Ebay vs. Craigslist?
11-24-19, 09:57 PM
#26
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I have had bikes, experiences, and parts that I would otherwise never be able to afford thanks to craigslist.
In my area, it's not uncommon to see a bike that was $2,000 5 years ago go for about $500-$700.
Roll it back a couple of years and add another $1,000 to it.
It's also not uncommon to see a recent $800 bike go for $450-$600.
Parts are also just all over the place. Want a deep V on a sealed cartridge bearing? snoop around on craigslist for a little while and one will for sure pop up for under $40.
If it looks totally like crap, but it's still totally functional, halve that. Want a new set of MTB wheels? Same thing. If all you care about is function, because you want a part to give you a better riding experience CL is a goldmine.
The result is a constantly cycling ecosystem of awesome parts. Need carbon bars or forks? It's for sure on CL.
You should actually expect to pay somewhere between 45-65% of the value of something on CL.
Anything less (but not too low because stolen or very desperate person), and you should hop on it right away because it will be gone tommorrow.
Anything more, and it will be sitting for over a month by a stubborn person that just doesn't understand depreciation and the used parts economy in a cycling heavy area.
I always price items somewhere in that range, and i'm totally happy to sell them for that price because I also paid a similar amount for it.
If I bought something brand new, I would still price it within that range because I understand how things work on the used market.
That's why I don't buy anything brand new unless i'm absolutely sure that I want it and it's something that i'm going to use for a long time and often.
Lot's of people get to try a lot of really nice bikes and parts, and they become more knowledgeable cyclists because of it.
I have for sure made some stupid CL purchases, even lately, but they were much cheaper mistakes than they otherwise woudl have been, and I also learned a lot from them.
The payoff in comparison to the learning curve is pretty huge on CL.
It's really not a I win you lose situation most of the time if you think about.
If someone had a very nice bike for many years, they definitely got their fun out of it. No bike shop or business is going to buy their stuff without an extreme lowball (Just look at bicycle blue book values or pawn shops).
So they had a great time for a long time, and if they still have a functioning bike (with really nice parts that they don't need to replace), it means they have disposable income and the upgrade bug.
Well, the money you give them will contribute (45-60% of what they paid for it, after they already had a great time on it, is pretty good if yout hink about it) go into some local bike shop (or other business), will be more than they would get otherwise, and the bike will live on and give more good times to someone else until it either breaks or just lives with the owner forever.
Components will be recycled from person to person, people will become more passionate about cycling, and they in turn will become those people if their income ever increases. Because they have more knowledge, they will have probably found the kind of cycling they like, and they will support a niche area of the market because of it.
That's less money to the hi-ten trendlords that we've all come to loathe.
Everyone, at some point, wants something brand new that they can say is totally their own and that they custom built. I bought a frame from a bike shop once because I had never done that before and I wanted my own brand new frame. There's also been lots of times where buying something locally just makes sense, and if/when I can it's nice to support a small business. You often times also need replacement parts and service on your used bike.
So it will eventually trickle up into the actual economy.
If someone made an impulse buy, they will be more careful next time.They at least get some money back (which will probably go to local bike stores or cycling events)
and someone (who probably coudl really use it) gets something really nice for cheap.
Sometimes they are in weird situations. They have to move and they cannot take the item with them.
Again, it probably served it's purpose well, and you are giving them cash in a pinch where they would otherwise not have it or be forced to be lowballed by some shady business.
The ones that kind of suck, and the ones that I almost never buy from (or just never see) are the ones that have to pay sudden bills (I need this sold tommorrow! any amount of cash!) or the ones that had something really bad happen in their life.
But again, they are still getting more cash than what they would otherwise have. Sometimes they just have other priorities other than their hobby bike, and they need some cash to help them with their life.
In that case, again, they had a good time with it, and it doesn't feel like a losing situation if you give them much more than some business would.
You should also watch for stolen parts, but that is often obvious because the ad doesn't mention anything specific about the part, the person can't have a conversation with you about cycling stuff (other than maybe they heard that this thing is worth money), and the part is priced EXTREMELY low. (Like $10 for a thomspson seatpost or soemthing).
Most of the time, you will just run into other enthusiasts who are too appreciative of the sport to try and do something like that (but maybe they are knowledgeable and extremely desperate).
Also, stolen stuff doesn't get sold on CL much anymore. There are underground marketplaces for those kinds of things and we will never see them (and I don't want too).
Some people eek out a living on CL by refurbishing free stuff which is kind of cool.
That stuff would otherwise probably go in the trash and it again supports the whole used parts economy.
But I also suspect that there are people who literally crawl the site and look for deals so that they can part out the bikes they get or get all of the really good stuff cheap.
