Another C/L tip for larger cities, search the older postings. Many people are too lazy to look back past even the first page. In cities like Atlanta, that can mean a couple of days of postings or less. Troll back a week or two, and you can find bikes that did not sell for some reason. At that point, seller is pretty flexible.

But nothing beats Goodwill or a garage sale for deals (other than free of course). I picked one up at 8:30PM near me. They put out bikes all day long. But early at opening (in my case 9:30AM) is always a good time to check. Make it part of a general errand run. There is one near me that is on the way to anything in the area. So I will pop in, take a quick look to see if they have any bikes (this one puts them right inside the front door). It takes all of 10 seconds. Most times I come up empty. But I have found three or four in the last few weeks that way.

Oh, and one other thing on Craigs List, know your size and target bikes/brands and models that you would like. Then when one appears, you will know it is a deal (or not). On the great deals, there is not time to post a question to this list: do you think this will fit, is this a good bike, is this worth this price... I have seen thread after thread like that where they inevitably end with a comment from the OP that the bike was no longer available. Treasure seekers don't hesitate, and don't have time to get advice. There is too much competition around here snagging the deals, some of which reappear a few weeks later at a new (higher) price.