I’ve been using Craig’s List for a while now, as both a buyer and seller, and I’ve acquired a fair amount of experience and burned up a whole lot of gasoline chasing bikes that just did not pan out…

Consequently, I’ve learned to recognize some “CL warning signs”, that I would like to share with you now:




“Vintage” = seller knows (or thinks) the bike is a valuable museum piece.

“Text me” = younger seller, needs money badly, & savvy enough to know the top-dollar value.

Cell phone quality (or no) pictures = seller does not put any real value on the bike (This can work for you, as well as against you).

Catalog photo (instead of actual) = bike beat to a pulp.

“Mint condition” = Some rust. (This phrase is avoided by sellers with bikes in genuinely excellent condition.)

“Everything works” = very rough cosmetics indeed.

MULTIPLE CAPITAL LETTER POSTS = flipping as-is thrift store bikes with significant mark up.

lwr case post bad speling no punctuation if u r innerested = 15 year old with a stolen bike.

“Rare” in title line = There was a very good reason why they stopped making them like that.

“Road bike” with size expressed in cm’s = Never a bargain “10-speed”

“Serious buyers only” = “only suckers need apply”.