Is craigslist legit for bikes?
 

A serious question...I have sold and bought guitar stuff all the time on craigslist...never considered buying a bike off it, but scoped around today and found this.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hdo/bik/1419156791.html

Other than the size being omitted, description is thorough. However, something doesn't pass the sniff test...sounds like about $8000-$10000 worth of equipment being offered for $1350. Is this the typical deal being offered on craigslist, or is this a "too good to be true" deal to be ignored?

Thanks in advance.

That is on the DC craigslist as well. I was about to post it here questioning its legitimacy, but decided myself it wasn't true. This proves it even more so.

It's a scam.

That specific ad is a scam. "If it sounds too good to be true...."

That said, I've bought most of my bikes on Craigslist.

Craigslist has no legitimacy in and of itself. It's simply a marketplace. Individual sellers in that marketplace may or may not be legit. You simply have to take reasonable precautions that you would take in any commercial transaction, when deciding whether, and how, to deal with a particular seller..

And apply the simple rule that if it sounds too good to be true....

Hey, you are in Tampa! My hometown! Miss the old city sometimes...

Craigslists is hit or miss, just check out the bikes you think sound good, do test rides, the works before you hand over da monies, like anything else when buying used. But yeah, this sounds pretty sh*tty. Though, I'd be inclined to check it out, if only for sh*ts and giggles.

The quick answer to your question is yes, CL is a legitimate source for bikes. I buy and sell alot of bikes on CL.

There are scammers out there as well. Buyer beware. CL is primarily for local cash buyers, on occasion sellers will advertise in muultipe markets so that in itself does'tn make me skeptical, what makes me skeptical is the price, ad format and lack of contact information.

Running a search of craigslist for the exact string in the auction title brings up hits from all over the country, so yeah, as if the weird wording, copy/paste and way too good price didn't already tip you off, it's a scam.

you can always tell after the first e-mail. guaranteed if you mail the seller he will have the bike in another country and be willing to ship it to you for free...AKA - scam.

if i'm buying/selling anything over $50, i insist on phone communication and a face to face deal, usually in a public place like a DD parking lot. in other words - apply common street sense and most times CL can be a valuable arena.

I'd be suprised if there wasn't the same amout of scammage with guitars.

If not more so. I'd imagine it's a lot easier to make a fake guitar than a fake bike.

I've never had a problem selling or buying off craigslist, but yes this type of ad is becoming more and more prevalent. I've responded to one of those ads just to see what would come of it. I got an email saying that he was out of the country and he handled the selling through this other company. To send the money to them via money order and he'd make sure the bike was sent to me. Sure he would. He didn't answer any questions so it's obvious that all of this is automated. Must be getting people to bite or they still wouldn't be doing it.

It's a fake ad, not a fake bike, and yes, it happens with guitar stuff too.

Can you report it to craigslist so noone gets scammed?

True.

I've sold a bike on CL before- the 04 R1000 I wanted out of the house. Put it up for $350 and the kid that bought it from me didn't even try to negotiate. Dealing with local buyers and saying "CASH ONLY" kind of makes it clear up front that you're not trying to scam someone.

I saw an $18,000 car on my local craigslist for sale for "$4,000". (Mini Cooper S)

I emailed the guy. He responded a few times. Said he was going out of the country for the military and just needed to get rid of the car quick. But after a few more questions, he vanished.

Fake

Bought and sold on CL with no problems, except the occasional flaky buyer.

I've bought a bike and sold 2 on craigslist. Just make sure to do all in person and with cash.

how will you get scammed with a bike? as long as you get to the person and get to test ride and check the components yourself, you wont get scammed, but if you sell a bike how are you going to get scammed? you should be selling for cash only, no checks. I recently bought a Cellphone that costs 200 for 50 bucks, and it works just like it should. Craigslist is fine, its like a sister ebay.

Hey OP, thanks for the heads-up. Just took it for a test drive and bought it. Sweet deal.





I wish......:rolleyes:

How about you go to test ride the bike and the guy sticks a gun in your face and robs you becouse most People would bring the cash with them to buy the bike.

ahhhh, that my friend is a good one. Never thought of that, you are right. Sheesh. Oh I know a good solve for that case, tell the seller to bring the bike to somewhere public, in the DC Metro area that would be the METRO, where I bought a cell phone this past Monday. If they do pull out a gun in public im sure someone will see it and get cops there.

A lot of times it isn't about the bike or money, it's just to get your email address for spam. I've ran in to that quite a bit looking for work.

I found a very good Giant MTB for my wife with Deore 8-spd for $45 on craigslist. Comes down to knowing your bike specs and value.

Around here, there's tonnes of "vintage" and fixed-gear crap going for ridiculous prices because there's people with money who don't mind blowing it. There's no way a low-strength 1020 steel frame that weighs 8-lbs and have been converted to single-speed with chrome-plated steel seatpost, chrome-plated steel 27" wheels and rusty chrome-plated handlebars should be going for $350. But hey, it's a "fixie" and you too can play wannabe bike-messenger with one... :rolleyes:

And a scammer was trying to sell a Nishiki "used by Greg Lemond in the TDF" for $1350... hmmm... that price sounds familiar...