Selling and Buying on the buycycle Marketplace

By John Marsh

Near the end of 2024, I decided it was time to sell my old road bike and buy a gravel bike. Selling the old bike was intended to achieve two aims: 1) free up my limited bike storage space for a new bike; and 2) help defray the cost of the new bike.

Over the years, I had heard and read about The Pro’s Closet and buycycle, two online marketplaces focused specifically on buying and selling used bicycles and gear. I decided I would use one of those to sell my old bike vs. a “sells everything” option like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

The Pro’s Closet (TPC), based in Colorado, began re-forming in November 2024 after going out of business and selling off its remaining inventory. After 18 years, it effectively was starting over under new ownership, acquiring bikes and framesets to offer for sale.

Buycycle seems to be on a different trajectory. Founded in 2021 in Munich by three cycling buddies, it grew quickly across Europe before expanding into the U.S. in September 2023. According to its website, it now offers 25,000 used bikes for sale worldwide. Late last year it also launched a new gear and accessories marketplace.

Because I ended up selling my bike on buycycle, I will only provide information on its processes and fee structure. (My understanding is that TPC’s operations and processes are similar.) 

Buycycle’s Fee Structure

There is no cost to post a sales ad on buycycle. The platform collects fees – upon a successful sale – from the seller and buyer to ensure safe, secure end-to-end processes and financial transactions for both parties and to maintain its technology and operations. 

In effect, the seller is paying to access a bicycle-focused worldwide marketplace of thousands of prospective buyers and securely receive payment for the sale. The buyer is paying for the global marketplace of sellers offering a wide range of bikes and price points, for the safe and secure shipping of the bike, and for buycycle’s guarantee that the bike will meet their expectations (that the bike is undamaged, is not a fake, is the size, spec and condition advertised, etc.). 

Buycycle’s Seller Protection Fee in the U.S. is 3.95% of the sales price upon a successful sale. Buycycle also offers an option to “upgrade” your listing by promoting it over others in the category – what it terms its Listing Boost Fee. For this, the platform charges “approximately 3.75% in the U.S., with variations depending on the bike’s condition.” I clarified with a buycycle representative that “the percentage tends to be higher for lower-priced bikes to ensure a fair collection.”

Finally, once you’ve sold your bike, you may also choose to buy a shipping box from buycycle if you don’t already have one, for a price of $49.90, which includes UPS delivering the box to your door.

The buyer pays a Buyer Protection Fee of 4% of the sales price, plus the $99 shipping cost (via UPS in the U.S.).

Example of a Transaction from Both Sides

Just to illustrate how these fees would play out in the case of a bike that sold for $1,000 and whose seller did not utilize the Listing Boost feature, but did purchase a shipping box:

Buyer pays: $1,000 (agreed-upon sales price) + $40 (4% Buyer Protection Fee) + $99 (shipping), for a total of $1,139.

Seller receives: $1,000 (agreed-upon sales price) – $39.50 (3.95% Seller Protection Fee) – $49.90 (shipping box), for a total of $910.60.

Sales Tax and Import Customs Fees

I also asked buycycle to clarify how sales tax is handled for U.S. domestic purchases (state to state), and how customs fees are handled if someone in the U.S. buys a bike from a European or other international seller.

For purchases made within the U.S. (state to state), sales tax is charged in accordance with market facilitator laws. (Amazon is probably the best-known Market Facilitator for third-party sales facilitated through its global marketplace.) Buycycle is responsible for collecting and remitting state sales tax in accordance with each state’s marketplace facilitator law – based on the destination state for the purchased goods.

When a U.S. customer purchases a bike from Europe or another international seller, they may incur import customs fees. For example, on a $2,000 bike imported from Europe, the customs fee for U.S. buyers is typically around 5.5%, according to buycycle. “To ensure transparency, we display the exact customs fee during the checkout process, so buyers know the total cost before completing their purchase.”

