CenturionIM

This is what I have learned through buying on CL. Feel free to add your own/correct me etc etc

First of, the buyer must be thick-skinned, shameless and absolutely merciless when it comes to prices. Otherwise forget this.

1. First gather data and guesstimate actual value. Also remember market plays a big part too. How many people has x amount of money to drop on a bike at this time of the year? Gather talking points.

2. Do homework by inspecting description, pictures, emailing/text/call back and forth. Gather more talking points.

3. Go in and talk to owner. Chat her up, make some bonds, build some rapport.

4. Meanwhile, gauge how eager she is to sell the bike. Also does she know about bikes? Is she financially well off? In my experience, well-to-do seller are easier to haggle with.

5. At the same time, assess bike condition. How used is this bike? Any scratches or scuffs?

5. Make low ball offer. this is a MUST if you want a deal. But not so low that the seller feels like you are insulting her.

7. Novice seller will become indignant. Shrewd seller will act like they are indignant. As you shop more you will be able to tell the difference. Most likely, they will make a much higher counter offer.

8. Repeat:
- a. use talking points to convince owner your price is right/lower his counter offer.
- b. take counter offer.
- c. raise your offer.

9. Eventually, a stalemate is reached. the owner says he would not sell this for lower than $_x_ amount.

10. Now you can:
- a. Take offer.
- b. Wave cash in front of owner, "I will buy it NOW if you sell for x amount".
- c. leave
- d. leave and come back later. repeat process.

That's it, enjoy.

MikeyBoyAz

Alternate to 1. = Purchase bike for asking and then post about it on here with the question "Did I get a good deal?"

Alternate to 2. = Get ready for insults on your intelligence

Alternate to 3. = Stop browsing this forum because no one takes almost anything serous.

All steps should be approved by the 41 before ratification.

dtrain

IDK...haggling can be a fun part of it, but can also be very frustrating. I'd add this (to the front end): if the original asking price is more than (say) 20% above the max you'd pay and there is no 'obo' in the ad - don't bother. It's much more enjoyable to find a great value than 'force' a deal. I've paid full asking price many, many times and rarely regretted it. I've even made good money re-selling many of those 'full-price' items.

thinktubes 

Don't forget to show up late (up to 3 hours is OK) and ask the seller if they have change for $100.

cincyenginerd

My #1 Craigslist rule: set a maximum price you're willing to spend and stick to it. If you can't get the item you want at that price or lower, walk away.

Haggling can be very fun, but only if you don't haggle yourself into a purchase you'll regret.

seymour1910

I agree, sometimes they will not let you walk away with cold cash in hand. The bike I got off CL the seller was asking $600, I viewed the bike and we talked about it for about 15 mins, did some haggling, and couldn't agree on a price. I thanked him for his time and turned to leave, before I got to my car he said "ok, I'll take your offer". I feel you should always low ball but not so much that you don't seem serious.

iamtim

I sell on CL a lot and I know that I will be haggled when a buyer comes. So I normally list higher than I actually want, that way when the buyer haggles me down he or she thinks they're getting a deal, and I'm getting what I want.

escarpment

I dont really haggle when I buy or sell. I just find what I want and buy it, if it is at a fair price. When people overvalue their stuff I dont even try, its not worth it. If someone is selling something grosly under market value I wont try to pinch more pennies, just give them your money and be happy. When I sell things I do it at a fair price and dont budge either.

cincyenginerd

You don't have to have something up the brown eye to want to haggle. Your approach is just fine, and works for you... if I find something at a fair price, I won't haggle either. But I won't pay any more than I have to in order to buy those goods if I don't have to.

I use iamtim's approach when selling stuff, too. Play coy with the buyer, don't seem desperate, don't make it appear you want to sell.

TheOtherBob

I'm a big proponent of the "Getting to Yes" type of negotiation, where both parties try to find a fair value for the item. So if you come in with a lowball offer that's clearly just meant to be a lowball offer, I'm more likely not to bother talking with you further -- because it's clear that our initial valuations are too far apart, and I don't really like someone standing there giving me some tap dance show.

That doesn't mean that I won't haggle -- just that this "I give you an unreasonably high price, you give me an unreasonably low price, and we split the difference" approach to negotiation just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The fair price is rarely right in the middle of two unreasonable offers, and it's silly to sit there arguing about whose unreasonable offer is going to "win." Just talk about what the item is worth, then agree on that price.

seymour1910

Good points....and if every seller thought this way there may not be as many low ball offers. I will provide an example. There is a guy in my local area that has a CAAD9 frame and fork for sale on CL. NO group, no wheels, just the frameset and he is asking "$700 firm" for the stripped down four year old frame. In this case I don't feel bad to call and offer far less because everyone knows he is asking a bit much for that frame. Just my opinion.

woodcraft

I rarely haggle w/ Craigslist purchases.

