Sales Woes

charlie55 · Post by **charlie55** » Sun May 03, 2009 3:29 pm

As you all probably know by now, I've had my Blur up for sale/trade for a couple of weeks with no luck whatsoever. I've seen others here having similar or worse luck.

To date, the only three offers I've had are for the following swaps:

1) Mid 90's Chevy S-10
2) Mid 90's Honda Passport
3) 1984 Jeep Wrangler

I was thinking of approaching Chrysler or GM with a trade proposal, but I doubt if they could come up with the cash.

davelhunter · Post by **davelhunter** » Wed May 06, 2009 9:35 pm

I was in the same situation. To make a long story short, I decided to keep my Blur and sell my 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250. Our Blurs are such a rare bike, especially since they are no longer importing them here to the U.S. I have a feeling that these bikes are actually going to increase in value with time. I would suggest to keep it unless you really have to sell it. You will probably be glad you did.

charlie55 · Post by **charlie55** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:28 pm

Trying to appeal to what I'd call a "scooter-illiterate" public is a major part of the problem. It's really, really difficult in a Craigslist type of environment to make people understand that there are substantial quality differences among scooter makes, especially when there are tons 1 year old YingYang WindPisser 150's with only 6 miles on them going for $800.00.

I really do have mixed feelings about selling the Blur. On the one hand, my homo sapiens side recognizes that it's a perfect fit to my commuting needs, and also that it's been as reliable as hell. On the other hand, the vestigial Neanderthal cells in my brain keep saying, "me want faster, me want shinier, me want louder".

This would be so much easier if I could just clone myself.....

fs8gbe · Post by **fs8gbe** » Wed May 06, 2009 11:02 pm

hehe. are you not allowed to have both? i understand if you are selling the blur to raise the money for a new bike, but then the answer would be, you aren't allowed to have another one...yet. you could still save up, enjoy the blur, then buy a 2nd machine when you are financially ready...

and yes, i am one of those freakish dave ramsey people.

charlie55 · Post by **charlie55** » Thu May 07, 2009 12:46 am

I wish it were as simple as just having to get someone's permission. It's a question of need and economics. I do own a car, so the scoot is technically a luxury that I've allowed myself. Since I don't really "need" the one I've got, there's no way that I can justify having two. On top of that, I'm socking away every spare nickel towards my kids' college educations (definitely). my retirement (hopefully), and the loss my job (possibly).

Software engineering was a great career back in the day, but nowadays if you happen to be over 50 and American-born, you're too old, too expensive, and too resistant to being treated as just another widget by the Borg-orations whose motto seems to be:

"Independent thought and creativity are futile; prepare to be commoditized!"

charlie55 · Post by **charlie55** » Thu May 07, 2009 12:58 am

Oh great!

I'm coming to the end of a 7-day classified local listing on Ebay with 91 hits and no bites. And now there's another '06 up for auction in Illinois, and the seller's claiming it gets 100MPG.

It's bad enough competing with the drop-shippers, and now this.

I gotta go light a candle and talk this over with St. Anthony.

KCScooterDude · Post by **KCScooterDude** » Thu May 07, 2009 1:42 pm

charlie55 wrote:Trying to appeal to what I'd call a "scooter-illiterate" public is a major part of the problem. It's really, really difficult in a Craigslist type of environment to make people understand that there are substantial quality differences among scooter makes, especially when there are tons 1 year old YingYang WindPisser 150's with only 6 miles on them going for $800.00.

I really do have mixed feelings about selling the Blur. On the one hand, my homo sapiens side recognizes that it's a perfect fit to my commuting needs, and also that it's been as reliable as hell. On the other hand, the vestigial Neanderthal cells in my brain keep saying, "me want faster, me want shinier, me want louder".

This would be so much easier if I could just clone myself.....

FYI - I satisfied this need by spending $425 on a 1981 Suzuki GS550L. It wasn't running and the guy was about to part it out. It only needed the carbs cleaned and the fluids drained and replaced. Runs like new. Only 11,000 miles. I realize you only need one bike - I'm the same way - but you can get a nice highway cruiser cheap. These bikes are bulletproof.

Does your Genuine dealer take bikes on consignment? Might be worth a try.

fs8gbe · Post by **fs8gbe** » Thu May 07, 2009 2:59 pm

yeah consignment will help it get seen. i am thinking about doing this for my vespa et2.

charlie55 · Post by **charlie55** » Fri May 08, 2009 9:29 pm

Thanks for the ideas.

Just got off the phone with St. Anthony. Said he'd love to take it off my hands, but he'd be more comfortable with a Vespa, what with his being Italian and all.

Figure I'll hold on to it as my daily rider and maybe, as KC suggested, try to pick up a beater for weekend jaunting. Just need to set off some C4 in the garage to make room.

Modern Buddy

Sales Woes

Sales Woes

I would suggest to keep the Blur