Timtruro

My 13 yr. old grandson asked me for a bike for Christmas. I wasn't expecting this since I had just bought him a new computer he wanted for schoolwork. He explained that he likes to bike to a friend's house after school and he has outgrown his current bike. Not wanting to break the bank I decided to look on Craigs List. He wants a mountain bike and I found a Diamondback Sorrento advertised as having been ridden only three times and in 'like new' condition. When I looked at it, the seller did not mis-represent the bike, it looked brand new all around except for a rather good sized scrape in the paint on the cross bar. He was asking $150 and we settled on $125. Its a 2013 model which retailed in the $280 to $300 range. Brought it home, sanded and painted the damaged area of the cross bar and on Christmas he'll be good to go. I think he's going to love it.

D1andonlyDman

That's about right. In my experience, there's a lot of chaff on Craigslist in two main categories: Sellers selling junk or stuff that needs a lot of work at too high cost, or sellers selling nice bikes and asking way over market value for them. But there is also a bunch of good stuff in two other categories: Good bikes that work, for prices in the $50-250 range, and stuff that needs work, but is fairly valued relative to the quality of the parts and amount of work needed.

mulveyr 

I've found that it's usually a lot better to be a buyer on Craigslist than a seller. I've been looking for a bike for months my soon-to-be-14 son who wanted a commuter/sport touring style bike because he's way, way outgrown his old one. I found a lady 70 miles from me who had a 2010 Specialized Tricross that was perfect, but she was overpriced by several hundreds bucks. I pointed her to recent eBay sales that had reasonable selling prices, and she said she was fine with that if I showed up that afternoon. It turns out that the bike was almost pristine ( and came with a complete set of extra tires, computer, lights, and a pair of clipless pedals ) and the transaction went smooth as silk.

When I sell, on the other hand, it's an endless parade of people who never bother showing up, who complain about scratches that I've clearly described and photographed in the ads, and who offer 50% of my stated price even though I stay strictly within local market rates.

K100Fran 

Good to hear you got a good deal on a Christmas present (it is better to give than to receive, right?) Craigslist can be pretty decent as either a buyer or seller, if you are reasonable and either know what you are selling or know what you are looking to buy. I have bought and sold some general merchandise and been happy on the both sides.
I did have a bit of a challenge selling a higher end bike because sometimes people from Craigslist are looking for a super bargain and give low ball offers so they can resell the item. I had much better luck with Pinkbike, it's bike focused and the guy that bought my bike was familiar with the model and value. We easily reached an agreeable selling price and I shipped it from Virginia to Vancouver, BC! It was my first PayPal experience as well. I have to say it was a smooth transaction, he loves the bike, and I'm very pleased with the new found space in my garage..