Shane, an economics student with a minor in entrepreneurship, channeled his inner Mark Zuckerberg last January and founded Vulture Bikes LLC, a used bike business that sells for prices ranging from about $50 to more than $300. did. The bikes he sells cost about a quarter of the price of a new model of the same model. Shane and his crew (including Matteo Morello, an economics and environmental studies senior at Eckerd who grew up with Shane at Wilton) regularly visit pawn shops in the Tampa Bay area. Shane’s 2002 Ford Ranger pickup can fit nine bikes in the back.
His purchases are taken to a rented warehouse near campus. Shane sells about 20 bikes a week for cash only, almost all through Facebook Marketplace or the Vulture Bikes website.
“I bought two Giant road bikes last weekend for $400,” Shane said recently. “I’ve already sold one for $330. You can make $80 to $100 on a high-end bike. I service and repair bikes. Most of the time it’s just a new tube or a little brake adjustment. That’s fine. We’re not bike mechanics, but we’ve never had anyone ask us to return a bike, and if we did, we’d probably be able to work something out.
“No, getting people to the vault is the hardest part.”
Why does he spend hours each week checking inventory, cash flow, and the many other tasks required to maintain two businesses (including managing to blog about them weekly)? ?
“I don’t know why I like it,” Shane replies. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. A lot of my kids and a lot of my friends are trying to get internships and jobs, so I feel like it’s more interesting and rewarding to do something different for myself.” I also like that I don’t have to start anything. I started Vulture Bikes with two $40 bikes and I started Glizzy Guys with an old grill and $100 worth of food. The experimentation and gaming aspects are really fun.