I think that that happens because some stuff is just gone way too fast. Like so fast, that someone has to be spending a significant portion of their day constantly crawling that site for the best deals.
That sucks, because they are for sure going to try and make a profit, and that means more expensive CL items, and very cool parts that aforementioned broke enthusiasts will never see.
It's kind of a scavengery way to make a living because it takes parts away from people, and it takes advantage of the goodwill of the bike hoarders.
There's a few sellers that do this, and it kidn of sucks.
It's the same concept as people who started raiding the thrift stores (which get most of their stuff from charity) just to start selling the items for ridiculous prices in hipster stores.
It's at the poitn now, where you actually can't find anything decent at a real thrift store, and you have to go to a hipster store (and pay ridiculous money) to get something unique.
Only in rare circumstances do you get a real gem from a legit charity thrift store. Oh well, at least you're not supporting fast fashion and the incredibly wasteful clothing industry.
But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes, and sometimes that stuff would honestly just depreciate somewhere for years in someones closet.
That's why you gotta be quick.
As i've said, the best deals are gone overnight or within a few hours.
Lately I got INCREDIBLY lucky with a person that just needed to get rid of something. This was a once every few years kind of a deal.
The bike is literally so nice that it almost makes me cry. Never had something like that before (and i've had some serious purpose built bikes), but nothing like this and it's just absolutely amazing to ride because there is almost nothing spared on it. I bough it mostly for it's versatiblity, but it really inspires me to start using the bike and doing more stuff with it. I just stare at it and it feels like it's begging me to ride it everyday.
Dude was somewhere between philathropist (lol i'm not kidding, this bike was practically a gift), and someone who was in one of those non desperate (clearing out the garage) situations to get rid of something.
Glued to my hip and probably never leaving it for a while. Would never be able to ride a bike like this otherwise, and would probably be a long time before I can actually buy somethign similar.
That also happens once in a while, where you just get very wealthy people getting rid of stuff, or bike nuts that just have a ton of stuff and they realize that something never gets used and they have been sitting on it.
Even I have some pretty nice parts laying around that I can use. If I felt so inclined, I can probably sell or donate some of them, or theyw ill go to my next custom build if I ever make enough money to have a lifestyle that includes bike(s) (plural). But I've honestly never thought of it like that, because I only ever have a few parts on hand and I want to ride them more than sell them lol.
Having drops AND flats on hand is pretty cool.
eBay is different. It's almost never worth selling a bike on ebay because the shipping cost is insane. So you'll really only see very expensive bikes on there that people may have a hard time selling locally and don't mind knocking $100 off the price tag to compensate for shipping. But similar to craigslist, it's a parts mecca.
Things sell MUCH faster on ebay because of the sheer number of people on that site.
If I have something that is decent, it will for sure sell within just a couple of weeks.
You can also find almost anythign really weird and specialized (I found a matching vintage lever).
So if you have something that's kind of odd and niche, but definitely has value to that market, eBay is perfect for it.
Because people from all over are looking on it for that one thing that they want for that one hobby they have.
I always see sellers on there that just sell a TON of stuff though, maybe they are those people who look on craigslist all day for parts.
eBay can offer some pretty good deals, but it's better for people who want to find that one weird oddball part (like a matching lever, missing crank arm, etc.).
Because anything that's mainstream and good is probably selling for a lot and sitting forever.
You can still find some of the enthusiasts and bike hoarders getting rid of parts, but it's a once in a while thing. You'll find 1 good part on eBay for every 3-4 good parts on CL.
But again, it means that whatever you have sells fast. Lot's of eyes, and if you're offering a fair used market deal (unlike the mass sellers that sit on expensive parts for months) it's getting sold.
I've still bought good parts on eBay. As i'm writing this i'm considering a set of tires from that site.
But it's better served for those specialized purposes that I mentioned.
That one weird thing that you need is probably going to be on there, because someone knows that eBay is the only place that you're going to sell it, and someone knows that eBay is the only place they're going to find it lol.
It just doesn't feel as personal and enthusiastic as CL, which is kind of odd to say, but I would be very sad without it.
eBay is GREAT if you're a gadget geek. Custom laptop parts, speaker parts, electronic parts GALORE.
If you don't have a plush local cycling scene, then eBay is your best friend.
Anyways, super long winded. Super passionate about CL.
Hopefully I answered some questions about people who are curious.
TLDR; buy on craigslist, sell on eBay.
In my area, it's not uncommon to see a bike that was $2,000 5 years ago go for about $500-$700.
Roll it back a couple of years and add another $1,000 to it.
It's also not uncommon to see a recent $800 bike go for $450-$600.
