Posts tagged bikelist

We just rolled out an update to view bikes and frames by frame size. You can find these on both the Bikes & Frames pages as well as on the sub-pages for MTB Bikes, Road Bikes, etc. Keep an eye on size "Other" for listings without a frame size. You can also search by size by using the search bar at the top of every page.

Check it Out:

Bikes Page
Frames Page
Road Bikes Page
Road Frames Page

Rob and I launched BikeList to help make buying and selling bikes fast, safe, and fun. Since day 1 we've been thinking about ways to combat and mitigate theft. Last year we partnered with Garage 529 to help detect stolen bikes and now we're happy to partner with the InsurTech company Oyster in offering insurance coverage tailored for cyclists.

Oyster plans cover theft, crash damage, racing, replacement bike rentals, coverage while traveling, liability, optional medical coverage and has a flexible cancelation policy.

Starting today, you'll be able to get an instant quote on bike insurance. Just look for the insurance link near the Add To Cart button to get started.

It's always been 100% free for Bike Co-Ops and related not-for-profits to sell on BikeList - - we waive all fees for 501(c)(3)s, which is a pretty good deal! We released an update last week to make it easier to find nonprofits in the marketplace.

1. There's now a "Nonprofit" label on listings for verified organizations.

2. And a label on the member profile.

3. And the Nonprofit page now includes a list of all Nonprofit members and their active listings.

We'll be adding more benefits for our Nonprofit members throughout the year. If you know of a Co-Op, please send them our way!

It's the first ever BikeList Survey. Since we're new at this, we're keeping it simple. Just 5 short questions about how you heard about us and what you're into. Rob and I plan to use this info to improve our content and features. We'll be doing a drawing next week for a $50 Gift Card to Bike Tires Direct - more details can be found on the survey.

Take the Survey Now

We can really use your help. Yes, YOU. Please leave a review of BikeList on Google. This will help spread the word.

We intentionally designed the BikeList home page to be like Instagram when viewing from a mobile device. You would scroll through and see big pictures of the latest bikes, parts, and accessories add to the site. Kind of like a treasure hunt.

When we first launched we were concerned that the home page would not change much due to lack of listings, so we displayed everything. This is no longer a concern. Now we sometimes get too many great listings added all at once! A homepage takeover.

So, we made a change today to show the latest bikes, then the latest frames, parts, and accessories. We even added the latest blog posts from me and Rob at the very bottom.

Like it? Hate it? Leave a comment below.

We've been hearing from members that emails are not getting through! It looks like GMAIL is putting our Welcome Mails / Email verification mails in the PROMOTIONS tab. We're working on updating the email to try to get into main inbox. In the meantime, check your promotions tab and make sure to drag the mail into your main inbox.

We just pushed out a release with a handful of small updates and fixes. You'll probably notice the home page now shows a "or Make Offer" link next to the price. There is also a link to the blog at the top of the home page - near the sign in link. On the listing page, we made the Reply to Comment button much easier to find. Lastly, we made several improvements on the create a listing form for shipping options.

Drop us a line if there is a feature you'd like to see on BikeList or to let us know about any bugs.

Earlier today the IRS announced it would delay a rule change that would have impacted anyone selling over $600 on marketplaces like BikeList. You can read more about it here. This proposed rule change was incredibly annoying and confusing for sellers on marketplace platforms like ours, and drove many BikeList sellers to write in to complain to Rob and myself.

It used to be that if a person sold more than $20,000 AND 200 or more transactions on a platform like eBay or BikeList, the company would be required to collect personal information like Social Security Number, Address, etc., and then report those transactions to the IRS.

However, in 2021 Congress lowered that threshold to $600 and ONE transaction. Why $600? Best guess is that is the same magical threshold for reporting independent contractors. Which was set back in 1954 by the way. Gas was 21 cents a gallon back then.

When we were building BikeList earlier this year we we confronted with two VERY BAD options. Either we collect that personal information BEFORE a seller is allowed to list items on our site, or we collect the information before releasing funds to the seller when they cross $600.

We knew we would lose some folks with this, but chose to collect the info up front so nobody would think that we were pulling a gotcha on them after they sold their item. A quick look at our marketplace shows that about 80% of the bikes for sale for $600 or above. For most of our sellers, a single bike sale would trigger the information collection, reporting transactions to the IRS, and a 1099k in the mail in January.

So, where do we go from here? Now that the limit remains at $20,000 and 200 transactions for at least a year AND there is bi-partisan support for changing the law we have some room to redesign our seller onboarding experience to ask for information only if a seller is approaching the higher limit.

Even if Congress updates the rule to be $5k or $10k, it will be more manageable than $600. This is likely a larger development effort, so we can't quite say when the site will be updated..sometime next year.

Finally, we had a good time helping drive awareness in DC as part of the dream team. We met with some very nice Congressional advisors, staffers, and even one of our state's Senators. We tried our best to relay our seller's complaints - even the harsh expletive-laden ones - and be part of the solution.

For the past few weeks we've been speaking with lawmakers in DC about changing a not-so-good tax policy that's going to affect online seller's lives next year. Many of BikeList's members who used to be considered casual sellers may now need to report marketplace income to the IRS. In many cases this does not mean there are additional taxes owed (disclaimer: please consult a tax professional!) but it generates quite a bit of confusion for the infrequent seller and extra paperwork for marketplaces like us!

BikeList in the news again

We were featured in a recent News Story in GeekWire that nicely summarizes the issue.