I’ve been using Craig’s List for a while now, as both a buyer and seller, and I’ve acquired a fair amount of experience and burned up a whole lot of gasoline chasing bikes that just did not pan out…

Consequently, I’ve learned to recognize some “CL warning signs”, that I would like to share with you now:




“Vintage” = seller knows (or thinks) the bike is a valuable museum piece.

“Text me” = younger seller, needs money badly, & savvy enough to know the top-dollar value.

Cell phone quality (or no) pictures = seller does not put any real value on the bike (This can work for you, as well as against you).

Catalog photo (instead of actual) = bike beat to a pulp.

“Mint condition” = Some rust. (This phrase is avoided by sellers with bikes in genuinely excellent condition.)

“Everything works” = very rough cosmetics indeed.

MULTIPLE CAPITAL LETTER POSTS = flipping as-is thrift store bikes with significant mark up.

lwr case post bad speling no punctuation if u r innerested = 15 year old with a stolen bike.

“Rare” in title line = There was a very good reason why they stopped making them like that.

“Road bike” with size expressed in cm’s = Never a bargain “10-speed”

“Serious buyers only” = “only suckers need apply”.

Thanks

That's so sad it's true. CL has become the new ebay without fees. It's becoming an idiot magnet.

"OBO" = will take less than the offered price so lowball away.
"Paid $x" = this things value has really tanked, but i'm going to try to confuse the buyer into paying too much.

"Becoming"? Pretty sure it has always been. I use CL, and certain amount of thick skin is needed.

jim

I think the number one warning sign is if your craigslist url begins with losangeles or sfbayarea .

If you look at the top of your screen and see that, you know deals are going to be few and far between.

CL is for classified ads, without the inhibition of actually going to a newspaper office and telling another human being that you want to sell fecal matter to unsuspecting victims.

Those of us buying the non-fecal matter, and selling the non-fecal matter, have to wade through it.

It's part of the intellectual overhead we pay for what we convince ourselves is free.

Doesn't matter. I still go there every single stinking day.

Looking for fecal matter, I guess.

Vintage Schwinn, rare, $980

Text me.

Catalog photo (instead of actual) = No bike (scam post) or stolen bike (stock pic doesn't show unique characteristics).

"Today only" = Not worth meeting the seller.

Cut & Paste from Bikepedia = I want 90 % of what I paid for this bike 10 years ago because I did a little "research" on the internet.

Man - you haven't lived until you try to shop for a decent, newish mountain bike. I swear - I never had such a hard time nailing someone down to give them money. No pictures, no sizes, poor communication skills, haphazard approach to actually meeting and selling their bikes. I called on one bike, and he never called back. But the ad keeps expiring and being relisted. I've watched it though 3 cycles - the words changa a little bit, but same pics, phone number, and location.

It was a painful 3 week process, but I finally got one stoner on the hook long enough to actually meet me and exchange his bike for my cash. But it was nip and tuck, all the way to the wire.

If I never hear the phrases "text me" or "hit me up" again, it'll be too soon.

hehe, I like this thread, and speaking of which...this has been posted both as a Giant and a Trek about 10 times now since August and has gotten the usual amount of hate replies but I just have to laugh every time I see it. The funny thing is he actually did lower the price by a 100 bucks https://buffalo.craigslist.org/bik/1531761899.html

My least favorite CL wording and the only one and only thing that makes me skip over a listing, no matter how tempting it may seem is 'First Come First Served'. Yes, let me waste my time driving to your location for a bike that may already be gone.

"Wrench Force Bike Pump" = Bike pump forced with wrench.

"Cyclocross frame" = MTB with slicks

"Frame custom" = I put a Rock Shox sticker on a Mongoose.

"Will trade for a Cannondale" = Hyundai posted in bicycle category

"Tall frame" = Larger then 53cm.

"Almost New!" = Run. Fast. Very fast.

"Honest, reliable, and cheap bicycle repair" = Man armed with big hammer.

"ALL ORIGINAL" = Refer to: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/attra...Sbike_kevf.jpg.

"...in factory sealed box" = Dealer attempting to go under the radar.

"BMX Private lessons!!! I CAN TEACH YOU HOW TO SHREDD!" = Desperate hipster.

"Bicycles wanted" = Gimmie your bikes. Now.

"Needs restoration" = Seeking landfill.

"Bicycle air pump" = What's left of it.

"WTB" = Something unobtainable.

"You have to see it!" = In a skip.

"Beach cruiser" = Oxidized object that once wore whitewall tires.

"Trec Bicycle" = Seller tore the decals when trying to put them on a Magna.

