treebound 

I think I found one of his on the KSL site that I just moments ago learned about above. Hint: search by price range under road bikes.

RiddleOfSteel

Haha, that could be! Like you quoted me in the other post, I'm a big fan of my generation of Camaro. The quad sealed-beam headlamps look great in that '90s GM design sort of way. '97 got the updated interior (it looks so much better) and taillights, but kept most everything else. Intake, headers, SLP exhaust and a 6-speed manual. In all black (but with chrome SS wheels to keep it classy). Happy to burble and putt along, and also happy to go full primal.

I think one of the big things with kids is having them have good parents that instill virtue, if only just good manners. Good influences (that are continuous) help a lot, and there are a lot of kids that take to those influences well. I enjoy being surprised by kids I never thought would be articulate or of a certain disposition at their age (10 or 12 or so) yet are. Keep the screen time limited and the in-real-life rambling around up and that helps.

As to CL or anywhere, I'm not a huge negotiator as it has never been my style. I'll wait for something to come into or below a price threshold and then act. There are some really interesting people out there, and the ones that aren't are quick to read that way. I enjoy talking shop with a number of them, even with 'repeat customers'. If I can get to a place where both parties are happy, then good. Some guys will try and drive my price down, and I'll get to my 'wholesale' (the lucky buys or lower volunteer pricing of parts) if I know I have that fish on the line and just want him out of my life (along with the parts) and money in my hand.

sunburst

did something stupid yesterday. Had 3 bikes on cl, one was labeled "project" bike, a 70's Motobecane mixte. I did NOT want to restore it. A woman called me and said she wanted it, and would I make it "rideable". And she wanted it immediately. She was so convincing, just one of those voices you believe. I general don't like to do half-ass, so I went out and fixed up the damned thing. 6 hours and about $40 in parts later (on a bike I listed at $65!), I came in to call her and tell her it was ready. She had left me a msg saying she found something more suitable ... never again.

But, yeah, cl is crazy but it reaches a lot of people here in the Bay Area. I'm trying Nextdoor, and maybe Facebook next.
My prices are always less than others charge, and generally in better shape. I've sold a few for what I ask but that is always a surprise these days.

honcho

I haven't seen mention of the "Bicycle Blue Book" (BBB) in this thread. While most of the listing in the BBB are for more modern bikes, it does reach pretty far back and with few exceptions, it lowballs just about everything. Of course, that works in favor of the BBB business model, which is to create low prices for their own purchases for resale and supporting trade ins to their participating dealers. While not a C&V bike, I recently listed a 2009 Dual Suspension GT in outstanding condition for $325. The BBB price for one in excellent condition was $212. Lots of interest, all citing the BBB price as their limit. For more effort on my part, I could have parted it out for more than $212. I did end up selling it for $300 to a father for his young teen son. I have a 1992 Cannondale M500 that has been upgraded to 9 speed and the BBB price is under $50.

Cycle Tourist

Yup. People are going to counter offer. Expect it. If they've driven out to see it, they're serious and if your firm then they either reach for the wallet or the car keys. You can write "firm" if you don't want to hear it. Alternatively writing "asking" is an open invitation to barter. Asking half the price is pretty much my go-to. If they say no, I go from there. Sometimes they say yes and a good deal becomes a great deal.

clubman 

Fify

There's no universally accepted prices in the used bike market.

tashi

I'm with you here. Seems like polite, quick bargaining on used person-to-person sales is fairly common and accepted in North America and that folks that do a lot of this expect it. Timewasting is the big no-no.

I've been places where it's rude to NOT make a super low offer to initiate negotiations. Of course, then you have to sit down, send the boy for chai or snacks, tell the guy your story...and that's in a store. Timewasting is fine...although a lot of the reason for the long conversation is to get you invested in the transaction so you want it to go ahead.

curbtender

Back in the day... ha, before cell phones. You went to the local market and posted an index card with your for sale item. If they were lucky, they caught you near the phone. Yes, people browse the craigslist like they are on Amazon. Myself, I don't bother people unless I have my shoes on.

curbtender

Then there is the guy trying to by a $75 dollar bike and offers 4 20's...

honcho

Re: Bicycle Blue Book


Exactly, the valuation guides of the car world (NADA, Kelly Blue Book, Black Book, etc...) are based large data sets of recorded transaction values for automobiles. Bicycle Blue Book mimics automobile guides but without an underpinning of large numbers of actual transactions. It appears to be some sort of algorithm that is based on original sales price depreciated over time with some adjustment for brand nqme and type of bike.

downhillmaster

I hear what you are saying.
The scammers and weirdos I can deal with and they don’t really bother me too much.
It’s the knowledgeable but super cheap guy that thinks he is special that gets under your skin.
You know that with some of them it is almost just a game they play to see how much they can get you to concede.

cudak888 

I suspect that the pricing on the Bicycle Blue Book is determined by manufacturer lobbying.

