E-bay

Dilbert's Marketing Strategy

So, Dilbert cost near £1,700 and then a further £275-odd poundsto fully service and systems check for safety. He owed me close to £2k. So, there's a gambol on whether to use e-bay or autotrader, or not to sell him at all. I reckon a private sale will raise over £1,500, which will "justify" a month's rental use of him and e-bay will risk being somewhere between £1,200 and £1,400: both losses, but at least the deed gets done.



It's not an easy call. I don't get much time to organise sales at the best of times and I'm still new to e-bay and the process threatens to take too much time. There again, what with work and holidays around the corner the idea of administering to wheel kickers on the phone from autotrader is just unpalatable and I'll loose my rag.

E-bay it is then. A strategy - usual honesty goes without saying but if the bike goes cheap I loose all the bike and its extras, which I know to be worth something (£45 each for pannier lids and up to £30 for tall screens, although this one isn't in the best of nick). Therefore, the bike goes back to simple configuration and the wide panier lids go separate. Of course the MRA Vario scren owes £99 on its own and I'm not into giving this stuff away.
  • Dilbert - basic configuration- target = £1300

  • Wide panniers - target £50

  • Tall screen - target £10

  • Vario screen - £60

Total Target = £1420. That's a fair old loss over all but the bike was from a dealer and you expect to drop pennies wheeling off their premises anyway. Don't get me wrong, I'm not elated here and I'm far from flippent with my money but I understand a process has taken place here over a short space of time that might have played out anyway, but over a longer period. What value experience and learning quickly? I've done in just months what many take years to achieve.



I'm still gutted. I tried to talk Nikki into buying him, even on attractive HP terms - just to keep him in the family. Still, he has to go - the advert is up and Ka is watching me for an effort to off-set Shadowfax's expense.

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