At least three cycle shops have come up with their own version of the Cash for Clunkers car rebate program. Joe Bike in Southern Portland, Lakeshore Bike in Marquette, Mich., and the Ski & Bike Shop in Grand Forks, North Dakota all have been offering bike discounts in trade-in deals.
Calling it “Cash for Clinkers,” the promotion at The Ski & Bike Shop ran from August 14 to August 24, the day the federal
government's program ended. The store was offering on average about $50 trade-in value for “any rideable bike,” but was paying more for better models, owner Terry Knudson told The B.O.S.S. Report In total, he estimated that between 35 to 40 bikes were traded in although the first four days of the promotion were hurt by continual rain showers. “It's hard to sell bikes when it's raining,” Knudson joked.
Knudson said the store decided to end the promotion because it only likes to run promotions for a limited time. But he expects to make his money off the trade-in bikes, noting that students just coming back to the University of North Dakota will be looking for budget bikes.
A similar promotion – Cash For Bike Clunkers was started around two weeks ago by Lakeshore Bike in Michigan and is continuing. Matt Calcaterra told B.O.S.S. that the store has been offering a minimum of $25 for a trade-in bicycle with better bikes getting more.
Calcaterra couldn’t estimate how many bikes were traded in, but he said the promotion has definitely drove traffic to the store. Beyond customers walking in after seeing the “Cash for Bike Clunkers” sign outside, the shop has been featured in a story run by The Associated Press and on MSNBC.
“It's definitely going to be a yearly event for us now,” said Calcaterra, who estimates he'll likely end the promotion in a week. “We just winged it this time but we're already planning to do much better next year.”
Calcaterra likewise figures he'll at least break even on the traded-in bikes. Better bikes can be fixed up and sold for more than trade-in value. Beaten up bikes will be fixed up and likely sold for the same trade-in value. Unfixable bikes will be either sold for parts or recycled for the metal.
“I'm trying to do it better than the federal program and reusing the parts or getting the bikes into people's hands,” he said.
Others retailers with similar programs include Joe Bike in Portland, which has been offering up to $200 off the cost of a bike for a repairable bike or car. Churchill Shoe's in South Grand Forks has also been running a program whereby consumers can bring in their old shoes for $16 off the regular price of a new pair or $8 off a pair that's on sale.