Devalue and add new bike sales.

-Kurt

sdn40

I had a guy bring up the BBB. I asked him if he had any other bikes. He said yes. I told him I would sell the bike for BBB price if he sold me one of his others at the BBB price. That was the end of that crazy talk.

TenGrainBread 

I listed a pair of not very high-end but nice Primo skinwall BMX tires on my CL a few days ago for $20 for the pair (retail is $50 a pair). These are brand new tires.

After corresponding a bit with a guy over email and setting a time for him to pick up the tires, he emails me asking if he can just have them for free because his current tires are "blown" and "it would really help". The kicker is at the bottom of the email it says "Sent from my iPhone".

I told him my price was firm and good luck.

There are always idiots on CL. Nothing to do with their age or where they're from. Human nature.

jahue

Northern Alabama, Northern Mississippi, Southern Tennessee.

jadocs

The first thing I do when I get low balled is tell them "no", and that they need to understand what they are looking at, followed by a brief education on what I am selling. A lot of times people have no idea. If a party is interested I have them meet somewhere that is local to me so I am not inconvenienced if they are just testing the waters and are non committal.

jaciche

I think this is an effect from buyers sitting behind their phones/computers/tablets and not getting any negative reinforcement when the seller turns them down. Like most of you said, you either don't respond to lowball offers or you just respond with "no". They'll just keep fishing on a ton of ads until they get something for a stupidly low price.

It's morally hard for a buyer to lowball a seller when you're speaking to them in person. Which is why I write in my ads "I will only negotiate the price in person." This will turn off some buyers since they want the price figured out before they arrive, but it also helps filter out who's serious and who is just fishing. I've never felt the need to tell someone to pound sand of F*** off yet.

Spinay70

I think you can chalk it up to human nature. People looking on Craigslist or local sales pubs are apt to be looking for best deal situations, your gonna get those replies.

Maybe put in adverts about your bikes being local pickups only could help?

Spinay70

sdn40

I have also said, "maybe you'd be happier with a Walmart bike." Stops em dead in their tracks every time

treebound 

The comments above about a southern U.S. area being short of vintage bikes reminds me of a Seinfeld episode, but I don’t have enough bikes to fill a mail truck

As to the C&V market being slow, I’m finding locally that higher end bikes are also in a down market. I’m working on downsizing and selling three or more to end up with one or more in exchange, and I’m finding lots of $500-$2000 bikes that have been going unsold for one to twelve months or more. Yet bike shops seem to be doing okay selling $2000-$10000 bikes if I read correctly into some discussion groups with non-C&V interests. Just in the last four days I’ve read comments from dozens of people who say they just spent $3000-$12000 on a new triathlon bike.

Things change, life goes on. Now I’m off to try and sell a 3-speed Specialized comfort cruiser. And if it doesn’t sell by this weekend then I’ll clamp on a Wald basket setup and use it for groceries and rummage sale shopping around town.

RiddleOfSteel

Indeed. Just makes me want to up my game in offering the best looking bike for a solid both-of-us-are-happy price. I'm looking to move a $1600-ish bike as soon as I can quell the internal cable routing's noise (gah!) that occurs upon out-of-the-saddle acceleration/climbing. Selling aids are 1) all black (with tan wall tires) 2) good model (CAAD10) 3) special edition (Black Inc) 4) (hydro) disc 5) 11-speed Ultegra. Selling hindrances are 1) it's not $100. Worst case scenario? I ride a bike that fits me and is devastatingly good looking while also being a great bike to boot. Shucks! [I'd still like the money, though...more C&V]

sunburst

So, I eventually listed the 3 bikes on all three: craigslist, Facebook and Nextdoor. Surprisingly, Facebook generated the most leads/inquiries by far. Craigslist got a few responses, Nextdoor got 1 or 2, and Facebook got about a dozen. A real revelation. Also, because you use Messenger to interact, the back and forth communication is much faster and easier. I'm assuming it is because these people look at their Facebook or Messenger feeds more frequently (and/or get alerts) than the anonymized email communication of craigslist. And FYI, it's easy to post an ad on Facebook. One interesting demographic tidbit, that is not too surprising since I'm in the heart of Silicon Valley, with Google X one block from my house, most of the inquiries were Indian, men and women.

