Drive by Craigslist flagging
 

I wish Craigslist would itemize what votes gets you booted. I re-listed my Paramount - [not a flip bike] that had originally been posted before the owner/vendor distinction. Eight hours later it's flagged into oblivion.

It's really annoying. The last time I posted it was on 4/21 so I'm not over-posting. It's not inaccurate, etc.

I got bumped that way once. No idea why so I just reposted. It didn't happen again.
The punk who sent me a bunch of emails about my mint DL-1 being overpriced at $225 kinda Ped me off.

I had that happen with a car I was trying to sell, with no violation of the TOS whatsoever. Some people just suck.

Can we see your ad? I am not implying it has any issues but maybe we can see something that you did not.

You'll never defeat the solitary onanist CL jerk with auto-flagging software. I had one of them harassing me for over a year, first with an endless series of emails telling me my junk was crap, overpriced, I didn't have any idea of the market, people hated exploiters like me until I complained to his ISP with copies of everything. It didn't take long after that before the auto-flagger took over. So don't worry about getting flagged off just keep top posting every time you get flagged.

^^ What he said.......the way it's set up now is entirely
favorable to the flaggers. I think they initiated this as a
way of dealing with some of the more outrageous sex stuff,
but it has become vigilantism for people with no lives.

I had an ad up for the bike coop *(not for myself) that got
flagged and I went to the "help" forum for such things.

There is no help there.....CL exists to demonstrate the law
of the jungle, so buck up, give it a breather, and repost
in a different format.

Sorry - I took my wife for a Mother's day weekend to a Resort where there was no internet. Here is the ad and my next post will have some of the explanations.


This is a 1972 chrome Paramount I built. The crankset is also chrome. The crankset, hand built wheels (rims), cables, drop bars, levers, and brakes are new. The hubs are Campy.
It is a big bike for 6' or taller riders. The saddle is a Brooks Imperial B17. GP4000 all season 700c tires. Shimano 600 derailleurs. I'm passing on my savings on this build and pricing at below my cost throwing in the Brooks and Look pedals for free.<br>
Click on the thumbnails for bigger pics. Alternately I'll sell the frame, fork, and headset only for $1,050

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flagged.




KIDDING.

Two years in a row I've put up an obviously-over-the-top, tongue-firmly-in-cheek ad on April Fools' Day. It's of an old ratty and rusty Sears ten-speed which 'I' am supposedly trying to flog as a vintage Italian racer. My humor runs dry but there was nothing subtle about this one. It has gotten flagged quickly, both times. In fact this year twice.

Some people have no sense of humor and evidently no life.

For that matter, when I reposted it here almost everyone got the joke, but at least two members seemed to think it was a serious effort at a sale and one even said that there was a 'volunteer army' of flaggers working to protect CL against such posters. Paragraph above, ditto. :rolleyes:

Flagging Help Post:
I've had this post (and a slight alteration) flagged today. It's an uncommon and bewildering occurrence. This was originally posted in For Sale / Bicycles
...
Posted a few times but only re-posted after it expires. Last time was 4/21/12 Got email on flagging
Owner of bike - built and rode myself and posted for less than it cost me. Refurbishing and riding bikes is my hobby I have posted several over the last few years.
Have read Terms of Use
It is a 1972 Chrome Schwinn Paramount frame and fork. Paramounts were sold as framesets - buyers built them with the parts they wanted. I built this with similar quality parts.

The answers help somewhat but make Craigslist seem random. I've seen junk items (and decent items) priced much too high and higher end bikes priced double mine. I rarely flag an item - especially if it's overpriced or junk - they make mine (with detailed pictures) that much a better value.
[HR][/HR]
I replied:
Who said antique? Paramounts were sold as framesets (Frame and fork) and were built (like I did) by the buyer or his bike store. It is a 1972 frameset in excellent condition.
You are right in the sense that it's not built all Campy new old stock (NOS) and period correct. Some fellow enthusiasts deduct major points for that. I did build it with period style parts. Brooks leather saddle, non-aero brakes, cloth bar tape, bar end shifters.
And got:
Ironically, this bike is being sold (along with others) from my stable to fund another purchase. The replacement ad I posted stated that. I cut back my flipping to a bike a month (if that) for the last month and only repost when one expires.

