Jiles

I have bought and sold many items on CL.
I have had a 2014 GT Transeo 3.0 listed for the second month on CL, with absolutely no interest. Bike value says it sold new for $650 and I am asking $325..00.
This bike is in Pristine condition with absolute no damage and I consider 1/2 new price to be reasonable for a like new bike.
I feel something is wrong but just can't figure it out.
I live in NW corner of Alabama and have it listed in Mississippi and Tennessee also.
Am I too high??

redcon1

Looks like Performance Bike has the 2015 Transeo 3.0 on sale for $549.
$325 is way above the median price for bicycles on Craigslist for my area. Most people are trolling, looking for cheap bikes at $100 and below.

That being said, I have sold bikes ranging from $350 to $1200 on my local CL. People that know what they are looking for will pay a fair price for a decent bike.
It's hilarious what some of the offers have been, however.

Have you put enough detail in your ad, along with good pictures, to allow a semi-serious cyclist looking for a decent deal on a like-new bike?

Jiles

Yes, I have a good description with five clear photos, with disguised phone number and enabled CL eMail.

Dave Cutter

A girls bike? Girls bikes are almost always in great shape. The premium your allowing for condition should not apply. I'd lower the price... and maybe even wait and relist in the spring.
You may also want to consider the local (facebook) on-line yard sales. That may be a better place to find a buyer for this bike than CL.

D1andonlyDman

The thing about CL bike sales is that they are hit and miss. Also, at least where I am, MTBs go for amazingly cheap prices on CL. The first MTB I ever bought on CL, was a Nishiki (now a house brand of Dick's Sporting Goods) that was indistinguishable from brand new. Brand new, it sold for $250 at Dicks. I paid $100 for it because it was pristine, but I should have paid less - I simply hadn't understood the CL pricing structure at the time. I subsequently turned around and sold it for a loss at $75 when I bought a much better MTB - a 2006 Specialized Hardrock Sport that had a couple of flat tires - one of which needed a tube and the other simply needed air - but was otherwise fine, for $50. That was an over $400 bike when new, and Bicycle Blue Book said it should have sold for $125 or so. I also bought a Raleigh M20 for a friend's kid, that needed some gearing and brake adjustment, but was otherwise functional and came with decent QR wheels and good rubber, for $20.

The fact is, if someone is looking for the SPECIFIC thing you're selling, you might get a good price for it. But if your bike isn't fundamentally distinguishable from other, similar ones, the price gets batted down like a commodity. To me, any MTB other than something really special, is a commodity that's going to sell for under $200 even if it's in near new condition, and under $100 if it's just in running condition with obvious cosmetic signs of wear.

Dave Cutter

I agree. (please note... I am not the OP).

Another thing... I've noticed more people prefer to deal with "text" when buying on-line with ether CL or on-line yard sales.

Juan Foote

My biggest problem with CL is actually finding a bike in my size. Our area is pretty cycle crazy right now with the new Beltline and PATH routes, so even old beaters sell for much more than you think they might. Tough to find a good cheap bike without devoting a lot of time and energy around here.

CannedPakes

You should put 2014 GT Transeo 3.0 in the title

WizardOfBoz

I really shouldn't disclose this, but... I found a 2014 Trek Domane 6.9 on eBay. So sometimes you do find good stuff.

But if you can't find the bike you want on CL, why not eBay? You could bid, win, and then tell the seller that you wish to ship it through a local bike shop. Probably end up costing you $100, but you could ask the LBS to assess whether the bike was in as good a shape as the seller claimed. If you're not getting the price you think the bike is worth locally, why not expand the potential market?

I'd point out the "endowment effect", in which people value stuff they own more than stuff they want to buy. I think that this is enhanced by looking at 100 bikes that look similar to the OP's, and which are priced at $100.

Last, I'd say that one can use the "Sold" clickbox on eBay to figure out an actual market price. This eliminates sentiments like "I consider 1/2 new price to be reasonable for a like new bike", which may be true but are probably irrelevant. The market value of the bike is set by the market, and is not in any way related to the new price.

tnburban

What I look for when looking for a bike on CL (or anything else for that matter) is pictures, good description, and a listed price. And what is really important is a timely response and ability to answer questions more than "do you still have it?" Also - your "NO TEXTING" demand turns a lot of people off. That's the way a lot of people do business nowadays. Change that, tell them to email you if they want as well. Can't tell you hwo many times I've been up past midnight browsing CL and don't want to call or text that late, so I'll shoot off an email. Increase ways people can reach you and you should see a higher response rate.

