I know the used market varies a lot but there's some things I am worried about. I don't want to end up buying a stolen bike and when I see an awesome deal on Craigslist that's the first thing that pops into my head. Any tips for avoiding a stolen bike other than asking for a receipt or invoice?

I've sort of come to terms with the fact that I'll have to buy used, but the other thing is that it seems like a lot of people want a lot for their used bicycle. Particularly where I live and have lived (SF and Portland) the bike market seemed pretty active.

I really meant it before, is it normal for a fairly newish bike (1-5 years old) to sell for 75% of MSRP? Would that be considered a good deal if the bike was in good condition?

How quickly does a bike lose value?