Tips for creating a great listing on Spokeo
Creating a great listing on Spokeo is key to getting lots of rentals for your bike or gear, but a great listing takes time. Expect to take 15-20 minutes per listing that you create.
List your bike or gear
1. Start with quality, well-maintained bikes and cycling gear
- Spokeo is a marketplace of good quality, well-maintained bikes and cycling gear. List gear on Spokeo that is lovingly maintained and regularly used.
- We will not publish listings for bikes and gear that looks like you just pulled it out of a dumpster.
2. Create a great personal profile
- People are renting your bike, but they need to trust you.
- Your profile on Spokeo should include a photo in which your face is clearly visible. Avoid sunglasses.
- Include a short bio describing your experience as a cyclist and bike owner.
- Mention how you maintain and service your bike(s). Do you do your own mechanic work or do you take your bike(s) to a shop? How regularly?
3. Add 3-5 Great Photos. Yes. People like photos.
- You probably will need to have a photoshoot with your gear. Clean your gear for the photoshoot. No expensive camera needed, but you will need to know how to take a picture.
- Include 3-5 photos from different angles to show different parts of your bike/gear
- Photos should be well-lit, with your bike/gear as the hero, ideally with nothing else in the picture except a neutral background.
- Avoid photos with people--just bikes & gear please!
4. Include an accurate, detailed description
All bike listings should include:
- Sizing - include the frame size if known. Include a recommended height range for the rider. Here's a good bike sizing chart
- Pedals - what type of pedals are installed (e.g. SPDs, flat pedals, etc)? Do you have other pedal options to offer?
- Tire /wheel size (e.g. 29" wheels and 2.6" tires)
- Age/quality info - approximately when was the bike new? What component groupo is installed? This helps renters assess the quality of the bike
- Anything unique about the bike. What makes it cool? Any caveats? Something that doesn't work (but the bike must ride well)...
- Mountain bikes should include: Front & rear suspension travel (e.g. 150mm travel in front, 140mm rear), whether the bike has a dropper post and if there are disc brakes.
- Gravel / cyclocross bikes should include: Gears and cassette size
- Gear (bike racks, bikepacking gear, etc) should include specifics of what the gear attaches to in as much detail as possible. (e.g. the bike rack attaches to a standard 2" trailer hitch) What can the gear be used for? (e.g. this bikepacking gear is perfect for a three-day bikepacking trip) What is the capacity of the gear? (e.g. this bike travel case holds two bikes)
5. Location
- Currently, we don't have a way to anonymize your location when someone looks at your listing. (We're working on it!) Anonymizing your location is important for security purposes.
- We have a workaround though… Use a nearby address of a school, park, or public place or just use your zip code
- Don't worry, we approve listings before they go live and we won't approve your listing with a home address.
6. Pricing
Pricing is totally up to you. Some guidelines:
- Your pricing should aim to be 25% - 30% lower than the price to rent an equivalent bike at a bike shop.
- In the Seattle / Tacoma market, we published average prices to rent bikes. Other markets will be soon to follow.
- The value and age of the bike are the biggest factors for the rental price.
- Look at other listings to get a sense for pricing for similar bikes