Parts are also just all over the place. Want a deep V on a sealed cartridge bearing? snoop around on craigslist for a little while and one will for sure pop up for under $40.
If it looks totally like crap, but it's still totally functional, halve that. Want a new set of MTB wheels? Same thing. If all you care about is function, because you want a part to give you a better riding experience CL is a goldmine.
The result is a constantly cycling ecosystem of awesome parts. Need carbon bars or forks? It's for sure on CL.
You should actually expect to pay somewhere between 45-65% of the value of something on CL.
Anything less (but not too low because stolen or very desperate person), and you should hop on it right away because it will be gone tommorrow.
Anything more, and it will be sitting for over a month by a stubborn person that just doesn't understand depreciation and the used parts economy in a cycling heavy area.
I always price items somewhere in that range, and i'm totally happy to sell them for that price because I also paid a similar amount for it.
If I bought something brand new, I would still price it within that range because I understand how things work on the used market.
That's why I don't buy anything brand new unless i'm absolutely sure that I want it and it's something that i'm going to use for a long time and often.
Lot's of people get to try a lot of really nice bikes and parts, and they become more knowledgeable cyclists because of it.
I have for sure made some stupid CL purchases, even lately, but they were much cheaper mistakes than they otherwise woudl have been, and I also learned a lot from them.
The payoff in comparison to the learning curve is pretty huge on CL.
It's really not a I win you lose situation most of the time if you think about.
If someone had a very nice bike for many years, they definitely got their fun out of it. No bike shop or business is going to buy their stuff without an extreme lowball (Just look at bicycle blue book values or pawn shops).
So they had a great time for a long time, and if they still have a functioning bike (with really nice parts that they don't need to replace), it means they have disposable income and the upgrade bug.
Well, the money you give them will contribute (45-60% of what they paid for it, after they already had a great time on it, is pretty good if yout hink about it) go into some local bike shop (or other business), will be more than they would get otherwise, and the bike will live on and give more good times to someone else until it either breaks or just lives with the owner forever.
Components will be recycled from person to person, people will become more passionate about cycling, and they in turn will become those people if their income ever increases. Because they have more knowledge, they will have probably found the kind of cycling they like, and they will support a niche area of the market because of it.
That's less money to the hi-ten trendlords that we've all come to loathe.
Everyone, at some point, wants something brand new that they can say is totally their own and that they custom built. I bought a frame from a bike shop once because I had never done that before and I wanted my own brand new frame. There's also been lots of times where buying something locally just makes sense, and if/when I can it's nice to support a small business. You often times also need replacement parts and service on your used bike.
So it will eventually trickle up into the actual economy.
If someone made an impulse buy, they will be more careful next time.They at least get some money back (which will probably go to local bike stores or cycling events)
and someone (who probably coudl really use it) gets something really nice for cheap.
Sometimes they are in weird situations. They have to move and they cannot take the item with them.
Again, it probably served it's purpose well, and you are giving them cash in a pinch where they would otherwise not have it or be forced to be lowballed by some shady business.
The ones that kind of suck, and the ones that I almost never buy from (or just never see) are the ones that have to pay sudden bills (I need this sold tommorrow! any amount of cash!) or the ones that had something really bad happen in their life.
But again, they are still getting more cash than what they would otherwise have. Sometimes they just have other priorities other than their hobby bike, and they need some cash to help them with their life.
In that case, again, they had a good time with it, and it doesn't feel like a losing situation if you give them much more than some business would.
You should also watch for stolen parts, but that is often obvious because the ad doesn't mention anything specific about the part, the person can't have a conversation with you about cycling stuff (other than maybe they heard that this thing is worth money), and the part is priced EXTREMELY low. (Like $10 for a thomspson seatpost or soemthing).
Most of the time, you will just run into other enthusiasts who are too appreciative of the sport to try and do something like that (but maybe they are knowledgeable and extremely desperate).
Also, stolen stuff doesn't get sold on CL much anymore. There are underground marketplaces for those kinds of things and we will never see them (and I don't want too).
Some people eek out a living on CL by refurbishing free stuff which is kind of cool.
That stuff would otherwise probably go in the trash and it again supports the whole used parts economy.
But I also suspect that there are people who literally crawl the site and look for deals so that they can part out the bikes they get or get all of the really good stuff cheap.
I think that that happens because some stuff is just gone way too fast. Like so fast, that someone has to be spending a significant portion of their day constantly crawling that site for the best deals.
That sucks, because they are for sure going to try and make a profit, and that means more expensive CL items, and very cool parts that aforementioned broke enthusiasts will never see.
It's kind of a scavengery way to make a living because it takes parts away from people, and it takes advantage of the goodwill of the bike hoarders.
There's a few sellers that do this, and it kidn of sucks.
