LoL @ Craigslist offers

[Saved]

I had an '01 Elite on Craigslist for around $900. I put in the ad "No free rides," as countless kids want to buy these but never have the money. Last thing I need is some 18 year old newbie crashing into a wall, right?

I get two e-mails from a feller named John, roughly 3 minutes apart.

#1 "no free rides how much do you charge for a test drive?"
#2 "will you take 400 i can buy a chinese scooter brand new for 600"

He answered his question with the second e-mail. Obviously he doesn't have the money. I listed the scoot a little high because I knew someone would knock off $150 or so, but $500? LOL.

Anyone else getting these stupid offers?

I half expect people like this to "test drive" all the way back to their garage.

[Clivester]

Craigslist seems to be full of flakes, email-harvesting fake ads, and the like. You get what you pay for - right?

[novs86]

People dont relize the quality difference between a cheap chinese scoot and a Honda.

They sometimes have to find out the hard way.

[Saved]

You can't even find cheap chinese scoots w/ 3k miles around here for $400... that's what cracks me up.

[novs86]

They sell them on e-bay for $600+ depending on the time of year.

They just drop ship them to your door and you put the front wheel on and hope that it has no issues.

[Saved]

Yeah, I've seen them online for around that price. I told him to buy a Chinese scooter. I highly doubt he even had the $600, otherwise he would have bought one.

[noiseguy]

I quit responding to emails, other then to tell them to call me. As for the lowball offers, I got tons of those; they're always lukewarm and rarely serious.

I don't barter over the phone either, though there's less of that.

If buyer is serious, they need to show up and make an offer in person. Most people don't have the sack to make a 1/2 asking price offer in person, even if the seller's completely out of line on the price.

[Saved]

If buyer is serious, they need to show up and make an offer in person. Most people don't have the sack to make a 1/2 asking price offer in person, even if the seller's completely out of line on the price.

Yeah, that's true. Although I've seen my fair share of people expecting hand outs and freebies, hoping you'll come down in price by, oh, 90%.

[bradmeehan]

There's a guy here in KC with a nice 84 with ~450 miles listed for $475. He said he has been getting offers from between 200-350. Not very encouraging seeing I'm going to be selling off two of mine this summer.

[Saved]

Yeah, but half of those offers are from people that'll flip it as soon as they get it. Luckily the resellers have backed off a little here.

[noiseguy]

There's a guy here in KC with a nice 84 with ~450 miles listed for $475. He said he has been getting offers from between 200-350. Not very encouraging seeing I'm going to be selling off two of mine this summer.

Well, two things on that:

He's in KC, and trying to sell in winter. He needs to wait until late Spring or when school's getting out. Parent's get tired of driving kids around and will buy them then. Bikes don't sell when it's cold.
He's always going to get some low offers, esp. if you bother to read email. Learn to ignore them.

Another thing I've noted is that people aren't willing to pay for low mileage. I always got the same price for Spree, $400, regardless of mileage, or even condition (all bikes were complete and running). No one was willing to pay more for lower mileage bikes or bikes in better condition.

[CaptDan]

people that'll flip it

Yep. To which I say: 'flip' them first.

'Creg'sLust(tm) is a good news/bad news deal. The good news is that - sometimes - buyers and sellers win. The bad news is - a lot of the time somebody loses.

Problem as I see it: because listing in C.L is free, spudz believe they're entitled to something free as well. It's up to us - the evolved beings on the planet - to set the record straight.

As always - (Y)our (O)dometer (M)ight (V)ary.

CaptDan>

[Lunytune]

Brad, as I remember, you've got Sprees. No, you won't get as much as an Elite SR.

#1 "no free rides how much do you charge for a test drive?"
#2 "will you take 400 i can buy a chinese scooter brand new for 600"

I've grown more and more weary of email just like Noiseguy. I believe I would tell that guy the bike is on longer for sale or that you've had second thoughts and want a thousand. He won't bother you any more.