Originally Posted by
tmh657
There are plenty of potential buyers of nice bicycles that would love to own what is being sold and contact me to talk about the item. Problem is they just don't have NEARLY enough money to acquire the pretty bicycle. It's the time wasters and tire kickers that are bothersome. If a person tells you that they will meet in 1 hour to buy whatever that does NOT mean it will actually happen.
The company I used to work for left me with a bunch of older computer equipment, mostly monitors worth about $25-$40. I figured I would sell them off. I have to let the buyer in my garage to show him the thing actually works. One guy came over wearing so much cologne that whatever he touched in my garage still smells like eau de reek. Ewwwww.
I get this all the time. They give me "I'm a poor broke college student, and can only afford $x" X is usually half of my asking price. My response, "I understand completely, as I am just an old broke retired guy living on a fixed income."
Another gave me a sob story, the mother calling for her daughter, on an XS bike. She tells me: "my daughter can only afford x". Again, its half my asking price. My response was simple. "I am so sorry. This is a nice bike, but it is $xxx (my asking price." "I cannot sell it for less." Of course, XS bikes are extremely hard to find, and my price was reasonable. The next call was from her college student daughter, who paid full price. Go figure.
On rules on my ads, I never list my phone number, and I have a standard line at the end: "Scammers are killing Craigs List. To foil these scammers, you must list your name and phone number in any response, and mention the bike by name (Nishiki, or whatever brand it is). Unfortunately, I am sorry but emails asking me if "it is still available" will be deleted."
Lazy sellers often have the best deals. So I chase after some terrible ads, hoping to find something good. The last one of these was a four word ad plus the price: "Race bike bad paint $50". It was a month or two ago, bike turned out to be a Pinarello (the paint was bad). Bike sat on C/L for two full days, buyers have no imagination.
Lazy sellers who can't seem to be able to work a camera, and can't work a tape measure (no size or ridiculous size), can't work a pump (flat tires), don't know how to dust, can't even read the brand name or model off the side of the freakin bike = my favorite sellers, as it eliminates competition from other buyers.