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I’ll tell you what ain’t easy. Selling used bikes AIN’T EASY.
(decent 18″ mountain bike for $180 in Seattle)
An email to [is the price negotiable?], our third correspondence:
I am sure you are going to want the 18″ MTB. Bring $170 and bring your son’s bike for a free adjustment. If it needs maintenance, such as a part replaced, or pulled to get to an internal bearing, then it will cost; about 1/2 of what you pay in a bike shop, labor wise. I have a pile of parts that are helpful, too.
I am up to seven bikes right now, three of them projects, one in preservation hall as a bare frame… no trade ins for bikes like that one you described, sorry. You made a mistake buying a really cheap bike new, as they are the worst. This one [that you are considering buying] is a bike that is about $450 new, [$650 new, by today’s prices] and that is a HUGE difference. Even more huge difference when you triple that, and get a $1500 bike because that is about the level of quality you need to really enjoy riding and be very efficient. Anything more than that is just performance and getting lighter; going carbon.
You’ll appreciate a bike that is well tuned and higher quality to begin with. You can’t even keep a cheap bike in tune for long, they are made so poorly that they simply don’t work, and people hate to ride them.
I sometimes wonder if there is a conspiracy by those companies, making such shit bikes, to get people frustrated so they keep driving? Seriously!
The lesson is: You gotta spend a little more to get high quality or you’re buying JUNK which is called, cleverly: False Economy. []
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I love it when you post a bike up on some ‘for sale’ website then you get inundated with emails basically asking you to sell the item for about 1/8 of what you have it listed for…Who the fuck is really looking at these bikes?
Sooooo….sell it on a bike-related site? I’ve sold three of mine in the last three months thru my local mtb site. Used the $$ to buy a full carbon roadie for my wife. Now I’m thinking of selling 2 more to buy one for myself! All of my buyers knew exactly what they wanted and what they were getting. It was much easier than Craiglist.
Seriously Craigslist is a freaking nightmare when it comes to selling anything. You end up being barraged by so many scammers that any real interest gets lost in the mix. I do find it funny though when the scammer says something like, “I will have my courier pay you with a certified cheque”. who the hell uses a courier these days? / rant
We live in a society where obsolescence is built in.
People are used to it.
Hundred-year-old technology still serves me just fine. And I ride a 64 cm frame. Good luck moving something that size, especially if it doesn’t have gears, shocks or even the ability to coast.
Not that I’d ever part with a bike. Just sayin’…
There are only two bikes that I shant part with, the other five have got to go, two of which need to go within 3 weeks. I just need a job, so I can have something other to do than compulsively restoring bicycles, as I’m only able to pay myself less than minimum wage for the effort.
Craigslist is becoming a nightmare. You have the spectrum of people using it, from the scammers, to the flakes that don’t show, to the average person to the person who always acts in good faith. Four basic levels there. In the bicycle subsection, you’ve got people that are selling used stuff for more than new (worst) to the guy that will help you out with a derailleur for $10. I looked over some cranksets the other day that were so overpriced, and I needed two cranksets but I said “Dude, keep your stash. That beat up old Shimano 600 derailleur is NOT worth $50, and then you want to sell the chain rings separately? Fuck me runnin…
I meant to say crankset. Guy was selling old beat up chain rings for way more than they were worth. Not the GABA swap up here in Seattle, I’ll tell ya.
Holy crap, the Motobecane Grand Record that donated the 600 crank on my Raleigh fixed conversion only cost my $40. Got all kinds of other good bits off that’un. Still be riding it, but for a cracked headtube.
Actually, it’s pretty sick the parts I’ve got from old bikes. I should probably go through my stash and take thye spare stuff down to the bike co-op. Good excuse to eat too much Brazilian barbeque, at least.
And then I can go down to the Baltimore Inner Harbor and do fixed gear tricks. I wonder if Officer Rivieri will be there.
hahaha..joetheelectrician..a fellow Baltimoron??
Hey , How many blue collar baltimore folks are on here? Living in Bolton hill myself. Anyone interested in a impromptu mtn bike ride at loch raven in the next couple of weeks?
I sold my wife’s Isuzu Trooper on Craigslist last night. In fact, I sold it three times in 5 days. Three lookers, three buyers. Two quickly fell through for financial reasons, the third was a police officer and he came with a sack of cash. Pretty good experience.
Big Jonny, nice article in Mountain Bike magazine. Your shop is as cluttered with little kid stuff as mine.
