FoxMulder

I'd like to hear opinions of people that have used Craigslist to sell their used bikes, and I'd like to know if I'm wasting my time on there (because it feels like it). I'm sure it's great for selling old junk bikes when you don't care what you fetch for a price. But for nice bikes, I've not had luck.

Since I have no desire to spend over $200 to ship and also pay 10% of the sale price to eBay, local selling is the only way that meshes with me. I recently posted a year old mountain bike with less than 100 miles on it that I picked up at a LBS for $2000 last year. I can't even pull $1000 for it. And I could understand that if I had a lot of competition, but there are no other bikes like mine for sale in my city, and the other deals I've seen aren't as good. But regardless of the fact that there really aren't any better deals available, it still won't move. I'm about ready to give up on selling it, even if I only end up riding it a couple times per year. I was just kind of surprised there haven't been any real bites. Anyone else having the same bad luck with selling? Or if you're having good luck, do you have any tips? (other than lower the price even more) I've had it posted for over 2 months now.

Dunbar

IME, this is the worst time of year to sell a bike. Even in sunny Southern California I couldn't sell a used carbon fiber road bike in January of this year. Once the weather cools down and it gets dark early most people have no desire to ride their bikes until spring. I did eventually end up selling the bike March but I had to be patient. I also sold a Trek 7.5FX around the same time and had to patient. In both cases it took 3-4 weeks on Craigslist to get them sold.

fietsbob

Our LBS does consignments. might not sell till weather improves.. [but as Xmas gifts]

JerrySTL

I've sold 2 bikes on CraigsList, but both of them were more in the $200-$400 range.

Also consider that depreciation is huge on new bicycles. Worse than new cars. You'll be lucky to get 75% of the new cost even if you've only ridden it a few times and it's in near perfect condition.

rumrunn6

strikes me as being too high a ticket item for CL

Flying Merkel

I've sold about 3 dozen bikes on C-list over the years. Made good money doing it. Good clear drive side pictures and a coherent & accurate description are vital. It depends on your area. In So.Cal, bikes are year 'round, but sell best in spring & fall.

Bikes lose a lot of their value in the first year or two. Not many want to spend 75% of the price of a new bike for last year's model. Losing half it's value in the first year isn't unusual for a mountain bike. Value is what someone will pay, not an uninvolved somebody's opinion. The market I play in is the $100-$300 range. Surprising amount of profit in that range.

the sci guy 

You're going to take a hit regardless of the condition and age. But, if your bike is in really good condition and mostly unused like you say, you should emphasize that and stand firm on a price (I'd also see what LBS are selling the same last year's model for if you can find out).
If it was $2k last year, I'd ask around $1300-1500 for it. Buyer is getting a deal, especially since you're not calculating tax or anything.
It will sell, it just needs to find the right person looking for it. It may take a few months though. Most people on CL are looking for cheap bikes to fix or cheap bikes to ride because they are cheap people. But many bike enthusiasts troll the listings too.

Just be careful when conducting the exchange of such a high amount of $$. Cash is usually preferable in CL exchanges but maybe a cashier's check would work better here?

Trust no one.

Flying Merkel

I meet buyers in the supermarket parking lot. Lots of people, good lighting and an ATM in the store. The last item is something to tell buyers. Lets them you you're concerned about them.

I accept cash & postal money orders only.

FoxMulder

I guess I'll just have to keep waiting, or not sell it. Obviously these bikes sell new or bike shops would be out of business, and people aren't getting a better deal used than what I'm asking because there aren't any. So in regards to the market, either people just aren't buying (as a couple folks said) or people would really rather pay $2000 new instead of $1000 used (hard to believe, but maybe).