Midwest Ullrich

I wiped the bike clean with Windex before meeting with the guy. Also, I brought hex keys in case I need to lower the seat for test ride. make sure the brakes are not catching the wheels and drivetrain is quiet.

seymour1910

very sound advice, present the item as well as you can. The last bike I bought off CL, the owner put no effort into it. the bike was dirty and needed maintenance. Once I saw it, my price dropped significantly. I told him why I was offering less money and he agreed and accepted my offer.

seymour1910

someone posted earlier to "be honest" I also agree with this. We have all seen enough ebay and CL ads where the seller says "only ridden two times" or "only 500 miles on the bike". Those are fine if it's true, but if a bike was only ridden 500 miles, none of the drivetrain would show as much wear as these bikes tend to show.

Long Tom

Ho jeez. If I'm not careful, I'll end up owning THEM money for it!

Long Tom

Oh, yeah. I'm a member of this community; I am ONLY honest in my dealings. There is no other way.

I bought it used at a LBS last May for $650. It's a 2007 Specialized Sequoia Elite that listed for $1250 IIRC (need to look that up again). I rode it a few thousand miles. Replaced a couple things. It's a "good" bike and is pretty darn good at what it does- which is comfort/endurance. Has the carbon fork, seat stays, and seatpost, all with Zertz. Mix of 105 and Tiagra.

It's actually quite comfy for long rides, partly because the rear triangle especially is quite flexy. Now that I'm stronger and have found my huckleberry (hills) and..... uh.... bought a couple other bikes it's no longer needed. But it's a good solid bike and will serve the next tall guy well.

OldsCOOL

Also measure actual frame size which is taken from center of the crank/bb up along seat tube to the top of the top tube. Some measure up to the center of top tube but you can have a close enough measurement that cyclists will understand.

Squeeze

I have purchased three bicycles in the last 12 months from CL and have been using CL for many years to buy, sell, and trade electric guitar gear. I use the method above when selling. I don't put my phone number in the ad. I make CL's anonymous email link the only contact method. Selling stuff on CL can be a pain and not broadcasting my phone number to the world lets me pick and choose who I want to respond to. Of course I give them my number right away in my reply but this way if nothing else, I avoid spam text messages from who knows where.

I also like to say "first $XX cash takes it" where $XX is my price. I don't know if readers agree, but I'm thinking that says a few things:

1. This item is in demand
2. The seller will not hold it for someone claiming to be driving in from Tanjung Karang but will sell it to the first person who puts $XX in his hand
3. The price is firm

Whether people get all that from my "first cash" comment or not, I don't know, but I like it.

Good luck. CL can be great if you live where there's a large population and use common sense.

nesdog

Just sold my Giant OCR on CL this week. Pretty much followed most of the suggestions above.

Cleaned the bike well and took good pix of the drivetrain.
Invested in some cheap platform pedals so that a buyer could try the bike.
Added the size, including the appropriate height for a buyer (Medium; riders from 5'7 to 5'10)

Told the buyer/contacts why I was selling the bike. Also mentioned I was the original owner.

I had an extra 9 speed cassette (which I can't use anymore) which I threw in after he made the offer and also some bar tape that matches the bike. In my case, buyer is from the area and relatively new to road biking so I told him to contact me with questions plus invited him to our shop ride on the weekends.

Did not respond to inquiries that were clearly a waste; trolls, spammers,etc. I had several of those.



Finally, I didn't try to oversell the bike as something magical or perfect.....it's a bike!

likebike23

I don't do all of the cloak and dagger stuff. Make sure that you get the person's phone number and name after exchanging emails, talk to them first and meet wherever. I've had people come to my house and never had a problem. Anyone who acts shady in the emails and won't give a phone number doesn't get the bike. Also, don't negotiate with a buyer through emails, would you buy a bike or make an offer before seeing it in person?

Jiggle

Make sure they drive to you so you don't have to invest time in the deal.

contango 

I remember seeing a few bikes on ebay where it appeared the owner had bought a $5000 mountain bike, ridden it twice, decided cycling wasn't for them and so were selling their nearly-new bike for a small fraction of the new price. Personally, I find that tale hard to believe.

I bought a bike on ebay that was a bit of a punt, it was from a seller with no feedback and only a stock photo. I only bought it because it was local and I could actually go and see the thing, check things like the serial number wasn't removed, check the wheels and frame etc. Had it not been local I'd have let it go, although it turned out to be sound.

Any time you're selling a bike with pictures, make sure the words match the pictures and the pictures show the bike in detail. Don't say the bike has 105 components with a picture that shows SORA emblazoned across the parts. If it's a 2009 model don't describe it as a 2010. Also show the bike, show individual areas close up, if there's any damage that warrants a mention provide a picture so the buyer can see just what it is you're talking about. Basically make sure that when someone comes to see the bike it looks at least as good as they expect it to look. I remember one guy on ebay selling a bike and every single picture included his daughter. At a guess she was maybe 5 or 6, she wasn't doing anything useful, but it appeared she decided she wanted to be in all the pictures. So his advert was little more than a collection of pictures that said "here's my daughter, and if you can see past her the bike is for sale".

Long Tom

I've been using some really cheap flat pedals on my city bike. I think I'll buy some good flats for that bike and put the old ones on this bike I'm selling.

It's a good bike. It got me rolling! Hopefully it'll do the same for the next guy.

evrythngsgngrn

This seemed to come up at a good time, I was complaining about the 'local' online ads on Thursday. I've been looking around for a particular old frame or complete bike and keep coming across people who don't specify the size, or any relevant details about the bike. I don't know if they are trying to judge interest in their ad by leaving out details so that people e-mail them, but it is really frustrating.

