jamesdak 

I just don't get some people. I'm trying to downsize and "recalibrate" my stable and as such have several of the bikes listed locally for sale. Now I live outside of the major Wasatch Front area so it always takes more time to sell a bike. It's about an extra 25 minutes from the large near city to my place. Here lately though I get all these "buyers" that want me to give huge discounts off the already reasonably priced bikes and then still drive an hour and a half somewhere to bring them the bike! This all without even looking at it or asking me any real questions on condition and such.

Who do these people think they are?

Is this my age showing or something because I would never ask or expect this of anyone I'm buying from. Heck, I make long drives myself pretty much anytime I buy a bike.

Anyway, just venting a bit. As more and more years go by I understand people and this country even less......

BikeWonder

If I understand you correctly, people just want to make/save money. That's all. Assuming your stable are decent bikes, people see and want the opportunity to make profit as much as possible. Selling a bike for $200? "What's the lowest you can go? I only have $100, but I really like the bike. I can maybe do $120 max" is the type of response I normally get.

Unfortunately people just want to take shortcuts. What I do is
A) drive to a bigger city if I know I will make the sale and someone is willing to pay (huge gamble)

B) mention in the ad about distance and to include a prepaid delivery fee if willing to get it delivered to them (usually weeds them out quicker if someone doesn't want to pay for your gas and time, but be reasonable. No one will pay $100 for gas for a pickup)

C) Stay firm on your price. Ask for their number to close a deal or secure it. Also, schedule a time and place instead of saying "come by anytime today." I find people are willing to work with you when they know your time is limited.

D) find a reputable host for some of your bikes to be sold instead of having to travel back and forth (hard, I know. Knowing people helps).



These are strategies that I used to help sell bikes of my stable gets too big.
People are willing to pay only what they think the bike is worth, rarely what you think it is.

iab

No is an acceptable answer instead of pent up rage. It makes for better health.

KonAaron Snake 

Typing no takes too much effort. - delete -

bikemig 

Most people reckon that the price on CL is just a starting price and you negotiate down. When I sell, I list the work that I've done and negotiate very little if at all.

Tusk

Links? I may be interested.

BFisher

Eh, it's a combination of too many things to let yourself get worked up over. Lots of people are out for the super cheap score, or are lazy, or maybe even don't look at bikes like you or I. You know a serious buyer when they come along. The rest are easy to ignore if you just file them under useless banter.

bargainguy

This is where I love the Craigslist anonymous email responder, as I don't list a contact number. All my bikes are posted with terms, and in those terms is "no offers or trades please." So if someone emails me an offer, I just delete the email without responding. Does that stop people from sending me offers? Of course not. But it lets me know who's fishing and who's not.

jamesdak 

I'm actually used to the whole selling locally issues it's just here lately there been a rash of irrational people in my opinion.

I'm never hung up on price as to be honest I enjoy trying new rides and "losing money" on a sale is no big deal And I know who the local flippers are.

I always provide a bunch of high quality pics and list all upgrades and such.

I also am used to getting all the scammers. That's a given. But the local folks lately that want you to overly cater to them is a bit odd and quite plainly, rude to me. I treat everyone else as if their time matters and I expect the same. And I always hold a bike once someone is seriously interested and on the way. This despite times others have offered me more after I tell someone I'll hold it until they get here.

speedevil 

I've bought several bikes from CL ads, and when I make the initial contact I either offer them their asking price, or counter with some like "would you consider taking $xxx"? If they reply with "I think my asking price is fair" then it's up to me to agree or not. It's not personal, other than what the seller thinks the item is worth versus what I think it's worth. Courtesy goes a very long way, and I've found that the CL sellers are reasonable, if you are. As you say, it is easy to separate the lookers from the genuinely interested buyers.

I've not sold a lot on CL, but I always put "price is firm" in the text. I will read the responses, and a courteous response will almost always get a reply from me. Sometimes the answer is no, sometimes it's yes. it's a judgement call. Some get deleted without a reply at all. They'll figure it out. Or not. I'm good either way.

malcala622

Selling $60 frame...

Buyer: "Its missing parts I'll give you $5"

Well duh...youre buying a frameset not a full bicycle.

Fahrenheit531 

Probably a bunch of BF C&V guys. As we all know, any given bike's value is much higher when we're selling than buying.

ridelikeaturtle

If something was listed for 1 cent, I swear there'd be a raft of "I'll give you 1/2 a cent" chancers. Once someone made me an offensive offer for a nice Bianchi that I had for sale for a very reasonable price; I told him no, and the price was now 200eur more than my initial asking price. He got the point; and since then I've given up on "negotiating" with people.

tashi

I've had a few out-of-towners bring a part in to me in town - they tend to be commuters so we just work out a time to meet. They know they live out of town and gain access to a larger market if they're willing to deliver - I know they're busy people too so I don't waste their time.

