way too many flakes and cancellations on my Craigslist sales. humans suck.

[Durham27707]

Ahem, it's spelled 'app'

 

[Thee]

Ahem, it's spelled 'app'

How can you misspell an abbreviation ? Technically isn’t it spelled application ? 😆😂🤣

 

[Thee]

Ahem, it's spelled 'app'

Our newest vehicle is a 2017 I don’t usually drive it , I couldn’t figure out how to work the wipers properly in the rain a few days ago hahahaha lol 🥴 🫤 🙄

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

maybe things are looking up. listed some car dollies Sunday afternoon, got a PHONE CALL an hour later and they were gone by 8:00 PM.

no aps needed.

 

[Barfbucket]

maybe I am the "odd man out" here, but when I see a bike or other junk for sale I call if they accept phone calls, arrange a time and get there within a reasonable timeframe to buy or at least look at the item in question. 9 times out of 10 I am ready to leave when I call. only unexpected traffic will make me late. I'm single and have no kids I got to keep so my time is 100% my own other than work.

I have NEVER arranged to meet a seller and call them at the time I am supposed to arrive and say I am not coming. I tell them where I am coming from and check the google to see how long it will take to get there. it has become so bad that I think maybe someone is messing with me using multiple phone numbers. I brought 2 bikes and a frame to my work to accommodate a potential buyer a few weeks back and he cancelled on me never to be heard from again.

on a positive note I have never had a no show. they always TEXT, cancel and either never text back or text a week later.. had texts from 3 individuals for items for sale this morning and last night, not a one has arranged to meet me.

this is getting old, suddenly shipping a bike or parts (or assorted cool stuff) no longer seems like a pain in the butt.

my other selling rant here is texts. I am ready to only put my land line in the ads and have people call me and leave a message. which means I will have calls with no message left for a call back. not seeing how 15 texts over 45 minutes is better than a 5 minute phone call.

I have been a buyer/seller for a good 35 years , it did not used to be this way

maybe it's a Bay Area thing. how are local sales going for you guys?

It’s too iffy now. At 77 years old I can be bothered with selling BS. If I have excess bikes I give them away. Dandies for sure, Colson klunker, 1930s Schwinn excelsior klunker. I’ve probably given away 50 nice bikes like Snyder, Hiawatha, Matya, Fuji, several 1950s Raleigh, too many to remember. Most end out put in the scrap trailer for the annual volunteer fire department scrap drive. I can’t even give away some nice rideable bicycles. I cant be bothered with distance marketplace type buying and selling.

 

[ogre]

In the late 2000s-mid 2010s when I lived in a major midwestern metropolitan area, I made many successful trades on the local Craigslist. Of course, there were a few looky-loos, tire-kickers, lowballers, dreamers, scammers and no-shows, but they were mostly simple to filter. Now I reside in a rural area, where deals are done on the evil entity F&cebook, so I don't bother. Our local Craigslist is a ghost town.

 

[SirMike1983]

Craigslist: I met some nice people interested in old bikes, but it was 50/50 between people who would show and flakes who just were no-shows. For every person who would show and actually take the time to look at and maybe buy a bike, there was one other person who would talk a good game, then never show up.

Facebook: Lots and lots of messages about trading for other bikes, usually a damaged big box bike. For whatever reason, Facebook draws quite a few people who have this low-ball/trade hybrid method of trying to deal with you. You make it clear you are selling for a fixed price, then they either offer you 10% of your price, or they say they have a nice Wal-Mart mountain bike that just needs a little work for trade. Some of them have sketchy, clearly fake user names and profiles. Give me a break. Then there are the talkers who never show, or who use the generic "Is it available?" but nothing after that.

eBay: The buyers here are a little more serious usually, but there are scammers on eBay too. Getting expensive to sell on eBay, and their red tape is making it harder.

Honestly, the CABE and BikeForums have been the best for me. It's a self-selecting group for the most part. I will say I've had flakes and BS artists on this site, but it's not nearly as bad as elsewhere.

 

[Barfbucket]

In the late 2000s-mid 2010s when I lived in a major midwestern metropolitan area, I made many successful trades on the local Craigslist. Of course, there were a few looky-loos, tire-kickers, lowballers, dreamers, scammers and no-shows, but they were mostly simple to filter. Now I reside in a rural area, where deals are done on the evil entity F&cebook, so I don't bother. Our local Craigslist is a ghost town.

Me too, very rural, big distances to look, like hours away.

 

[ogre]

Here's some of my Craigslist "greatest hits"! They always attracted an interesting crowd.

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

I think they key to success on Craigslist is to come here and complain about it. just sold my Cruiser 5 last night with 2 people interested. I had it listed since June or so, starting at $450.00 and received no calls. I took $300.00 which is actually a fair price assuming nobody is buying the overpriced Bay Area Schwinns that are currently listed.

the guy brought his other one with him with aluminum rims and Phil wood hubs front and rear, along with some sort of BMX rim brakes. he was 73 and looked like an old roadie, very fit. he had Klunker 5 and a fenderless 49 Hawthorne "Klunker" as well.