Bikes for Sale: Bargain Shoppers Share How to Find the Best

Choosing a Bike

February 12, 2019

Bikes for Sale and Where Budget Shoppers Find the Best

Bikes for sale are everywhere, and you might be wondering where to look. My response would be that there's not a particular place to get bikes on sale. Instead, I would say the best way to buy to find bike sales is to shop at certain times throughout the year.

I would suggest shopping in the post-summer months. These months are September, October, November, and December. To be even more specific I would say starting at the end of August, early September, and after Labor Day. This is when a lot of bike shops put their inventory on sale. They close it out in order to make room for the next model year's inventory. As a result, this means they'll have whatever inventory they didn't sell in the summer. Thus, they'll put those bikes on sale and try to sell them off before the end of the year.

In addition, the end of the bike riding season is after Labor Day. Every bike shop will have a handful of last year's inventory that they will need to get rid of. You should come in after Labor Day and see what they've got marked down. This also occurs in December, January, and February. This is a win-win relationship because stores need to get rid of their inventory to increase cash flow. And you want to save money.

Fishing for Deals on Social Media

If you're looking for absolute bargain prices for bikes, there are a couple of other options. If you don't mind owning a used bike, Craigslist is a great resource. Now, you won't find new bikes on there, but you might find bikes that have been barely used. I've seen them run the gamut on bikes. Some completely beaten down used bikes. Then some bikes used only once or twice and up for sale at bargain prices. They are being sold for cheap because the owner wants to get rid of it. Consequently, they're willing to take 40% off of whatever they paid MSRP.

Now, you need to be the kind of shopper that likes to do a little digging if you use Craigslist. Going the used route means beggars can't be choosers. You might not be able to get a proper fitting, and you might not be able to find your exact size. But if you're only looking for a bike on sale, Craigslist is a great option.

There are also bargain sites such as Letgo. I have a bunch of intense road cycling and mountain biking friends. They love to buy and sell bikes every year. To get the highest resale value they maintain their bikes in great condition. As a result, you'll see those pop up on sites like Craigslist and Letgo. And it's a great option for someone that wants to step into the market and get a high-quality bike. But, doesn't want to pay full price.

The Best Holidays for Bikes on Sale

In terms of the mass market retailers, when do they put their bikes on sale? I would say the major holidays. Like any other product, if you're looking to get the best price. Shop around a major holiday. Retailers are always marking bikes down on:

Memorial Day
Labor Day
4th of July
Black Friday
Cyber Monday

Any one of those holidays, you will find bikes on sale. And I would say that's pretty much true across all platforms. Even though on Cyber Monday and Black Friday, you might be shopping for others. Instead, you might want to wait it out so you can capitalize on a big purchase. Other than that, I would say bikes are a product not likely to receive huge discounts throughout the rest of the year.

The other opportunity to find it on sale is to look up the manufacturers. Sometimes there are rebates offered. I know major brands such as Trek and Specialized sometimes offer manufacturer rebates. This helps to increase sales on the retailer side. However, those are few and far between. I would say look out for them. Keep digging and you'll find something.

How Bike Manufacturers Make Their Money

A question we get a lot is, "do we have discount codes or when do sixthreezero bikes go on sale?" The one thing I'll say about the sixthreezero brand is we are not in the business of discounting our prices. And the reason is that we're a value-based brand. Our goal day in and day out is to build bikes at the best possible price with the most value to every customer. Thus, you won't see us giving 50% off, or 80% off, or something crazy like that. The other thing is, and I don't know if too many people know this. The bike industry, in general, is not a high markup industry.

There are other industries like the fashion industry where a T-shirt costs $1 to make. But it will retail for $100. The same strategy applies to watches. It might cost $5 to make and the watch sells for $100. In the bike industry, it's a product that's been around for 100 years. And the margins for manufacturers are anywhere from 25% to 50%. What I mean by that is if a bike is retailing for $200, the bike shop is making about from 25% to 35%. Therefore, they would profit about $30.

This means they bought the bike for say $150 and they're making $50 a bike. It's not like a bike costs $20 to make and bike companies are selling it for $100. So, back to sixthreezero. We operate on a value-based pricing model. This allows us to keep our margins as low as possible to pass that along to the consumer. Long story short, when's the best time to get a sixthreezero on sale? There's only one time per year, and for us, that's the holiday season.

How to Get in on sixtreezero's Bike Sales

This starts from Cyber Monday, all the way through Christmas. During this time we will offer various sales on various models, on different days of the week. There's no particular bike or discount we give to the whole brand at any particular time. Our discounts depend on:

Our inventory levels
The number of old models vs. new models coming in
The bike riding season

We usually wait until the end of the year to offer those kinds of discounts.

The other thing I would say for those interested in buying a sixthreezero bike on sale would be to join our email marketing newsletter. And follow us on social media. We tend to offer secretive opportunities for the people that follow our brand. It's part of our loyalty offering that we extend to our customers, in regards to Memorial Day sales and Veterans sales. That's not something we do. In other words, you have to try a little harder to get a sixthreezero bike on sale.

How Big & Small Retailers Launch Bikes for Sale

The most common time for bike shops or bike stores to put bikes on sale varies. I would say again, any bike shop or any brick and mortar store is going to put bikes on sale during major holidays. And I would say right now in the retailing world, the most major holidays are the ones covered earlier in this post. And I would say in particular for bike shops, 4th of July is a major sale weekend. This is a weekend when a lot of people want to have a bike to ride around. They watch fireworks. Moreover, a lot of bike shops should have sales going on that weekend. I would say if you can wait that far into the summer, that might be a good opportunity.

The other thing too is when bikes will be on sale has a lot to do with individual retailers. There may be certain questions you can ask either your local bike shop or even be it a Walmart or Target. These might be indications that they will soon put bikes on sale. One of those questions is inventory. If a local bike shop says that they have too much inventory. This is a sign that they will need to try to sell that inventory sooner rather than later. If the representative states to you they have too much inventory, that could be an opportunity for you right then and there. You say, "how much could I get this bike for?" Even if there's a price on the price tag, if they've indicated to you they have too many, make them an offer. Try asking for $50 off, it couldn't hurt.

Getting that Deal

On the small mom and pop side, I guarantee you'll receive an engaging reaction from them. They might even entertain your offer. Whereas a mass market such as Walmart or Dick's Sporting Goods is different. The people in the store only have so much leverage to make pricing decisions. But who knows, the manager could be close by and he knows he's got fifty of that same bike in the back and he wants to let it go. So as I said it's major holidays, Cyber Monday, Black Friday, or the sales will be store-specific.

The Best Season for Bikes for Sale

In conclusion, you will see a lot of red tag items, and you know what? If bike shops don't have things red-tagged at that time of the year, I would be almost certain most bike stores will have the motivation to sell. You might have to push them a little bit. I would suggest to shop after Labor Day. Walk into the store and ask this to store manager, owner, whoever's talking with you. "How busy is the store lately?" If they say slow, it could be an opportunity to prod and try to get a great deal on that bike you've wanted all year.

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