kansukee

I just had one yesterday. I had the clincher set that I posted here listed on cl and I renewed the ad two days ago, then forgot about it. Someone texted me yesterday asking if I still had it and I just replied with a curt "yes" since I got so many scammer texts before. Anyway, it turned out to be this older guy, very polite, we had a nice talk and he kept mentioning how nice the wheels looked and he'd been looking for something like that because his old rear Mavic had a busted hub and his lbs tried to sell him a whole new 11 speed group and he was using 10 speed Campy. I wanted 150 and he offered 140 and away he went, happy as a pig in ****

Less than an hour later I get a text thanking me and saying he got his cassette installed and he already took them for a spin etc.

Anyone else have a good story about cl?

WhyFi

I've sold a number of things (bikes, bike parts, GoPro, numerous camera lenses, audio equipment, etc) on CL without a problem. I think that most issues when selling can be headed off by putting together a good ad - fair price, text that conveys make, model, variation, condition (both aesthetic and functional), etc and good pictures that accurately depict the condition. A good ad conveys that you know what you've got and what it's worth and I think that keeps a lot of the riff-raff, low-ballers and scammers from thinking that they've got a good opportunity to exploit.

kansukee

Yes but even then I get a lot of those scammer texts asking for condition, price etc so you know they're fakes. I always say I want cash only, no paypal, no WU or trades etc and I still get bots trying their luck. I even had an idiot ask me if I could take the Look I was trying to sell here before up to him to see if his mechanic gave him the ok and even then he was making a ridiculously low offer. I asked him if he did this when he wanted to buy a car or pretty much anything else....I mean you are the interested party so as a buyer it's up to you to drive as far as it takes in order to get what you want.

joejack951

Same experience here. I once sold an old Trek full suspension MTB on CL for a friend and the guy who bought it was not only really excited about it but sent me a follow up email a few weeks later saying how much fun he was having on it (and that's saying something because this thing was a tank). My most recent purchase off Craiglist was the Cannondale below. Nice guy, more than fair price (not really a bike guy so I got it cheap):

WhyFi

I mean, there's a few possibilities: your ads aren't as good as you think they are, your market is busy enough to attract more bots than mine, your SPAM filter isn't up to snuff, etc. Sure, there are jackasses, and I'm sure that I've ignored a handful of their "best offers," but we're talking about a mouse-click to delete or move on to the next email.

Overall, selling can be relatively painless if you take the time. Thinking about my own experiences, I've sold at least 8 things is the past three years via CL and all of them were painless and within 10% of asking.

kansukee

One thing I did this time was not post my cell #. I should have clarified that the scam offers were coming in through text messages, not via email.

WhyFi

Ah. Yeah, heck no - I never give out my phone number, definitely not in the ad and not even when meeting up; being on time, being very clear and specific on the location and telling them what kind of car to keep an eye out for is enough.

kansukee

Yep, I will not post my number anymore. I think it eliminates most of the flakes/scammers.

alpine 318is

Funny you mention that. I bought and sold about $15,000 worth of high end road bikes this year and I just got a text this morning from someone who bought my S-Works Tarmac that said

"Hey Joe, this is mark, the guy who bought the tarmac. I normally wouldn't write back, but figured you'd like to hear- the bike is amazing. I can hit PRs on climbs and be sable to rail corners going down. Thanks again and great job building her"

CL is 75% bull**** flaky buyers but once you get through that there is 25% of awesome people who want to deal with other awesome people

alfordjo

About 2 years ago I thought I wanted to get into Road Biking. I was not willing to part with a lot of money to see if I liked it or not. Found what I thought was a great deal on CL for a Madone 5.2 from I think 2008. Many miles later I know it was a great CL experience.

mcours2006

Too many to recall. Most people are honest folks. Some have a passion for cycling and we chat up, and some even exchange emails after the sale. Overall experience on CL has been positive.

Hardrock23

I've done a ton of buying & selling on CL (and Fb) over the past few years. It's how I made my money being a stay-at-home mom. I can't say I have had a bad experience, well not really. One guy turned out to be a total creep, but otherwise everything's been good.

I got my first nice bike off CL. The seller was a nice older lady who has been selling a lot of bikes on CL over the years. She let me come test ride it and she ended up holding it for me until I could come up with the rest of the money. She had pulled out some other bikes that I was also interested in and once I got there she realized they wouldn't be the right size for me. I liked that she helped with that and was honest, considering what I knew about sizing and bikes back then lol.

Another good one, though not involving bikes, was a couple years ago two days before Christmas. I was selling 10 toys as a lot on a FB page. I wasn't in the best place at the time and the woman who contacted me about the toys, after talking a bit, seemed she was in a similar place. She didn't drive though so I just offered to drop them off. I threw in some extra toys for her kids without telling her and she ended up giving me an extra $25. I thought she gave me too much by mistake but she didn't, told me she hoped my son and I had a great Christmas.

exmechanic89

I've had too many good ones to list - certainly dozens. Nothing really bad, a few that didnt work out but nothing crazy. I'm actually very grateful for the site, it's a really nice thing to have access to.

