How many "flags" does it take to get an ad booted?

We have some insane overposters around here and no matter how many times I've flagged them the ads never go away.

One guy in particular lists 10-15 crap Wally world mountain bikes over and over again and they never get pulled.

Hmmm. So the postings that a lot of you people put here which have anti-corporate bias is just my fantasy? I was merely trying to make an unbiased observation. Wow, I really didn't think that you would get personal and offensive. I guess opinions are not welcome here. Am I wrong?

in other words you were being fair and balanced. I see.

Honestly, anixi, I think you are reading way too much into it. For one thing few if any bike flippers are going to be incorporated. And while there are doubtless some people in a large market like Chicago making some part of their living from flipping bikes, including flogging their ads on CL over and over again, it is clearly not much of a living.

I think people just get annoyed at the ads, for reasons that are reasonable or unreasonable, depending on your viewpoint. Sometimes it's because of an actual violation of CL ads, like posting the same ad day after day or even multiple times in a day. Sometimes it's a self-appointed CL policeman 'protecting' the public from misrepresentation, and as we've seen some posters here feel they should provide that role. But that can easily go off the rails as sometimes the 'protector' simply doesn't understand what the seller is offering, like with Robtown's bike, or it's just a disagreement about value, in which case the market should decide.

Yes, there are a few people who don't think I should be able to buy a bike at a yard sale for $5 and sell it the next day for $100. But I think self-appointed experts are much more the problem.

There's a C-Lister in northern VA who has listed a low end mid-80s red Centurion for over two years asking between $225 and $275. Offers to trade, too. No repairs, no drive side photos, nothing noteworthy. The bike is worth $70, maybe.

I've often thought to write to him to straighten his head out, but haven't.

Sometimes, I've even thought of responding to his ad, visiting to see the bike, and explaining to him what he has, and what's needed to sell it at his price.

Then, most recently, he's been looking to trade it for guns. I think I'll just leave him alone...

I certainly wouldn't flag him. Let him do whatever he wants. It does no harm that I can tell.

Phil G.

I believe it is three to five - but from different i/p addresses.
I am sure most of the flaggers have downloaded available apps from the web that refresh their i/p's, because it's too tedious to do from the command prompt to flag multiple posts.

Shocking behavior.

I've used thumbnails dozens of times. Some of the explanations talked about low-bandwidth users taking exception to multiple large pics. To me thumbnails provide an overview of the bike for very little bandwidth and let interested CListers get high resolution detailed pics. I think the details let possible buyers see the real value of the bikes I sell, how clean they are, the new or like-new components, the shiny bits. I sometimes spend a couple hours polishing the alloy, the rims, and each individual spoke. My pics show the components in a way that let's you see the name, the model, and hopefully answers questions that might make my bike the one sold.

The most value is in the frame. Sell it separately. Most of the other bits, while nice, are not original to the frame. Most folks spending in the range of your asking price want the the bike as close to original as possible.

No, not nice to folks who are sincere in their interest.

Flagging is a good resource, but flagging related to perceived value vs. price is not a good reason. Let the market work. I sometimes flag over posters and any miscategorized one I see, but that's about it

-G

Hello!

I have encountered the same scenario as yours, I Have been flagged and booted out of Craiglist too which is very annoying at times.

I post ads regularly on numerous classifieds and I've been very good at it for a long time.

But over the last year or so with all the changes Craigslist has made I was really struggling with the "Gran Daddy of 'em all"

But it all got turned around when a good friend of mine introduced me to this cutting edge method to conquer frequent flagging and ghosting on Craiglist.

I'm so glad I listened to her. Now I have my Craigslist posting mojo back! My ads are mostly all live and the leads are flowing in again.

Ask me how! - Oh bummer, Siu removed my link.


Cris May

Entrepreneur & Ad Posting Expert

Whoopsie, this one too!

^ Flagged.

Banned!!

Ad posting expert indeed.

That has to be some of the most creative BF spam I've seen yet.

I was posting my 82 Nishiki International lately, for a very fair price under $200. No response, not even spam which is weird. I tried reposting it few times, but nothing. As a joke, I posted it for $40... WHAM, I've never had so many responses!! It was like throwing a steak into a tank full of piranhas. People want bikes for nothing. It seems the only people posting anymore are the ones who dig bikes out of flea market, do nothing to it, and post it up for $300 with rotten tires etc. I used to sell a bike in a week or less. Now I am lucky to even get a response on completely rebuilt bikes for the same price as the shameless flippers.,,,,BD

Like my friend Daniel Castro used to say...."Word".,,,,BD

I don't know if it is my little area of the world, but the market seems to have changed. I have one of my regular riders posted and I get nothing, not even the "is this still available" junk. Maybe I need to drop it down to $40 just so I can get someone to talk to.

Since we're in the same market, I'll just tell you how I think--my price point for old steel bikes on the Houston CL is about $100 (for most bikes). I think that's true for a lot of the people around here. If you're willing to spend up to $300-$400, there are some very nice bikes available. Unfortunately, space and budget constraints prevent me from spending that much.

Also, didn't you sell that Nishiki to a guy who turned right around and tried to resell it for 10% more? That was funny.

That was all part of the joke. I'll be lucky to give it away on the street now, lol.,,,,BD


At this point $100 sounds great. interested? I just want to get rid of it now...

It may be a problem with the Philly CL. The Sprinter van I recently bought was bought from a guy in Philly and he didn't receive a single one of my messages. Did you put in a phone number?

No, I never put a phone number in my ads, I wait until someone responds before I give it out. I check my spam folder every day and there is nothing there.

BTW, those Sprinters are nice vans. We had a diesel one at work that went to 198k miles before we traded it in & the engine was still running strong.

I just don't understand how some people get so emotional over a simple business transaction. Craigslist is full of self appointed free market police, on both the buying and selling side. I think it's hard for some to understand that sometimes people just want to sell something, and really don't care what affect it has on your obsessive bike hobby lol

I do like the Farm & Garden section though. Lots of good deals to be had, and I have yet to run accross someone as nutty as the bike folks

This time of year, most of the old bikes on CL are grossly overpriced junk, or posted by a "dealer" which is some outfit here that buys up garage sale junk, airs the tires and sprays the chain with WD-40, then prices it at $325.
Does anybody actually buy them for that price? I guess some.
Winter is the best time to acquire new projects, I'm thinking.

Late Fall, just before Thanksgiving is better.