"High Performance" = The tires were pumped up within the last week.

"Stunning" = I'll tazer you if you don't buy it.

"Special price" = Marked up 50% from a new one at Sam's Big Target K Wal Club Mart Cosco World.

"will Trade outstanding racing bike for 2 iphones 3gs" = Someone just stole a Free Spirit 10 speed.

"$$$$$$$$$$BEST DEALS!!!!!!!!!" = Just flag it.

"To Mr. Backward Forks" = Self-absorbed BF mechanic that couldn't send an email.

"RE:" = Grammar class dropout who researches popular phrases for swearing purposes.

"Bicycle." = It isn't.

-Kurt

Had a cross between all caps and misspelling, the ad was simple: BYCICLE. No picture, just a phone number. I ignored it for several days (it was outside my area), finally called. Seller could not describe it other than it was a Cannondale. Turned out to be an awesome deal on a 1988 Cannondale SR1000 (all Sante). He threw in a second so so bike as he was moving, and had gotten zero response.

omg!

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I never put my phone number on CL. I state in my ad if you are interested to include your phone number in your response. I rarely contact anyone who doesn't include their phone number. And the few times I did go around that rule, I've usually regretted it. I call this tactic my "Nut Case Filter". It's very effective. The ususal looney tunes don't want to provide something as personal as a phone number. The serious buyers have no problem providing it.
It' reached the point where RobbieTunes recognizes my adds as soon as they're up. So have a few of my regular buyers.

+1 I have past buyers tell me they look for my ads, and that they are pretty recognizable. But in my area, there are about zero good vintage bikes for sale on Craigs List, and rarely do they have decent pictures.

I do it the other way around: The ads have no email address, and contain only a .jpg of the phone number (prevents the spammer bots from getting it). It cuts down considerably on the time-wasting flakes, for they are the least likely to call.

-Kurt

On the other side of the fence, ads that offer a known manufacturer's name (Fuji, Peugeot, Schwinn, Panasonic) with very general descriptions ("blue", "racing style", "looks nice", "has gears", "dusty, but in good shape" ) and low prices under $50 sometimes turn out to be pretty good catches. Misspellings of the manufacturer's name can also be a good indicator of a possible bargain. These are probably sellers who just want to get rid of something they don't want, don't want to be wasteful and throw away something that somebody else could use, and are not looking to "gouge" somebody for something that probably will need a little fixing up. This is Craig's List at it's best (intended) purpose. Of course, those postings show up, but are "few and far between".

I gotta say I disagree with a few things here. I frequently list a bike as vintage if it is in fact vintage. Doesn't affect my price any, I just want people to know it's not a brand new shiny Walmart bike. I always list my common dpt store road bikes as XXcm road bikes, and they are always a bargain. It's so hard to sell the average 10 speed around here that I sell them for $10-$15 completely refurbished. Also, if a bike needs restoration I don't see how it deserves to be tossed. So that 1932 whatever is covered in surface rust and has a bent wheel, I'll sell it to you for $10-$20 which gives you plenty of room to invest in restoring it. Most of the bikes I sell are oldies that need restored. One other thing, if everything works on a bike, I say everything works. No hidden gimmicks, everything really does work. And of course all my listings end in OBO, Taco Bell money is Taco Bell money as far as I'm concerned. As long as I break even I'm "good to go."

I tried just listing a bike as exactly what it was, no details whatsoever. The main questions I received are, how old is it, does everything work, does it need restored, and what size is it. Based on those questions I began including all of those details in my listings, and now when a person calls they already know all the answers, so the only reason they call is to schedule a time to come look at it. I get less than 1 idiot a week, and that makes me very happy.

Maybe things are different elsewhere, but around here not many of the things in this thread hold true. exept for teh peeple who use all lowwer case letters and spaell horribly those peeple reely annoy me and thay reely do seam to always hav stolen wallmart bikes. Other than that and rampant chain flagging by a-holes my CL is bearable.

Hi Bioflamingo -
Please don't take offense. No doubt there are plenty of square-deal sellers on CL like yourself, or no one would shop there at all.
- the "Warning signs" I posted was intended as a kind parody on those "other" sellers - (and believe me, they are out there in force, and if you buy as many bikes as I do, you cannot not escape from them!)

- A

+1
BioFlamingo, you are a good guy It's the scamers we are making fun of.

My sure warrning sign is " Best offer by: MM/DD/CCYY"
Just won't do it even if it is a "Holy Grail"

Reminds me of the term at the LBS for X-Mart bikes: B.S.O.'s (Bike-Shaped Objects)

I have a Wrench Force pump. Pretty decent actually.