Sold all 3 bikes within a week, for close to asking, and the last two went in one day.

curbtender

I thought Google had their own bike fleet? Guess yours are prettier...
https://sf.curbed.com/2018/1/12/1688...es-tech-gbikes

By the way, I get more flakes per ad on my mixte frame bikes than any other. Not sure why.

wrk101

This is why I think some of the values posted in the valuation sub-forum are high. I see values where bikes used to be, not where they are now.

game_player_s

My experiences with selling my bikes have been mixed to say the least. Of the five I've sold in the last three years, only two have sold at my asking prices just this past month. Now realize though that those two specifically I noted in the descriptions, literally first thing as a sort of experiment, that the prices were firm. I am finding it somewhat amusing in retrospect that it took me actually notating that the prices were firm to get buyers who didn't attempt to haggle with me on the price points upon meeting up with them to see the bikes. The other three bikes All haggled with me on my prices which I still ended up getting them to an amount I could live with, even though, like TC, the prices I had advertised were more than reasonable.

Now the very first one I sold through Craigslist back in 2017 I actually didn't mind so much. Had intentionally advertised it at $120 fully expecting someone to haggle with me and that I'd accept $100 for it if it came to it. And that was precisely what happened, except it wasn't much of a haggle as the older gent I met up with in a rather poor area of the city was buying it for himself and straight out asked if I could take a hundred for it. So that one was not a big deal to me as I got the impression that even a hundred was a bit of a stretch of his budget, so it helped me not feel so bad about taking less than the advertised price for it. Worth noting that was a vintage Raliegh Mixte.

Had a youth mountain bike (nothing special brand-wise, a Target exclusive bike) I'd advertised for $35, typical, used condition, but had gone over it and it was mechanically and functionally sound and safe to ride. This one still kind irks me just a bit, because I literally met them at a Wal-Mart parking lot, and they didn't want to pay but $25 for it. And the whole time I'm thinking to myself we're literally standing in the parking lot of the cheapest retailer to buy a new bike at in the country and you couldn't walk out of that place with a youth mountain bike for less than $99 + tax, and they want to haggle with me on my asking price of $35? Granted I just needed it gone so I sold it, but just wow.

Third one was a super nice modern (under ten years old) Giant road bike I had eagerly snapped up only a year ago mistakenly thinking it was my size, but it'd had two flat tires so I didn't get to test ride it at the time and the geometry of it not being the nice straightline geometry I'm use to on a classic bike made it seem quite larger than it really was. Regardless, I had it clean, lubed, and ready to ride, advertised it at $150. Met the buyer in his fancy new pick-up that he's still doubtless making payments on at a nearby grocery store, he test rides it, adjusts the seat height, test rides it again; "Yep this is the one. All I've got is $130, you'll take that right?". <sigh> Honestly if I wasn't unemployed right now I think I would've turned down that offer.

Next bikes I list are going to all state "Price is firm.".

Also, it's key to note everyone's market is bound to vary. In my area, I tried Facebook, and found all of those people to be hopeless flakes. I've had facebook people stand me up meeting them to see whatever item(s) they'd stated interest in after I was already at the appointed places at the appointed times and via facebook messaging they sent notifications after the meeting times were already passed to say they had to change their plans, but I couldn't see those messages as I have no internet access when away from home. I've had people get mad because I provided them with my phone number and asked them to call me to discuss the item(s) and when and where they'd like to meet to see or transact and never get back with me, because "using the phone defeats the privacy of facebook". I should also note that got to be so ridiculous that I finally just deleted my Facebook account as I didn't want to be associated with those sorts ever again. At least with Craigslist I've never had anyone stand-up me up on an arranged meeting to sell or even buy something.