Recommended by a Cycling Buddy

I tooled around The Pro’s Closet and buycycle at the start of my sales process in late November, and I saw that TPC had a fraction of the inventory of buycycle. At the same time, a long-time cycling buddy of mine told me he had recently bought a used gravel bike on buycycle, and he noted the platform’s seamless processes. 

So I decided to give buycycle a try, submitting my bike for sale on the platform. Quickly I received an email congratulating me on my bike being accepted for sale and noting that my listing was live.

This was the first of many timely, detailed messages from buycycle – at every step of the process – proving that my buddy was spot on about the platform’s streamlined processes. I found the customer service to be equally responsive and helpful, and the transparency to be refreshing. 

Only a week or so later, I received a message from a prospective buyer asking me what I would take for my bike. The ability to message sellers directly and ask questions, clarify details, and haggle on the price is a great feature of buycycle.

I answered a couple questions about the bike’s condition and spec, knocked off a couple hundred bucks, and the buyer accepted. In the end, I got the price I had targeted, and the buyer (a college racer from Florida) got a great used bike for a fair price. 

Following is a primer detailing the buycycle sales process, along with my personal insight, in case you’re considering selling a bike at some point.

Download the App (if you choose) and Create an Account

I find it quicker and easier to access most portals like this one using their app instead of the Internet. If you prefer, just download the buycycle app for your phone or tablet and get started. (The website also seems easy to use, if you go that route.) To create an account, you’ll input your name, address, phone number, email address and bike preferences (in case you’re looking to buy a bike).

The app makes it a breeze to post a bike for sale, shop for a bike to buy and access your Inbox to read and send messages to potential buyers, or to sellers. If you allow it, the app will notify you when someone pings you with a question or offer. You’ll also get an email.

Research the True Value of Your Bike

This was probably the most difficult part of selling my trusted old bike. I had ridden it for tens of thousands of miles, on numerous week-long tours, in races and countless organized rides, and on innumerable outings with my riding buddies over the years. I took great care of that bike, and by the time I sold it, I had an emotional attachment to it. My heart was leading the charge when it came time to put a monetary value on it.

After a few minutes looking around the buycycle platform, it became crystal clear that my brain needed to take over the valuation process. The price point my heart had in mind would have bought a much newer, electronic-shifting, disc brake-equipped bike. My brain told me that my old bike’s actual monetary value was far less than I had imagined.

It was a harsh reality check, I have to admit. But I quickly got over it. And from that point on, keeping in mind that this was going to be a clear-eyed business transaction (as was buying the gravel bike I wanted) served me well – and will serve you well if you use the platform!

Build in a ‘Haggling’ Cushion

Because haggling seems to be a part of the process on buycycle, I suggest setting your asking price at a point to allow you to cut a couple to a few hundred dollars to get to your actual, desired sales price. I listed for $200 above what I actually wanted, so when the time came to deal, I immediately dropped $200 and closed the sale.

When haggling with a couple sellers of gravel bikes I was looking to buy, it was readily apparent that some were still leading with the heart, refusing to accept the real marketplace value of their bike. In fact, I ended up buying a brand new, comparably equipped bike during a holiday sale from one of the major cycling websites – for less than the buycycle sellers were trying to get for their 1- or 2-year-old bikes. If they had come down another couple hundred bucks, I would have done the deal with them. (One was also selling the bike as a package deal along with several bike-packing bags. Not that they weren’t fine bags, but I would want to research and purchase such items separately.)

List Your Bike for Sale

Simply click the Sell icon at the bottom of the screen on the app (top-line navigation on the website), choose Sell Your Bike, then input the information asked for (brand, model, year, spec, etc.). For most major brands, there’s a list of various models by year that likely show the complete spec of your bike. In the case of a “Franken-bike” like mine (with a frameset from one year, and a mix of components added later), you can input that information a la carte to your listing.

You’ll need to input the original price of your bike, and your asking price. Both of those show up in the listing. Don’t forget to build in the “haggle money” to your asking price.

