Anyone ever offer to sell you a bike just to retract the offer? Just happened to me but I almost think it was funny.

A local CL seller advertised an older 48cm Terry road bike for the absurdly low price of $100. Of course I emailed, since it was my size, but suspecting something fishy---even used, it should be worth $600 or so. As it turns out, the owner just didn't realize its value. She hadn't ridden it in something like 10 years due to injuries and had "fallen out" of bicycling. After a short email exchange, she decided she was going to "dust it off " and try to ride it again. I would have loved to have the bike, but it's OK. Hopefully she will ride it again the way she used to. It's nice to see an older bike loved by its owner.

(Apologies if the thread is inappropriately placed, but I thought you all might appreciate it. Mods feel free to move.)

Yeah, that's pretty cool. Reminds me of the time in college, a girl I knew wanted to buy a bike... asked me to come to a bike store to help her pick one out. I said, let's look in the Reader (this was in Chicago). For less than she would have spent on a new Fuji, she got a very early Raleigh Professional, in white, with Weinmann centerpull brakes and Weinmann dimpled 27" rims... beautiful bike. I hope she's still riding it... but if not, at least I hope she got $600 for it!

Fortunately for me, I've never had that happen.

I have had a number of experiences where I will send an e-mail indicating my interest, and never hearing back. I suspect in a number of those cases that the sellers had so many e-mails of interest that they figured out that the bike was worth considerably more than they suspected.

East Hill