TenSpeedV2

This really is key. Accurate description, legit pictures, reasonable price, and you will have that sold quickly. I have gotten compliments on my ads from buyers in the past. They know it isn't a bs sale. They know exactly what I have, the size, color, components, etc. They know what it comes with, how much I want, what I will and will not accept, and how to contact me. In my listings, I specifically state that I will ignore emails that ask if the item is available. Once an item is sold, I delete the ad. Sticking to this rule has saved me from the scammers. In turn, when I buy, I email the seller and specifically tell them what part of town I live in, and that I am interested in the item, cash in hand. Never ask if the item is still available as this is a tell tale spam move.

canklecat

All three of my bikes were craigslist purchases; two from the same seller, a year apart. Generally very satisfied. Prices were reasonable. Any minor nits were my own fault for not carefully examining a hub or chain. And I've gotten a bit better at knowing what and how to inspect a bike.

My last purchase, three weeks ago, was an '89 Centurion Ironman, my first road bike in more than 30 years. Very satisfied. All it needed was a new chain to quiet the drivetrain a bit and get smoother shifting; and a very minor tweak to the front brake to eliminate rubbing -- I used a zip tie to adjust the angle of the cable housing. Apparently Suntour GPX brakes are very position sensitive to the cable housing. Once that's set, they're great.

Now I just need to keep working on the engine and heads-up navigation system support to enjoy the new-to-me road bike.

(The lungs and legs are coming along. The neck needs a bit more strengthening and flexibility.)

Joeyseven

I have not sold on Craigslist in awhile.I live in A small town,so I do not think I would get many good offers unless I
price kind of low.

I have bought A very nice carport in last housing bubble.I should have bought another one or two.
Look new for about 60% less than new.Last 3 cars bought on CL.Clean and good sellers.

Now on to bikes.I would say about half of the sellers get back to me.I'm guessing the others have already sold their bikes.
I can not post pictures.Here are some of my buys.Almost all good experience with sellers.
The people I bought the titanium bike from were the only odd sellers.They had more bikes,I might try to see what they have sooner or latter.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/139101546@N06/

Bianchi boardwalk
Trek 750 ? frame and fork $5.This seller posted more latter on and I forgot to go back by. .I travel lots.
Felt Trail mountain bike.Almost new
Burley Aluminum trailer with baby thingie.

But for sure most is positive.

cyclebycle13

I've found if you price realistically (not what you think, but after doing some research) things go well. I've sold 2 bikes, a couple of wheelsets, aero helmet, bike workstand, rollers, a kiddie trailer and a few things I can't remember. Each time I probably could have sold those items for more as I got a lot of really quick responses once the ads were posted.

I've also sold a ton of other stuff - lawn mower baggers, old toys my kids didn't use anymore, furniture, same deal. The other nice thing is living between to police officers, that way they can come to me and there's no time committment, other than being home.

Nachoman

My experiences with craigslist are always good. Buyers love me because I tend to not keep my old crap around and rather just sell it on craigslist for rock bottom prices.

Abe_Froman

Last year I bought a Trek 850 from a nice older guy to use as a winter snow bike for $25....just needed a cleanup and a shifter replaced. He mentioned he was going on a long organized ride with his son on the coming weekend, but didn't really have a proper road bike to use...he was planning on buying something new pretty much just for that ride it seemed. I had scattante carbon bike that was in very good shape that I didn't really care for and was his size. He followed me home and paid cash for it.

alecjahn

Reminds me of my 800! It was $15 and well-used (lots of paint chips, etc). I threw on some skinny tires, fenders, upgraded rear der, new pads, some clips, cleaned/adjusted it... It's my main ride these days, especially when wet. Heck, the frame broke a few months ago but my buddy welded it back up for a few bucks more than the cost of the bike. Even kept the Ovaltech rings
Even came with that sweeet Avocet saddle which puts the one on my roadie to shame!

The seller attempted to make me take a random motorcycle windscreen off his hands, jokingly threatening to cancel the sale if I didn't take it with me. I talked him out of it.

Abe_Froman

Yours is a nice color I've got a black/purple fade kind of thing going.

Yeah, I've bought a few <$50 mountain bikes off craigslist to ride through the winter. The last one I sort of demolished..a Schwinn Sierra. This 850 is still going reasonably strong. Bit of rust around the headset and derailleurs, but still works fine. The salt here just eats stuff up if you actually ride through slush, etc in the worst part of winter. I'll probably replace cables/pads/housings again before winter comes.