It's the same concept as people who started raiding the thrift stores (which get most of their stuff from charity) just to start selling the items for ridiculous prices in hipster stores.
It's at the poitn now, where you actually can't find anything decent at a real thrift store, and you have to go to a hipster store (and pay ridiculous money) to get something unique.
Only in rare circumstances do you get a real gem from a legit charity thrift store. Oh well, at least you're not supporting fast fashion and the incredibly wasteful clothing industry.
But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes, and sometimes that stuff would honestly just depreciate somewhere for years in someones closet.
That's why you gotta be quick.
As i've said, the best deals are gone overnight or within a few hours.
Lately I got INCREDIBLY lucky with a person that just needed to get rid of something. This was a once every few years kind of a deal.
The bike is literally so nice that it almost makes me cry. Never had something like that before (and i've had some serious purpose built bikes), but nothing like this and it's just absolutely amazing to ride because there is almost nothing spared on it. I bough it mostly for it's versatiblity, but it really inspires me to start using the bike and doing more stuff with it. I just stare at it and it feels like it's begging me to ride it everyday.
Dude was somewhere between philathropist (lol i'm not kidding, this bike was practically a gift), and someone who was in one of those non desperate (clearing out the garage) situations to get rid of something.
Glued to my hip and probably never leaving it for a while. Would never be able to ride a bike like this otherwise, and would probably be a long time before I can actually buy somethign similar.
That also happens once in a while, where you just get very wealthy people getting rid of stuff, or bike nuts that just have a ton of stuff and they realize that something never gets used and they have been sitting on it.
Even I have some pretty nice parts laying around that I can use. If I felt so inclined, I can probably sell or donate some of them, or theyw ill go to my next custom build if I ever make enough money to have a lifestyle that includes bike(s) (plural). But I've honestly never thought of it like that, because I only ever have a few parts on hand and I want to ride them more than sell them lol.
Having drops AND flats on hand is pretty cool.
eBay is different. It's almost never worth selling a bike on ebay because the shipping cost is insane. So you'll really only see very expensive bikes on there that people may have a hard time selling locally and don't mind knocking $100 off the price tag to compensate for shipping. But similar to craigslist, it's a parts mecca.
Things sell MUCH faster on ebay because of the sheer number of people on that site.
If I have something that is decent, it will for sure sell within just a couple of weeks.
You can also find almost anythign really weird and specialized (I found a matching vintage lever).
So if you have something that's kind of odd and niche, but definitely has value to that market, eBay is perfect for it.
Because people from all over are looking on it for that one thing that they want for that one hobby they have.
I always see sellers on there that just sell a TON of stuff though, maybe they are those people who look on craigslist all day for parts.
eBay can offer some pretty good deals, but it's better for people who want to find that one weird oddball part (like a matching lever, missing crank arm, etc.).
Because anything that's mainstream and good is probably selling for a lot and sitting forever.
You can still find some of the enthusiasts and bike hoarders getting rid of parts, but it's a once in a while thing. You'll find 1 good part on eBay for every 3-4 good parts on CL.
But again, it means that whatever you have sells fast. Lot's of eyes, and if you're offering a fair used market deal (unlike the mass sellers that sit on expensive parts for months) it's getting sold.
I've still bought good parts on eBay. As i'm writing this i'm considering a set of tires from that site.
But it's better served for those specialized purposes that I mentioned.
That one weird thing that you need is probably going to be on there, because someone knows that eBay is the only place that you're going to sell it, and someone knows that eBay is the only place they're going to find it lol.
It just doesn't feel as personal and enthusiastic as CL, which is kind of odd to say, but I would be very sad without it.
eBay is GREAT if you're a gadget geek. Custom laptop parts, speaker parts, electronic parts GALORE.
If you don't have a plush local cycling scene, then eBay is your best friend.
Anyways, super long winded. Super passionate about CL.
Hopefully I answered some questions about people who are curious.
TLDR; buy on craigslist, sell on eBay.
Last edited by BicycleBicycle; 11-25-19 at 11:29 AM.
11-26-19, 02:02 PM
#27
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Bikes: MBK Super Mirage 1991, CAAD10, Yuba Mundo Lux, and a Cannondale Criterium Single Speed
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TLDR; buy on craigslist, sell on eBay.
I read the first bit I think. I don’t hunt for bike parts on CL because while I’ll drive (and have) a bit out of my way for a $1,000 bike selling for $750 or whatever, I’m a bit less enthusiastic about doing the same for a $100 derailleur or $200 shifters. Maybe if I was in the market for $1000 wheels I would be willing to travel for them. Small parts, if I can’t pick up at my LBS, I want them shipped to my door.
