Originally Posted by
wrk101
Not happening, and with a $100 budget? Fast bikes are designed to be lean and mean, slim and trim. Meanwhile, touring style bikes are designed for racks, fenders and more, but they are not fast, and they tend to bring 50% more than racing bikes.
Myself, the buyer's budget does not enter into price negotiations. I ask a reasonable/fair price. If the buyer can only afford half of that, I tell them to look elsewhere. I had that happen to me last week. I politely told them no thanks. I sold it to the next buyer for full price.
This^^^. I've lost track of the people who have told me they're looking for a bike, and when I ask budget, they say somewhere between a hundred and one fifty, and would like something overhauled and ready to ride. You can find decent bikes in that price range, but they're gone quick and rarely ready to ride.
Up your budget. Trust me, everyone is looking for a bike in that price range. A bit higher-- somewhere around 200-250$, real deals can be had. That said, educate yourself-- plenty of CL sellers are pricing real crap in that range and up (look at "The Wacky World of Craigslist and Ebay" thread over in C&V proper for an education in this). You have to learn to seperate the wheat from the chaff, by yourself.
Like WRK, I set a pretty fair price for a bike, with about fifty dollars negotiating figured in (some folks like to haggle). If a buyer is cool and tries to pay the full price, I give them the haggle-down price every time. If I get seriously lowballed, I just say no. I don't sell as much as WRK, but that's how I do it.