# Classic bikes for sale on SF Bay Area Craigslist



## Cobra Jet (Oct 16, 2015)

Is it just my area near San Francisco?
I notice I keep seeing the same overpriced vintage bikes on Craigslist for several months. The sellers just keep re-posting them and never drops the price. Some, I have seen for more than six months. I guess part of the reason is it doesn’t cost anything to list on CL so if the seller is in no hurry they have no reason to drop the price. They just keep waiting for someone to come along that is either uninformed or just has to have that particular bike.

Myself personally, when I decide to sell something I try to figure out a price and will likely list it a bit above what I think it’s worth. If I don’t get any offers in a week or two I will drop the price a bit and keep repeating until I hit the magic mark.


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## then8j (Oct 16, 2015)

Do you have pics or link so we know what your talking about?


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## island schwinn (Oct 16, 2015)

It's usually the guy in Palo Alto listing the same bikes for outrageous prices.


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## Cobra Jet (Oct 19, 2015)

then8j said:


> Do you have pics or link so we know what your talking about?




It was really just a general observation but here are a couple that I have seen for several months.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/5242643878.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/5250682295.html


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## Cobra Jet (Oct 21, 2015)

To me, you can put most of the classic bicycles that are for sale into three different categories, but the same is likely true of many other collectable items

First are the overpriced ones (around 95% of all listings I see). The seller may just be a dreamer, or simply may not be all that motivated to sell. These will keep hanging around on eBay or Craigslist and never seem to sell. I see no point in even contacting the seller on these because we will not be even close on the price.

Second are the ones that are close to a fair price (1% to 5% of all listings I see). These are ones that you can negotiate a decent price on. It may take a few weeks for the seller to come down to a fair price but these bikes will eventually sell because the seller is motivated.

Last are the deals of the century (likely less than 1% of the bikes for sale) These are the ones where the buyer might just get lucky and be in the right place at the right time. I’m guessing that more often, the buyer may end up putting in a bunch of time following up on leads and waiting for the seller to decide to sell. I feel that these almost never end up on eBay or Craigslist


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## Robertriley (Oct 21, 2015)

I'm not a Schwinn guy, bit I really didn't think the Schwinns were too far off.   I've over paid for a lot for stuff that I liked.  I'm in about $1100 to $1200 on a 1938 Elgin tank bike but it was exactly what I wanted.  Luckily, I have found a lot of good deals to balance it all out.  People will pay up for something they really like and some of those overpriced bike will sell.


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## island schwinn (Oct 21, 2015)

Cobra Jet said:


> It was really just a general observation but here are a couple that I have seen for several months.
> 
> http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/5242643878.html
> 
> http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/5250682295.html




The bike in the second ad you posted has been listed for over 3 years.Bud in Benicia is a real tool.


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## GTs58 (Oct 21, 2015)

Is the bike in the first link SJ's?


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