The bike I'm currently looking at is out of town, so I want as much detail as possible without having to travel to see it, just to find out that it isn't what I expect. They list what the brakes are and show pictures, but none of the pictures show the drivetrain. I e-mailed asking for the size as well as other questions regarding other parts on the bike, and the response was that they didn't know about bikes, as the bike was given to them, so I ended up sending a modified picture of the bike from their ad showing where to take measurements and what area on the other side of the bike to take a picture of. Normally I would just pass by the ad and move on to something that has the relevant information/pictures. I'm sure transactions would take less time or be more successful if the information was there in the first place.

mtalinm

I did that to someone once. guy listed a Roubaix on CL for $1200. I showed up in my A8 with $1000 cash and told him take it or leave it. at first he made up stories about how a bunch of people were coming to see it but in the end he sold me the bike.

aquateen

"If this ad is up, the bike is still for sale."

First time I sold a bike on CL I had probably 20 emails asking if it was still for sale.

Will Goes Boing

I think everybody covered most of the important stuff but personally I would also add notations in your ad such as, "NO TRADES" or "NO LOWBALLERS". I recently put up a $4500 mountain bike in like-new condition for $3000 and I had a guy email me asking me if I will be willing to trade the bike for a 2 yr old macbook. It's baffling how people can even try to pull something like that.

Just be prepared to deal with a lot of BS. Out of the 10 inquiries maybe you will get 1 that is serious.

TakingMyTime

Pictures: As a lot of members have said... Clear Pictures. I would also like to add, think about the picture before you take it. Make sure the lighting is correct, don't have a background that is to "busy". You want what you are selling to stand out, not get lost in the background. And for God's sake, don't use cellphone pics. Take the bike to the park or put it up against a garage door or indoor wall, hold the camera steady, make sure it's focused and then take the picture.

Long Tom

Good advice, folks, and I'll put it to the test here soon. Cleaned the bike up yesterday but the free hub isn't releasing, and I haven't had a chance to figure out why. The last ride was a sloppy rain ride... I'm buying new flat pedals for a different bike so I'll slap the old flat pedals on this bike and take it out to verify everything is working as it should....

Tires on it now are good tires (Spesh front, Forte rear) with low miles, but I also have on hand some matching brand-new Novara tires that came on the REI bike I bought recently... do brand new tires have any market "pull"? They aren't great or expensive tires, I don't think anyway, but they are new... and they'd match.

gsa103

They might on a bike with a high price. On a low price bike (<$500), the answer is definitely no. The typical buyer for a cheap bike doesn't know the difference between good and bad tires.

likebike23

New, matching tires helps. Any time you can mention new parts, it makes the bike more attractive than competing bikes without. As for brand, I'm with gsa103.

moppeddler

one thing that that drives me crazy is when people want to negotiate price without seeing the bike first. It's fine if they ask if the price is negotiable because I always ask for a few more bucks than I really hope to get anyway. When they start talking specific numbers (usually growing really low numbers out), I tend to not take them too seriously.

GDA

Nice timing as I just bought a bike off CL this past weekend for another family member.

Many good comments already provided and here's my list for selling any bike stuff on CL

1) clean, clean and more clean. Spotless gets you top dollar
2) lots and lots of pics with good lighting
3) full description starting with a size, age miles, damage etc
4) provide some frame of going price from completed ads on ebay or like
5) note payment terms and reinforce again at end of ad


BTW - picked up a super dirty 07 Cannondale Six13 full Dura Ace that was super dirty from sitting in storage for over 4 years. Pics were horrible but upon cleaning it up the bike should have fetch twice the asking price. GL

topflightpro

I agree with the post about asking more than you want. I generally assume that if something on CL is listed for $575 or $550, they want $500.

Also, list it on Thursdays and again on Fridays. People are more likely to follow through on the weekend.

A couple of years ago, I was selling my wife's old bike on CL. I kept posting it on Mondays. I'd get a few responses with people saying they wanted to see it over the weekend, but by the time Saturday and Sunday rolled around, they'd lost interest. Once I posted it right before the weekend, it sold.

Phil_gretz

A few of the helpful posts have alluded to this, but I'll try to make it clear.

Fix everything that's not exactly right on the bike, and let the buyer know that you have taken care of the bike. This can be expensive, so you have to decide whether you are adding positive net value.

For example, clean bar wrap? A positive. New inner cables, properly adjusted and terminated? A positive. Brake pads...maybe, especially if they're the generic black Tektro or Shimano ones, or they're worn.

As others have said, clean, clean and clean some more. Your goal should be no visible grit anywhere. Touch up any scars, if you have skills in this area.

No rust also. That means working a Q-tip with phosphoric acid or equivalent into binder bolts, bottle cage bolts, and anywhere else where there may be a tint of rust in the photos.

Drivetrain working perfectly. That means perfectly. Clean. Lubricated. Adjusted. Quiet.

You nentioned a stuck freehub? Take the wheel out, remove the cassette, and back off the freehub. See if you can inject a lubricant to get it moving again. What you use will depend. Marvel miracle oil might work if you drizzle a few drops on the rotating interface. Or perhaps a spray grease with a narrow injection nozzle... The point is, get it working right. While the cassette is off, clean the cogs and the spacers thoroughly.

All of this brings the maximum price.

merlinextraligh

So someone that has money should pay you more for a bike than someone that has less money?

The bike has a fair market value, and who the purchaser is doesn't change that. Presumably you thought the price you negotiated was reasonable, or you wouldn't have agreed to sell it for that.