SurferRosa

SR rd without the ti bolts for $400, anyone?

"Price is firm!"


https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/b...120285353.html
.

madpogue 

Email him and ask him if it comes with a bicycle attached....

SurferRosa

"I know you wrote, "price is firm," but would you accept $350, given those aren't even the titanium bolts?"

thumpism 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...30199745050078

Piff 

I ought to ask if he still has the bike, it's only polite.
Crazy
​​​​

Unca_Sam

I wonder what color the words would be should you ask if it's still available and offer to help figure out what size it is.

cheffyjay

The backward fork is only part of the pain I feel:


That seat is so much better.
front fender should help a lot like that
bonus: Full Size

madpogue 

Or offer to buy him a keyboard with working punctuation keys.

Or remind him that it's not a 1983 newspaper classified, and he's not being charged by the word.

deux jambes

The pic, and the mention of how he’ll deal with typical CL hagglers...
You can tell he’s had ENOUGH!


Link: Vintage Schwinn 5 Speeds

Lemond1985

From the looks of it, The Jerky Boys must be calling these bike buyers, pretending to be interested in the ad and pulling their chains instead. That would explain why these sellers are all so edgy about being asked if the item is still for sale.

SurferRosa

A better idea is to show good photographs of his bikes. If they're really ugly, show only the non drive side and place a cute dog in front.

deux jambes

I’ve yet to fall for the cute dog trick. But my cat was a misplaced rehoming ad. No kidding. She was listed in “Bike Parts.”

Moe Zhoost

If they really want to sell. why would somebody auto-delete a response from a potential buyer? Some sellers never seem to take ads down, so I think it should be expected that a potential buyer would ask this question. I have noticed sellers who stated concisely that, if you can see the ad, the item is still available. Whenever I respond to an ad, I usually say something like, "If this item is still available I'd like to take a look at it. I do have some questions first, though ..."

Lemond1985

There are simply a lot of unmotivated or semi-motivated sellers out there. It's a pain to deal with as a buyer, like when I had a seller that refused to provide decent pics even via email. Went over and looked at the frames and got the deal of a lifetime. So it can cut both ways and help you out sometimes if a seller is hard to get in touch with or difficult to deal with, that can filter out a lot of your competition if it really is a super good deal.

J.Higgins 

I won't even touch a buyer like this. I wouldn't give him a call if he had my grail bike at a discount. There has been two times I've inquired about bikes with people like this, and both times I've been treated rudely. After a rather benign exchange of pleasantries, I asked the guy if he was flexible on the price. He went ballistic. It was if I insulted his mother or something. He called me names, and threatened to find me and make me sorry. I was surprised and somewhat dazed by his ferocious verbosity. I hung up and shook my head. This leads me to my Rule of Craigslist #5 : If you have to work too hard for it, it probably isnt worth it.

J.Higgins 

This is true. Its true and completely displaces my Rule #5 .

Lemond1985

Nah, I think in general you're right. There are a lot of lazy cheapskates out there who will make you work really hard, just for a so-so deal. But to every rule, there is an exception.

SurferRosa

Stay away from the phone unless you're ready to actually meet. Even then, text, don't phone.

Headpost

The "lockdown" here in NYC has left a lot of people with too much time on their hands.

Lemond1985

In fairness to the seller here, it's considered bad form to haggle on price when you're not face-to-face with the bike sitting in front of you. FWIW.

SurferRosa

Assume you meant to respond to the buyer, not me. And in fairness to him, he didn't say he tried to haggle. He said he only asked if the price is firm, which is a normal thing to ask before meeting. However, he should have done it through email.

Lemond1985

As a buyer, I won't agree to meet without a firm price. I don't know why a seller would, unless they were desperate and willing to entertain $20 lowball offers.

SurferRosa

I don't know what any of that means.

I list the bike for sale at a certain price. I may be firm ... or my price may be inflated a bit to allow some leeway. Someone writes, "hey, I love the bike, let's meet." We do. In person, he asks, "will you accept $20 less?" I say yes or no.

curbtender

Lately I've been getting a lot of "text me" at some gmail address. I just figured they were phishing..or is this some new way to communicate that I don't know about?

Last ride 76 

No, just phishing...