+1 Randy's tips are great. Another "trick" on Craigs List in the US is look back a few pages. In larger cities in the US near me (like Atlanta, GA), the bicycle for sale page on C/L fills up in less than a day. Once an ad gets past the first page, a lot of potential buyers don't even see it. Experienced sellers just go ahead and re-post it to get it back on the main page. But novice sellers do not. Look back SEVERAL pages, send out some emails, and you never know. I've found some deals that had been on C/L for over two weeks.

I also look for bikes with extras (that I sell separately). A lot of buyers don't realize the value of such extras. I bought two recently where the extras alone had at least as much value as what I paid for the bike. Sell the extras, and the bike is "free".

I look for C/L ads where the bike is poorly marketed. The more pathetic the ad, the better. No sizing, seller can't work a tape measure? Great. Lousy fuzzy picture? Great. No pictures at all? Even better!! Dirty, flat tires, rusty cables? Great. Seller doesn't respond to emails? Fantastic! You have to remember that most sellers with these attributes treat all potential buyers poorly. Most buyers will not have the patience for such a seller, so if you are patient, you can scoop a deal. I had one C/L seller that contacted me TWO WEEKS after I sent him an email. Turned out to be an outstanding deal. Realize that many people selling items on C/L are not focused on the sale. Its an afterthought at best. So they may be busy doing a lot of other stuff, and pretty much forget about their ad (and the email responses).

And don't wait until going to see the bike is convenient for you, go immediately (if it appears to be a great deal). There will be other buyers that will scoop it up if you don't move quick. If a deal lasts til the weekend, its probably not a very good deal.


My typical sources: Garage sales, thrift stores, C/L, ebay local pickups, neighborhood circular ads, word of mouth, church sales, trade ins, etc.... But if you want to find thrift store deals (at least around here), be prepared to stop at the better thrift stores several times A DAY! No kidding, the great deals last about 5 minutes. And I check whenever/wherever I travel. Just got back from a trip to Illinois, stopped for one deal in Indianapolis along the way, drove up to the Quad Cities for another deal.