General Cycling Discussion - I need tips on where to find a good deal

I Have been trying to find a bike for a week or so now on my local craigslist, I am a broke college student so im looking in the 300 or less range, just want something decent to ride the park trails with. In my research for bikes I come across people saying they got the bike im looking at for 10 or 15 bucks, where as the person on craigslist wants 150 200 dollars, am i just missing something or is there a better place to find a good bike? Ive tried pawn shops before with no luck so If anyone can enlighten me with just some tips where to look. I do live near Austin and I have a feeling i will just end up going over there, so if anyone knows of any good places in Austin please let me know.

Just be patient. All deal will come your way.

Stolen bikes, resold, are both a Good and a Bad deal at the same time.

I was at my bike co-op yesterday, and they had an old Bianchi converted to FG/SS for $240 and a nice, old Norco road bike for $275. All tuned up and ready to go. For $300, you should be able to find something if you look in the right places.

(I'm glad the Bianchi was too big for me, or I would've bought it—I have too many bikes already.)

Quick google pulls this up- http://bicycleaustin.info/eqp/usedbikes.html

Even quicker glance makes me think there's a lot of good information there.

Also, check back at these two:
http://austin.craigslist.org/search/gms?query=bike&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=
http://austin.craigslist.org/search/gms?query=bicycle&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=

Also try Ebay, limited to your area, so you can pickup and avoid shipping $.
I got a couple of nice hybrids for $30 each that way !
Lower priced bikes are hard to sell on Ebay due to shipping costs being a high percent of the total, so if you can find some locally, you might get a good deal.

I recently got a Raleigh Gran Sport 10 speed for free and a Peugeot PH19 Mixte for $15.00. That's the good news. Bad news, I look at C-list 4-5 times a day and scan for bikes constantly. My dad scored the Raleigh. Really good deals on bikes seem to come along only a few times a year. Both bikes needed to be completely stripped down and refurbished. That's what a 30 year old cheap or free bikes needs

$300 is a realistic budget. A good hardtail MTB from the 90's is the best bet.

I was at my bike co-op yesterday, and they had an old Bianchi converted to FG/SS for $240 and a nice, old Norco road bike for $275. All tuned up and ready to go. For $300, you should be able to find something if you look in the right places.

(I'm glad the Bianchi was too big for me, or I would've bought it—I have too many bikes already.)

There are tonnes of overpriced SS and FG conversions on Craigslist every time I look. It drives me insane.