Deals I walked away from either had poor or unsatisfactory pictures, misleading info, takes forever to hear back, vague answers, wishy washy on price and unreasonable meet-up demands. All I ask is to meet somewhere public in a decent part of town during normal hours. Every deal I've done on CL was very well communicated, clear expectations for both sides and never had a problem. At the end of the day, there are good people out there trying to sell stuff, and trying to buy stuff.

Also, you have two ads. One has more info than the other. One has frame size, one doesn't. Get rid of one and keep the other. And as someone said, put the model of the bike in the title as well. Selling on CL when you are asking for top end of the price scale is all marketing.

I bought three bikes off CL.

-First was my first road bike - Giant OCR. Paid $250 for it, they were asking $300. Good pictures, good communication, settled on price before meeting as from the pics it was a little scratched up from a spill, aluminum frame was fine otherwise, one shifter had a battle scar but worked just fine and needed new bar tape. Took some patience to find it, actually found it on a CL about 90 minutes away. Everything local was either wrong size or way over priced for my budget at the the time.
-Second was a commuter for one of the kids in college. Easy to find as CL is littered with these, at least in my area. $100, older Schwinn with solid components in very good shape. Didn't haggle - fair price for a fair bike.
-Third was my current road bike. Paid $1,100 for it. 4 years old, in great shape, was in the price range of bicycle blue book "excellent" grade, but has much nicer wheels and proof of maintenance history at the LBS. Didn't haggle as I felt it was a fair price for a great bike that had obviously been cared for. Very good communication process with seller, very clear on both our expectations and willingness to be flexible on meeting time and place so I could really look it over and take it for a quick spin.

exmechanic89

^ I agree with all of this. I've bought all of my bikes off of CL except one, and have sold several, and have found this to be very true. On a side note imo you'll never get even close to what you're asking for that GT, OP. There's very little market for a bike like that, IME.

bo31210

Spring may be your better bet. Or delete the ad and wait until a couple of weeks before Christmas. @Jiles I am assuming you are refreshing it every 2-3 days to bring it to the top of the list????

Also, conside listing it in nearby metropolitan areas. Not sure how far you are from Birmingham but you may get a little more interest in the market.

thin_concrete

I'm dealing with a similar issue, but it is winter so I'm not expecting much. I may see if I can take it back to the LBS I purchased it from for some credit to a new bike. I'd be surprised if my wife put more than 10 miles on it.

GravelMN

A women's bike with big bar stool seat is probably not going to be a hot seller, even if the bike is in excellent condition.

10 Wheels

Agree....

ramzilla

In the time it took to read this post robots churned out another 1000 bikes off assembly lines in Taiwan & China. It's hard to compete with robots. They just keep making more stuff faster & cheaper. All this stuff either winds up on CL or in the scrap yard. You must make your bike seem special some how in order to get anybody to pay attention to it. Good luck.

Dave Cutter

Same here (Midwest).... and I would guess just about any (and every) where else. The economy is not booming and hasn't been for some time. People may be a little more careful with their purchases now-a-days. But finding a "great deal" has always taken expertise (and/or luck). Many of the most desirable bikes seem to have found homes with collectors.

Bicycling itself is still booming is some limited areas.... but seems to have peaked in popularity a few years back around here. I believe (just IMHO) used bike prices may have dropped slightly. There just isn't many people letting go of the good ones.

10 Wheels

$160

Selling a great bike

dedhed

When you are trying to sell a bike photos should always include a nice one from the "drive side" and with an uncluttered background, not all brick and wood deck distracting from the bike That is why you see them against a white garage door or a sheet behind it. Neither of those show the drive side so I can see what components are on it and assess their condition. I wouldn't look twice at that ad.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...raigslist.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...ist-rants.html

Retro Grouch 

I asked my dad that question once. He said: "Pull a number out of the air and let that be your price. A month from now, if you sold it, your price was too low. If you still have it, your price was too high." So yeah, your price is too high.