I find that people generally price things to move, at least the things that I go for. If the price is high, don't bother.

Some of the ads are amusing, though, .i.e. "Free firewood" (you cut the tree, dig the stump, haul the wood, buck and split, and then you can keep half)

coasting 

aren't they all stolen bikes?

topflightpro

I assume all prices on Craigslist are intentionally set to allow the seller to be able to negotiate down. I know this is the approach I take when posting.

For example, if I see something listed for $45, I assume the seller wants $40 - and $40 is a good number because many, dare I say most, ATMs only spit out $20 bills.

saratoga

#2 as the seller, I'm not playing email tag for 3 days. Ask a couple of questions, fine. Think of them before you send 65 emails because we aren't going on a date.

#3&4 as the buyer, you'll never see where I live or be able to gauge how well off I am or am not. We're going to meet in a public place like the parking lot at wal mart. Small talk will not be involved... again, not going on a date. Why do you assume the seller is female?

Also:
Don't offer to trade your pet parakeet and $20 cash instead of the asking price.
Don't expect a reply if you email the seller 3 weeks after you lowballed him/her, explained why it's worth 1/100th what they were asking and he/she told you to have a nice day.
Don't tell the buyer what it cost new, they probably already know which is why they're trying to buy a used one.
As the seller, ask a fair price up front and don't put a bunch of BS in the ad.
^^all things that I've experienced selling and buying on CL.

Andy_K 

I generally assume all sellers are doing this.

evan938

The guy i bought my 2012 supersix 3 from had it listed at $2500 with 2 sets of wheels (neither anything special), i picked up on his eagerness to sell via email and got him down to $1200 with one set of wheels. Had to drive 2 hours pretty last minute after work to get it, but it was a deal id make again. He seemed kinda fishy via email but he had the receipt so i took it.

Seattle Forrest

I'm surprised reading this thread how many people want to play flea market, like they have nothing better to do with their time.

But a lot of people won't drive an hour to talk to a stranger in a grocery store parking lot in the hopes that they can talk them down a few dollars on an overpriced used bike chain.

I check Craigslist when I need certain types of things. If I find something I need but it's listed for more than I'm willing to pay, I won't make a counter-offer, I just won't buy it from that person. When I find something I need at an acceptable price, I won't make a counter-offer, either, I just pay the fair price and I'm on my way. I'd rather be riding my bike than making copper wire fighting over a penny.

What I'm trying to say is this policy of overpricing your stuff isn't without its downside.

LesterOfPuppets

With all the shes and hers in the OP Im thinking I wanna move where all the CL sellers are women. How about some tips on securing that first date?

CenturionIM

I only used the female pronoun to refer to a generic seller to make our language a bit less male-dominated.

I don't enjoy haggling one bit, only biking. I would love to deal with a seller with cut-the-chase lets-make-a-deal-happen-approach, like some of you are. Sadly, somehow most of sellers in my local area with decent invertory are all trying to make a buck and they have the time. I have to use my entire haggling arsenal every time just to get things at a FAIR price. You just gotta play their game. If I try to play decent, I lose or I don't get. And most decent things are overpriced by 20% if not more. If I just pass those by, I would be left wanting for quite a while.

Of course, all this can be dispensed with if I simply made more money....

CL has a "personal" section.

dtrain

Had more than that some time ago...

aramis

Same here. When I list something it's very very close to what I want to sell it for and I always sell for asking price or within 10% or so. I've sold probably a dozen motorcycles and I always sell that way. If the price is just right I can tell and I get a decent amount of inquiries and have it sold within a week.

I've talked down the prices on things fairly significantly before, but it's just not worth it for me to meet with someone in hopes they will come down on the price if it's way too high. Even getting into email exchanges negotiating prices is tiresome.

roadCruiser76

Wow, I'm really surprised at how many people seem to be haggling in person when they make Craigslists purchases. When I bought a bike off Craiglist I simply made an offer over email ahead of time. I think we might have gone back and forth once or twice and that was it. Since I had to drive an hour to get to the location of the bike, I wouldn't have wanted to go all the way down there to haggle about the bike, only to come home empty handed or have to make a bad deal.

K.Katso

LOL I thought I was the only person that ever did this. I always got annoyed selling on CL when somebody insisted on trying to talk me down to $9 on a $10 item.