So I’ve been riding for 25 years but I’ve only owned 3 unicycles. I don’t really know values or selling procedures, so I’m looking for some advice.
I have a 10-foot unicycle I’m thinking about selling. The truth is it’s been sitting for over 20 years, and I’ve never ridden it even once. 6 foot is as tall as I’ve ridden.
Anyway, it’s complete, everything works, and it certainly is rideable. But I just don’t think I’m ever going to find the time and/or guts to do it. So I’m considering listing it in the marketplace, but I really don’t know what I’m doing.
So I really have two questions:
What kind of price should I be looking for if I post it?
Anyone have experience with shipping something this big? How do I ship it?
Here are the stats: 20-inch, chain drive, decent condition, but some surface rust on the tube from indoor storage. A little paint would take care of it. Otherwise solid, functional and tight. center of saddle is currently 9’7" from the ground.
I live near Boise, Idaho, so I doubt the chances are good for a local sale. I’d appreciate any and all advice. I really just want it to go to someone who will use and appreciate it. Thanks!
A big factor in the resale value of a tall giraffe is build quality. Do you know who built it, when, and did this builder make many others? Some of the experienced giraffe builders command good prices because you know their frames are solid and won’t suffer from weaknesses. One-off giraffes are more of an unknown, and from what we read above yours has little to no wear & tear on it so it’s hard to know if it’ll snap on the first attempt at riding it.
Detailed pictures will help a lot in getting feedback and determining a price. Then you get to think about shipping…
Ok, I snapped a picture before I read the above about detailed pictures. But I think I can give a decent description:
It appears to have started life as a shorter unicycle, and someone evidently has welded in a long extension. The tube that was added is quite a bit larger in diameter than the original tubing, and the welds are large and chunky. It looks and feels very solid.
The tubing that was added was spray painted silver, and in some of those areas the paint has given out and there is surface rust. By “surface rust” I mean the type that easily comes off with steel wool. This unicycle has always been stored in my garage and has never seen weather.
The tire and tube should obviously be replaced, though it does hold air.
The chain is adjusted by means of a tensioner bolt arrangement at the fork. The chain is TIGHT (as in very little slack or play.)
The only markings I find anywhere are “Sugino” and “Japan” both on the crank bearing housing.
There are also what appear to be “steps” welded up the pole, presumably for climbing up to the saddle while the unicycle is leaning against something solid.
There are toe clips and the pedals are metal. The seat has the metal guard bars on it.
That’s about all I know about it. Please feel free to ask me more specific questions.
Yeah, I’ve wondered about the toe clips over the years. I think that’s the scariest part. If I ever were to ride it, the first thing I’d do is remove them. Then I’d try to find someplace with rubber pavement.
No kidding! But on the other hand, at least on a tall giraffe you have plenty of time to get your feet out. Believe it or not, it makes more sense up there than on a shorter unicycle! Not that I’d want to do it…
The unicycle looks pretty nice in that one picture, but the devil is in the details. Are you hoping to sell locally, or to ship it? Does the frame come apart?
“+1” is short hand (or, better, short head) that the kiddies use because they’re too lazy to type out, “I agree.” It is frequently followed by gibberish such as “lol” or “AWESOME.” It’s about as valuable as a blank line post and, as such, can be entirely ignored without loss of any content whatsoever.
If you’re going to take detailed photos, the most interesting would be a close up of the fork-large OD tube weld. It looks a little funky. A shot of the weld at the top of the large OD tube would also be interesting to see. The tubing itself is of a large enough diameter to be adequately stout. The joints are the weak and stressed points.
It doesn’t come apart. Of course I’d love to sell locally, but I don’t know if that will happen, so I’m open to shipping it. Not quite sure how though.
I assume I’ll need to build a wooden shipping crate for it and send it truck freight.
I’ll take some detail pictures and post them for comment.
Ok, these photos make it look pretty rusty. But really, it’s just on the surface and comes right off with steel wool. Structurally, everything seems solid. No visible signs of any pitting, cracks, etc.
I’ve tried to get the areas of interest. Let me know if there are other areas I should shoot.
Any ideas as to value? Anybody ever shipped one of these before?
Thanks for posting the details. The welds looked fishy in the full view because the rusty areas discolored them slightly. In the details the welds look very nice. Deep penetration, no cracks, and good fill. The entire frame is probably structurally sound.
Yes, it looks very solid. Usually, assuming the thing is equally welded all around, the weakest point in a tall giraffe frame is the joint between the bottom bracket (crank barrel) and the seat tube. I don’t know if frame failures happen there more because that area doesn’t get built strong enough for tall giraffes, or from wear & tear if the cycle gets dropped or mishandled?
Even riding in a vehicle where the seat is holding up that whole end of the unicycle could weaken that one joint.
Anyway, I suppose the next question in this conversation should be “Where are you?” That’s what potential buyers are going to want to know, if you haven’t already mentioned it above.
Funny story: There was a traveling circus sideshow in town. They were stuck here in Boise yesterday because their trailer broke down and they needed a new axle. But they couldn’t find the axle in town, and ordering it would take too long.
So they were shopping for a trailer, and I happen to have one for sale on Craigslist. So they called on my trailer, but decided it was too expensive.
Anyway, since they are a circus sideshow, I thought they might need a Giraffe unicycle. And they almost did.
That would have been a sweet deal to sell it without shipping. I quoted a ridiculously low price, but they didn’t bite. I think they have bigger fish to fry, what with the broken trailer and all. Anyway, I thought it was very coincidental timing that about the time I think about selling a Giraffe, the circus sideshow is calling me about something unrelated.
If they had bought the trailer, I would have thrown in the Giraffe at no charge.
