Binky

Well, he still wanted to buy the bike at the full price but when I did not sell it to him, he did get just a little bit snotty because he had driven to my home from Toronto (about 32 miles) to pull this stunt, and he insinuated that if I was not going to sell him the bike maybe I owed him for his time and gas because I was reneging on the sale. That did not fly.
Seriously, he had more nerve than a tooth-ache.

Bink

Binky

This rat's a**hole stands out because he has been the only joker in the deck.
So I should add that over the years I have met just this ONE total jack-off -- and also countless wonderful young people.
I have passed over to them lots of bikes that I hope will still be ridden and enjoyed long after I am dead. Like my kids, they are my legacy.
I am quite elderly now, well past my "Best By" date, and I can easily imagine that many of the better bikes I have rebuilt will outlast me by many years, especially here in Canada where the biking season gets interrupted by winter every year.

Bink

CliffordK

I don't think I'd accept 100%.

Perhaps tell him that the new price has gone up 10 - fold, and that you're calling the police about fraud and damages, unless he pays the new price.

jadocs

I would have beat that azz.

zukahn1 

Two girls actually yes girls nice looking mid 20's nice were a couple of the slammers they just bent a link but FU'd it up and messed up the DR. Actually ended up changing the dr and chain but sold the bike later the same day for above asking brice,

Last ride 76 

How do you sell a bike for above your asking price?

Miele Man

Probably above the originally asked price from earlier in the day.

Cheers

unterhausen

On a bike with 8 speed or higher and messing with the chain basically totals the chain in my view. I have ridden a bike with a 9 speed chain where I had to repair it with a chain breaker, but I replaced it when I got home.

CliffordK

I've pushed pins in and out with 9 speed. But, wouldn't do it with 11 speed. And, I'd be careful with selling stuff that I didn't believe in.

So, unless it was an older 5/6 speed bike, the scammer should owe the seller the value for replacement pins, quick links, or a replacement chain. Plus, any additional damages.

Letting him go may have been letting him off too easily.

Hopefully a photo was taken of the person and of the vehicle to post scam warnings on Craigslist.

VtwinVince

Ridiculous, that guy should be wearing your big ring right now. What a shyster.

katsup

This happened to me once. I had a buyer setup and told the 2nd buyer that I already had an appointment right after I got off work (I really did). He offered more to come an get it right away so I took a lunch break and sold it to him.

I have also tried offering $10 more than ask to buy a bike that a seller was holding for someone. She didn't accept and the other buyer bought it. I would of offered more to sweeten the pot if that bike was my size.

bargainguy

Let me get this right.

You're selling bikes from under people if they offer more than the original buyer, even if that bike is already reserved for that buyer.

When buying, you offer more to encourage sellers to sell others out on bikes already spoken for.

I wouldn't be happy in either situation. If I give my word to sell a bike at a certain price, that's what I do.

If I were expecting someone to hold a bike for me and the seller sold out to someone else, wouldn't be happy there either.

himespau 

Yeah, I have people ask me to do that all the time and have the nerve to get angry with me when I say, "um, no". If I give my word, that's that.

katsup

Definitely, I have had agreed upon phone prices, some with appointments, disappear on me way too many times. As long as there are a few hours until the appointment, so the 1st buyer hasn't left, I will sell it to the first person to see it. I went out of the way for this guy as he offered a good amount more than ask. I never agree to save it for the 1st buyer.

Over the last 2 weeks, I have had a buyer and seller ghost me. The buyer had made an appointment, confirm a few hours earlier, so I give my address, then go silent and not answer the phone and never show up. The seller I travelled 4 hours for (week long road trip with my fiancée) and disappear on me. We had an agreed upon price and appointment with this lady and she had a week in advance to prepare things. Luckily I had a backup bike in the same area (same make/model/year, just more expensive) that I was able to get.

Last ride 76 

+1 I thought it sounded problematic.

WGB 

"Ah, perhaps you need a U-lock. Here, test it out on the side of your head while I swing it."

Miele Man

Had that happen to me once. I had an appointment set up to buy a bike and had arranged a car ride to get it and had confirmed that we'd be there at the agreed upon time. I told the seller i was coming from out of town. When I got there the seller had sold the bicycle to someone else. I was NOT happy not was the fellow who drove me the 60 miles to get the bike. A 120 miles round trip for nothing.

Cheers

katsup

I understand first come first serve as a seller as 2/3's of the buyers flake or cancel, but I'd never do that if someone is already driving. In my case, there was a 5 hour gap till the appointment and I sent him a text right away saying it sold.

I've been left out cold as a buyer as well, it sucks the worse when they just don't respond and you are left at the meeting spot waiting.

Phil_gretz

I've sold more than a few bikes above my asking price. Most recently, the couple so appreciated my advice, patience fitting the husband, and the work that I'd put in restoring even to the smallest details, that they handed me money ~6.5% above my asking price. This was for a fine Fuji America.

SurferRosa

This is a tough call, as your first buyer could always bail. But I think the right thing to do is to stand by your own word with the first guy. After all, it was the same day.

Last ride 76 

I'm asking, trying to get a sense of how folks operate... If I make an appt to see a bike this evening after work, you're saying it may or may not be there, if someone comes earlier? and do you say so during the call? You make it clear it's first come, first served? As long as it's up front, that seems fair, but if we make a deal over the phone, I expect that deal to be upheld...

Kilroy1988 

As for the OPs situation, I would have cussed the guy right off my property and told him never to come back.

Personally, related to some of the other stories being passed around, I've attempted to sell a bicycle and meet the buyer halfway, only to have them say they weren't interested when I was already 75 miles from home. The guy even called back said he'd mail me a check for $20 for gas because he felt bad about it, so I gave him my information and never got a check. That was a bad idea in hindsight, methinks, revealing my abode... But nothing came of that. That was the crappiest deal I ever had.

When I sell on Craigslist I always offer to meet at a local Starbucks, where I can arrive early to assemble the bike and then meet up safely away from home and any suspicious conduct.

Oh, once, when I was young, I was offered $250 for a bike I desperately needed to sell. The guy called back and said he could do $125 + the same amount in marijuana. I was young, so I said okay... Got to our rendezvous and ended up with just a trash bag full of trash weed. That was the second crappiest deal I ever made, especially since it went up in smoke.



-Gregory

katsup

It really depends on the seller. Sellers just want to sell the bike, most will not sell it if the appointment time is near and they know you are driving. If you only have an agreed price and meeting time, I don't consider that a "deal" as I have been left out cold way to many times after people do this. If they ask me to hold it for them, I judge that on a case by case basis, but usually only give them a day or 2.

However a few will not tell you they sold the bike until you knock on their door or not answer the phone when you are waiting on the meeting spot. Unfortunately, the later has happened to me multiple times, both as a seller and buyer.

combover

I would have to refrain from punching him in an attempt to rip me off !! what a punkass !

UKFan4Sure

No one gets out of my visual sight on my bikes. My truck is parked up front, just in case. Everyone arrives in a car to look at mine anyhow.