You're expecting a bunch of bored hipsters with superiority complexes to help you? Forget it.

Repost the Paramount. If it gets flagged, spam the living daylights out of the bike section with ads for cheap C&V bikes. Don't return the emails. It'll effectively annoy the people flagging your bike because of the asking price.

-Kurt

I like this approach. I might try it out.

I got continuously flagged a few months ago because my ads looked similar to a flipper who had angered a customer over a bad bike. Let it rest a while and try back in a week or so. Good luck on the Paramount sale on CL, but I'd wager it needs to go back ebay to get the full market value.

My experience in Austin is that people assume anyone posting a bike for over $1000 is crazy. I don't think CL is the best forum for high dollar bikes. You might find a taker but you are going to get harassed by the CL nannies.

I just wish CL would rework their data base where it would be easier to search.

Sell it on ebay or here and save yourself the headache. CL is for buying and selling mid-low range stuff you are willing to bargain on.

+1. I would not bother trying to sell something like this on CL.

+1 I would not attempt to sell a high end bike on C/L. Its a bad fit. It is a great place to buy a high end bike, as even at an attractive price, they can get minimal response.

Also, change up your background. A couple of friends of mine quickly recognized my ads, as I was using the same garage door as a background. This can get the flagging nuts to attack.

I was trying to avoid Ebay. I do have the bike listed on BF. I did get a tire kicker who ended up buying a different $1000+ bike. I also got some interest in my Geurciotti Alan CX bike at the Westminister show in February - but the shoppers were looking for stuff at fire sale prices. I van-pooled so didn't get to take the Paramount to the show.

I have found that $100 - $200 bikes move fast on CL. $300 - $500 move slow. Anything over $800 is glacial. I've sold some modern style Al/CF bikes that were essentially new (estimated value $1000+) for $650 - $800. Every time I build one (usually my size bike) I tell myself it's a mistake and I'm always right.

I assume you mean "flip" when you say "fip".

Some people equate selling a bike with Corporate Greed. As in the OWS folks. You can't underestimate the foolishness of the audience, comprising craigslist, that is. I agree that selling mid to low end stuff should be the limit of CL. The spammers alone constitute a low class, sometimes white trash, element that goes off hoidy-toidy. They must think " I deserve better, that means that I can be a parasite on a system that only benefits the upper class".

My take on it is, whatever is legal, whatever is morally upright, whatever is free market is...........fair.

Do you write for Fox News? That is one heck of a leap in logic. Craigslist as a battleground for your fictitious class war, come on. 99.9999999999% of the population has no idea that we (c&v members) even exist. They are looking for a bike to ride to school or to go the park with their kids. They could care less about CLX or 531, Campy or Suntour.

Some guy on CL e-mailed me once and said the reason he flags bike ads is either because he gets tired of seeing the
same ad post over and over, or if he 'doesn't like' what the ad says. I replied very nicely not to flag my ad please, and
it worked. Some just like to flag; that's the way they are.

Wow to both of these posts! At the same time both have some truth to glean. I'm surprised that CListers bothered to flag my ad - especially if the reason was the bike wasn't cheap enough. Yes, most CListers don't care about 531, Campy, etc. but some post C&V items and many look for them on CL. Several Clisters have bought moderately priced bikes (better than a sporting goods store and cheaper than an LBS) from me to commute, enter triathlons, or to pursue cycling at a higher level. I have noted, however, that most replies say in effect that CL is not the right venue to sell higher end bikes - C&V or otherwise.

As to Fox, I watch them as well as CNN and CNBC. They all have a bias in their coverage. I hope that this thread doesn't degenerate into a non-cycling related free for all.

Sure there are people looking for C&V bikes on CL. Most of us are looking for uninformed people selling really nice bikes cheap. There are probably 50 to 100 people in Austin that appreciate classic lugged steel bikes. There are well over a million that don't. The best chance is finding someone who didn't know they liked old bikes until they saw your ad which triggered some childhood memory.