Low balling doesn't upset me; I have an interest in selling for as much as I can, buyers have an interest in getting it for as little as possible. Makes sense for them to try, I'm not upset that different people have different valuations of a thing. People travelling to see an item deserve to know if I'm flexible, but I generally push off haggling until they're in front of me with the thing in hand - they know that want it then and have time invested so it's unlikely that they want to go home empty handed.

tashi

The point I would take from that response is that you take selling used bikes personally and not worth attempting to buy something from.

ridelikeaturtle

Pretty fair assessment, half of it anyway. I don't sell crap bikes, and I do take that personally. If you want a piece of crap commuter to chain to a lamp post in city centre, don't bother looking at a vintage Bianchi.

cdmurphy

The market for vintage bikes does seem markedly softer in the last few years. The current "price" or "value" of a bike is the intersection of what a willing seller and a willing buyer can agree to. If you can't find any willing buyers, then your prices may be too high for the current market. It's sad, but other than waiting it out, or lowering your prices, there isn't much you can do.

tashi

But why let an offer offend you? Seems like a waste of emotion and energy. I get taking pride in your offerings, but it's easy enough to justify your price if what you're offering is genuinely worth it. I've been told that my family business is too expensive for years and we've stood our ground, justified what we're charging and are more profitable and popular than we've ever been. If we acted offended every time someone wanted to push the price down we'd be out of business years ago.

ridelikeaturtle

In that particular case, I was annoyed that someone would waste so much of my time, not to mention theirs. Since then I've accepted that there are *a lot* of people who seem to have no problem wasting everyone's time this way. It's frustrating, but I've come to accept it. I'm just a lot better now at shortcutting the timewasters.

mstateglfr 

The CL market around me is turrble for C&V. Either entry level bikes I am not interested in or nice bikes that are laughably expensive.
I sold a refurbished and modernized early 90s Specialized Cirrus a couple months ago- it sold quickly. I think its because there are so few quality bikes at reasonable prices.



Funny CL story from 5 or 6 years ago- I grew up in the Chicago metro and we were heading in for a family visit, so I spent the week leading up to the visit looking for bikes in the Chicagoland area. I found a Fuji Touring IV or whatever the top model was from the mid-80s and the seller agreed to meet outside his building(it was in the city), but it had to be before I would be in town so my brother in law agreed to pick it up. The day prior, I asked for an address..crickets. Then I asked for a phone number...crickets. He finally told me to meet on a corner, but didnt give a time. I asked for clarification and the seller told me the bike isnt for me.
Fast forward a month, I happen to see the listing is back up with more pictures(something I had asked for the first time around). The last line of the listing said - "Bike not for Mike'. Yup, the seller specifically mentioned its not for me!


CL is crazy sometimes. I still love it.

jefnvk

The ridiculous lowballers are annoying, but I simply don't respond. That said, I had a roommate who used to do that, just tossing out lowball offers on everything. The amount of stuff that he ended up buying simply because the folks wanted it gone and he had a cash in hand offer makes me realize why folks try it.

From my perspective, I know most people are going to make offers regardless of what my selling price is listed at, so I purposefully price 15%-20% or so high expecting them to want to negotiate. I hate doing it, but I know if I want $100 for a bike, it is easier to price it at $120 and sell it at $100 than to price it at $100 and stand firm.

Only once, on years of CL, have I ever had anyone pay full asking price for anything, and that was a lovely lady who had to give up her collection of French bikes when she moved to town buying my old Peugeot. 95% of my sales end up within spitting distance of what I wanted on the person's first offer, and I just accept. I cover a large distance in my regular commuting, so I can generally offer free delivery within reason at no cost to myself, that helps sales too.

jamesdak 

LOL, I honestly don't care about the price and don't mind offers. It's the whole "Bring it to me" crap here lately that's gotten on my nerves. I hardly ever actual sell a bike for the asking price and that doesn't matter. But I'm not going to discount it and bring it to you and consider that quite rude. Maybe I'm unrealistic, LOL!

katsup

I buy and sell on craigslist and I get negotiating before driving as I do the same if the bike is far. If a seller knows I am driving an hour, they have the upper hand in the negotiating. I did that this past weekend and waited till after an hour drive to negotiate, but I knew going in that I'd pay the asking price. The seller didn't know how far I drove, but wouldn't go down and I bought the bike anyway.

As for buyers negotiating, then asking me to meet them somewhere, I refuse. If they are willing to pay my asking price, I will work with them within reason. I have also charged a transit fee of $10 to bring a bike for someone to try (no car). It was ~20min drive on a $1000 firm asking price. He didn't buy it, but gave me $10.

jamesdak 

I haven't put any links out as I'm selling locally, don't want the hassle of shipping, and isn't that a violation of forum rules?

due ruote 

I believe you can link to a CL ad with a stated price, but not to an EBay auction.
Not sure what the ruling would be on a link to an EBay listing with BIN price.