532nm

I've put a couple up, less than half the retail price, near perfect shape, only a couple years old. I get very little interest.

Is it the economy?

fietsbob

More Advertising, better looking pictures , include a 3 bedroom house ,IDK.

Keep lowering the price.. or tear it apart and Ebay it a piece at a time.

New bike sales, and the many Repairs, kept the bank loans paid and the shop overhead paid ,
so it will still be here another year.

For the short Dry months that have hundreds of riders touring the Pacific Coast.

SlimRider

It's Holiday shopping time! People will be back into buying used after they have absorbed their losses from Xmas shopping!

If it doesn't sell by February, deconstruct and sell it piecemeal...

rogerstg

The economy is not good enough to depress the value of used bikes. IOW, bad economies are good for prices of used stuff since fewer people can afford new.

Burton

Here new bike sales were down significantly, but repairs, parts and sales of second hand bikes were way up. Overall it was a better year than last year - which was better than the year before, but nothing like the market 15 years ago.

It might have something to do with your particular bikes or how you're presenting them or where you're posting them. You need to post specifics: Make, model, year, size, component details and condition. Otherwise its possible to know if its even worth a call let alone a visit.

For example - currently in the Montreal Craigslist there's a posting that says simply: 'super bike - $50' and has two fuzzy photo that are clearly two different bikes. I doubt they'll get any calls.

clarkbre

Can you give us the link to your ads? It may be your ads, or...

...It may be that you're trying to sell at a time of year people aren't wanting to go for a bike ride. It's winter.

...It may be that you're competing against every other seller that wants to get rid of a bike or two taking up space in the garage.

In short, bad time of year and a saturated market.

Mobile 155

To answer more directly, yes, more than likely the economy and the time of year. The type of bike matters as well but we have had three bike shops I use close in the last year so I would say, economy.

Flying Merkel

It's a slow time of year. I sold a Specialized Ground Control last week. Didn't think it would sell until February, but some kid wanted a MTB to ride with his Dad. I asked $240, wanted $200, got $200. There a Raliegh mixte in the shed that's next up. Probably shouldn't have bought it, but there it is.

Mr. Beanz

Yeah, let's see the ad.

I've seen plenty of ads stating close to perfect, great shape, orginal parts, like new, only 200 miles only to find a frankenbike with bad substitutions.

Flying Merkel

Reading Craigslist ads has destroyed my faith in the public school system. The art of writing a simple descriptive sentence is a dying art. Kids are using tweetspeak to post an ad for a $1,200 bike and wondering why there's no response. "HMU"? BMA, dude. "NOS" does not mean good condition, it means the item was never sold and stayed in a shop or warehouse. "New" means never used. "Like new" doesn't mean beat to s(ugar) but still has the original tires. All original means ALL original.

And please learn how to take a good picture. Drive side full view, off side full view, maybe cockpit view. That's usually all you need. You aren't an artist producing abstractions or playing "Guess the mystery item" Avoid Bat photos of a bike hanging upside-down in a dark garage.

Email contact is best. Conducting business via texts is near impossible.

frantik

dude it's winter a month before christmas.. people aren't shopping for used bikes right now

tergal

This ,

It makes me cry a little inside when i see adds that just say "bike for sale good condition "

Or worse Size 26" MTB for sale ....

rebel1916

That's probably a demographic thing, cause I would rather conduct business via text than any other medium. I agree that one should include the option for email though.

frantik

"text me for pics"

532nm

I don't want to post my ads here for privacy reasons. But I agree with whoever said it's probably a seasonal thing, if not economic. I was under the impression there were more people like me who just buy lots of presents for themselves at this time of year. Sometimes I forget that most people give gifts to others.

Thanks for the replies.

frantik

if your ads have good pictures and descriptions, it's just the time of year and/or your particular market. people like to buy bikes when it's sunny and warm, not when it's cold and raining/snowing

Flying Merkel

Southern Cal is blessed with a year-round market. It slows, but it doesn't quit.

"text me for pics"

Never have, never will. Not on my little bitty Jurassic phone.

frantik

yeah it's not totally dead here.. never sold in the winter but bikes still get listed

justfitme

I bought a dozen of bikes on CL for last couple of years. And sold most of them. And in most cases I sold for more than I paid and never lost any money on re-sale.

1. Good pictures and description - show in the ad that you know and love the bikes.
2. Right price ( But it is not always price is too high..sometimes you keep the bike for a month and no luck - raise the price and the bike sold in 2 days. Go figure)
3. Never sell it dirty or rusty - clean it.



Sometimes time is not right..But I did not notice this is the major factor.

osco53

I buy used unless new is a super deal.

My like new slightly used Easy Racer Tour Easy cost new $2,500 counting the extras the owner added..
I got it for $1,000.
Bike had almost NO useage,,that I am shure of...

My Harley new was $12,000 I got It like new for $8,500
an 1800 mile garage queen.

My 2010 Mustang new was $26,000,
Got it one year old like new low miles $17,000,,,

It's not always the price your asking,
Bikes like Harleys are often a fashion statement,
The gotta have the latest In style new thing people may not be looking.
Go shop used bikes like yours,,set an asking price lower than anyother of comaprable wear n tear and model.

Thats all you can do.

northernlights

but the heavily autocentric infrastructure there is very poor for biking.
I wouldn't bike in southern california in any weather.

Flying Merkel

Not at all. I'm in Orange County. It's very cycle-friendly. Since folk bike year around and there's a lot of commuters, drivers are more bike-aware than most. Riding through the poor section of town I get treated with courtesy. Riders who complain about riding here haven't really ridden here.

northernlights

you're joking right? I went to grade school in costa mesa and grew up in OC so I should know. I rarely see any bicycles around there, except maybe the occasional little kid riding in their neighborhood. nothing but cars and big box parking lots as far as the eye can see. I don't live there anymore but still visit and unfortunately nothing has changed. if I had to pick the least bike-friendly place on earth I would say it was Orange County, and SoCal in general. which is unfortunate because the weather is excellent for biking. if you're on a bicycle or on foot people look at you like you're some kind of freak. or like you're homeless.

even minnesota where it is much colder is 10 times more bike-friendly than anywhere in SoCal.

agent pombero

Here in Portland a lot of people think they can dump their 2-5 year old bike (many times even older) on Craigslist and expect 60-80%+ retail. Give me a f**** break. Or they have some junker that is "retro", "vintage", "fully customized" and expect primo dollars for it. I think it depends on the market. If you live in a place where a lot of people bike you will find inflated bike prices.

Dave Mayer

A number of factors, but the time of year is the biggest. I assume you are in the Northern Hemisphere. In my area, bike prices on Craigslist drop by 50% and the number of postings explode. If you can hold out to the first sunny weekend in May, then you should be able to double your price.

Same thing with bike shops.. this time of year they are desperate for sales and work. In May, the shops will have to contend with a line out the door of pleading soccer moms who are prepared to drop big $$ to wait 3 weeks to get a 5-minute derailleur adjustment on a kids bike.

It also depends on what you are selling. The bike industry is consumed by trends, such that road bikes are now in heavy demand. Anything remotely resembling a road bike (including full suspension rigs with 26" wheels and 1.5" slicks) must be flogged as a 'road bike'. You can't give away a low to mid-range mountain bikes. The fixed gear thing has imploded too. Now that you can buy a $99 'fixie' at Walmart, good luck trying to dump one of these; the hipsters have moved on.