Next, you’ll be asked to add at least 3 photos of your bike (with instructions of what to include in your photos: at a minimum, one shot of the complete bike from each side, a close-up of the drivetrain, and possibly the shifters or cockpit). I found that when looking at bikes on the platform, five or six photos seems to be optimal (more are better than fewer). You might include a shot of the crankset and front derailleur (assuming there is one), a shot of the rear derailleur and cassette, and one of the size badge near the bottom bracket. Note that buycycle encourages you to be “honest” in your photos – showing any wear or damage.

You can add information about the detailed spec of the bike (if not already captured), and include any specific details that might be helpful in marketing your bike. In my case, I detailed the fact that the frameset was older, that I upgraded the drivetrain and wheels in 2018, and that the crankset was brand new (replaced as part of the Shimano recall a couple years ago). 

Consider “Upgrading” Your Listing

I didn’t want the sales process to linger, as I intended immediately to plow the proceeds back into a new gravel bike. So I chose to utilize the Listing Boost option in hopes of expediting a sale. I can’t say for sure whether the upgraded listing worked – but, again, I did sell my bike in only a week or so (far faster than I expected).

Be Responsive to Inquiries

I responded immediately to my first (and the successful) potential buyer upon seeing the notice from the buycycle app that he had messaged me. I’m convinced that quick engagement – and my timely responses to his follow-ups – helped seal the deal.

I was even more convinced that responsiveness is vital to selling on buycycle when I was on the other side of the transaction, looking to buy a bike. In a couple of cases, I experienced responses hours, even days, after my inquiries – and was even ghosted by one seller. 

By my way of thinking, if you’re serious about trying to sell your bike, and you’ve gone to the trouble of listing it on the platform, then respond as quickly as possible to potential buyers.

Not doing so is a sure way to encourage them to move on from you and deal with a seller who is responsive and engaging.

After You’ve Accepted an Offer

After you officially accept a buyer’s offer, the buyer then submits the funds to buycycle’s third-party vendor, Adyen, to handle the financial side of the transaction. Adyen collects the buyer’s payment and holds it until the buyer has received the bike and confirmed that they, in effect, got what they paid for. 

Adyen will verify your own information, including the financial account into which you wish to receive payment. This entails entering your financial institution name, account number, etc. After the buyer has received the bike and is happy with it, Adyen releases the funds it has already collected from the buyer, minus buycycle’s Seller Protection Fee, and any additional expenses (if you choose the “upgraded” listing and/or buy a shipping box).

Boxing and Shipping

I didn’t have a bike box lying around, so buying the Bike Flights box was a no-brainer. It comes with pretty much everything you need to safely and securely pack your bike. Instructional videos for packing your bike are on the buycycle site/app or the Bike Flights website.

Part of the process after you’ve locked in the sale price is selecting the pickup date for your bike. You select a date a couple weeks in advance – which gives you time to pack your bike (and builds in time for buycycle to ship you the box, if you buy it from them).

UPS will pick up the bike from your door on the selected date. If you’re so inclined, you can drop off the bike yourself at a UPS location.

Buycycle did a great job of keeping me posted throughout the transaction process: when the buyer received the bike, how long payment would take, when payment was made, etc. All of this information is readily available and easy to check in your account on the app or online. And the platform sends notices and emails along the way.

Final Thoughts

Buycycle really seems to have a good thing going. The platform brings together thousands of cyclists around the world into one marketplace where the range and prices of the thousands of available used bikes makes it favorable for both buyers and sellers. The processes are streamlined, detailed and easy to follow. The customer service is timely and on point. And fees and costs are clearly laid out. In the end, if all goes well, both the buyer and seller feel like they got a good deal. I know I did. And I wish the same for you if you use buycycle.

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John Marsh is the former editor and publisher of RBR Newsletter and RoadBikeRider.com. Now retired, he lives and rides in the mountains of western North Carolina.