Guys, nope. Allegany County, born and raised. In Hancock the past 28 years though. Don’t really get deown to Baltimore much these days, but I can damn near reach out and touch the C%O from this desk. Holler if you’re ever passing through and I’ll pull a cork.
The Baltimore reference was about the Velocipede Project, your fine bike co-op. Once I get all my bikes lined up, I think I’ll take all the cool old parts I’ve got left and donate them. It ain’t like I’ll ever need to buy another bike.
@the kid..sure, cool. Loch Raven has basically been my backyard my whole life..I live in Parkville. Ridden the Seminary and Merrymans loops countless times, but prefer to ride Avalon when I can. I also do the Lutherville shop road ride on Monday evenings and the Trispeed ride on Saturday mornings when family time allows.
@joe..yeah, we are fortunate to Velocipede..awesome co op. I’ve donated a bunch of parts to them..great people.
This has me thinking of somebody who was bitchin about the bicycling community in Baltimore on here a few months ago.. I don’t get it. We have some great mountain biking in a half hrs drive from the city, great road riding in Northern Balt co. and the surrounding counties, several quality bike shops, and lots of good people/groups that ride. Whoever that was who was bitchin must not be trying to get involved in bicycling in and around Baltimore…there is a lot going on here!!
The good guys still exist on Craigslist. While crankset poor and waiting to finish my time trial bike, I traded a Chorus for a DA. Then, today, sold an old Super Record that was needed, and for $10 off the fair $50, gave me THREE old crank sets and a pile of chain rings. People keeping their sons’ bikes in Campy… bless ’em! Wish my dad could have been like that. My dad – he started an argument with me after I bought my second bike at 18, and almost lost both of us our jobs by accosting me at work, behind the salad/dessert station of a Hotel. Just thought I’d share that with you.
Today, alone with my toothbrush, *donated* tub, and citrus cleaner, I hope to continue to love what it is I do, even with hands hurting, all the time. Finishing the time trial bike may help; help lift me out of my alone-ness.
luky, if that someone is me then I gotta call a spade a spade. I can’t say my transplant here from the Midwest 5 years ago has been overly pleasant. Although, I don’t think I ever bashed the MD cycling community I can continually sound off on the complete lack of safety in this town, day or night.
Four robberies in 3 years living in the city, drug dealer next door and been put on my face, on the ground, with a pistol on my occipital lobe for less than twenty bucks. Sure, avalon, loch, patapsco, gambrills, northern Balt. Co. are all great places for two wheels… I’d just like to be somewhere the riding and the people were friendly.
hey kid..I honestly don’t remember who it was that wrote what I was talkin about. i thought it was more negative on the riding around here..not the safety of the city. Believe me, being born and bred here, I know the city is a warzone!..aside from the few unafforable “safe pockets” in the city. That’s one of the reasons I’ve always lived in Balt Co…safer living, but close to the city for the restaurants and night life.
If you’re interested in meeting some new people/riders, you’re welcome to ride with me and my friends. We’re all pretty friendly, just the usual competitive shit talkin among friends..haha. I’m usually on my bike 2-4 times a week at the places you mentioned above…mountain and road.
luky, sounds good. Just finishing up grad school in the next few weeks. Should have lots of ride time in the near future. Not sure how I’ll run into you without revealing my alt persona on here.ha. Maybe this weekend, if dry, I’ll be out at loch mid morning. Black nissan sentra, thule rack, silver 29er cdale, one ugle lycra kit or just look for the guy on the side of the trail drinking a boh’.
Mmmm, Natty Boh…
geez, it’s strange how the topic changes in the comments sometimes. Where the hell has this gone? Baltimore? Interesting.
Littlejar, I suspect the Charm City comment was prompted by my mention of intending to take some stuff down to their bike co-op.
Littlejar- I guess this could be considered “thread jacking” and offensive to some…sorry.
the kid- cool, and good on you for finishing up grad school..I’ll drink to that. This weekend I plan to do the morning Trispeed road ride on Sat, then a mountain bike ride at Loch Raven Sun afternoon. Yea, I don’t think I want to post up my digits on this here internets either..haha. Anyway, I’ll be looking for you on the trail. I drive a black Honda Fit with a hitch rack, and ride a red Salsa El Mariachi..I’m the one wearing some old, blown out jersey, with a bunch of old sun-drowned tattoos. the weather cleared up today..woohoo. I’m off to the Lutherville shop road ride.