number but these are not required things to get an HPI check but if you have nothing to hide about the bike then there is no problem with giving them out.

When people come to view the bike, it is almost expected that they will be wanting to test ride it. Ask to see their driving license and to take a deposit like the keys for their vehicle or just a big wodge of cash and also their driving license card. Chances are they'll now come back as they want their car/ cash back and their driving license back. They might well have insurance that covers them TPO to ride other peoples bikes, but ask to see their insurance paperwork if you're concerned about them possibly being uninsured and remember that if they get caught without insurance you will also get done by the police as as the vehicles owner you're responsible for making sure that the person riding it is insured. Just remember this before letting them out on your bike.

When it comes to the actual sale and they want to buy the bike and you're trying to agree on a price, make sure you have a figure in your head which is the lowest you'll accept and don't be tempted by someone waving cash in front of you. People do normally try to haggle the price down, a lot of people ask about 10% more in the advert than they expect to get so bear this in mind when writing the advert up. You can also just put "£2,000 no offers" and as long as people are aware of this they know what the price is without thinking about haggling when they look at the advert. People will probably still try and haggle, just point out you're not taking any offers so as not to waste your time or their time.
Make sure the money they give you is real! If they're paying by cheque allow the cheque to clear into your account before giving them the bike. With bankers drafts it's harder for these to be faked, but there are reports around the net of people who have been fooled by a fake bankers draft and let with no bike and no money for it, so again it's worth passing it to your bank before giving them the bike. With cash it's worth checking carefully that the money they give you in not counterfeit. Fake money can be made very easily with nothing more than a home computer and a good printer, so it is worth checking what you have in your hand is real money. Have a read of this thread for information on how best to spot counterfeit money. Probably the best thing to do is to have some bank notes of your own from a cash machine which you can use to compare the ones you're being given with.

Generally have a bit of mistrust about people coming to see and buy the bike, as there are people who just want to rip bike sellers off so be careful. Be careful if you put your bike on eBay, and basically be very wary as there are a fair number of scams out there who are trying to rip people off. Don't let the bike go until you actually have the money either in your hand or in your bank account.

When you have got the money and they have keys and all the paperwork it is worth doing a receipt for it to stop any come back from either party. This is to prevent their being any problems at a later date and isn't hard to do as I have attached a template for one to this post. Remember to send the V5 off, and the only bit of your V5 which they should get is the little slip at the bottom. They might ask you to give you all of the V5 saying they'll send it off, but it is your responsibility in the eyes of the law to inform the DVLA of a change of owner. Remember if you give them the V5 and they never send it off, any speeding tickets, parking tickets and general stuff from any offences will end up on your doormat so it's worth doing it yourself!

Basically be 100% honest about the bike, write an advert which includes all the details you'd be wanting to know if you were buying a bike, and be wary and careful when dealing with the actual sale of the bike.