This post can scroll awhile and looks very long, but it's a quick read - follow the story. It will make you smile 'cause it's my goofy experience and lessons learned. You'll see things I wrote in emails back to buyers and [my thoughts] which will appear in brackets as shown.

Craigslist is a wonderful resource for buying someone else's things. It's equally as appealing when youre trying to sell something. You expose your items for sale to a mostly local audience, and you control the sale. Your contact information is hidden from potential buyers, you can decide when and how to deal with the folks interested in your goods. I've sold things before on Craigslist, maybe topping out at a $400-$500 sale price. I know not to put my location in the ad, or too much information about me personally that may leave me vulnerable to scammers. Armed with experience and this knowledge, I volunteered to sell my friend's triathlon bike for her while she was on vacation. Bolstered by the confidence of having just sold my son's BMX bike for $250, I was sure a few nicely taken pictures, a well worded ad and my enthusiasm in reply emails could get the job done. Inside my own mind, I really wanted to have it done quickly and hand her the money upon her return. How nice would that be?

I placed the ad with an asking price of $1650. I expected negotiations and low-ball offers, but my realistic goal was to get $1500 or better for the bike. I had spoken with the bike's owner and she was on board with that idea and $$ figure. Realistically it was worth more due to its impeccable care, condition, plus the additional components that were included. So online with the offer! The inquiries would come to my personal email - and I could reply to them or contact the buyers in any manner I chose. I'll now give some examples and commentary of some of the interest this item received. I'll omit any personal info regarding people involved, fair is fair. Have a look at what kookiness evolves from having an attractive item that is fairly priced for sale on Craigslist. The BOLD type is the interaction from the potential buyers via email.

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"What size again was it? And how tall are you?"

[You thought enough to reply to the ad because you saw some pictures. Did you read the title of my ad AND the first sentence?]

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"I am the owner of The XYZ Agency in Florida.  My firm specializes in digital production and digital marketing.  Would you be interested in a trade of my services for your bike?  I have done this twice in the past, trading a professionally designed and built business website plus one year of hosting, in exchange for road/race bikes."

[Gee, now I wonder if my friend really wanted money to buy an upgraded tri bike. She really was hoping for a website and a year of hosting instead...]

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"Hi. I am very interested on your bike. Any major scratches? Are the wheels true and straight ? Will you consider $1200 as offer? If yes please call me at xxx-xxxx."

My reply:

His reply to me... "thanks for the fast reply.i can probably do $1350 ...my budget is limited .thanks"

[I'm sure everyone wants to pay less. Not in this case, buddy.]

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Another volley of emails with a different person...

"Do you still have it?"

I replied Yes.

"I really appreciate your response to my previous mail, I'm buying the item for my daughter in New Hampshire and i will be the one responsible for the pick up and delivery stuff.kindly get back to me with your full name and address so that i can forward it to the pick up agent to calculate the pick up fees for me."

So I wrote back - Since I live in a gated community/guards, etc. it would be best to meet at a mutually agreed place to see the bike. I live in Palm Beach Gardens, so for shipping purposes figure the bike is at Northlake Blvd and I-95, that's a good centrally located place to meet.  I am out of town today but return tomorrow if you'd like to meet and see the bike. As of now you are the first person looking to see the bike upon my return, one other person saw it Friday but has not made the purchase so you're still in the running. Tell me what you'd like to do to proceed...

Me - It is a 52cm frame.

Her - "ok I am very interested. Let me make sure the size is right for me and i'll get back to you later today ;)"

Me - How tall are you?

Her - "5ft 5 inches"

Me  - That's the correct size. This Felt was my girlfriend's bike. She is 5'4".  I am 5'6" and ride a 52cm Specialized. 

From me - It has only been on sale since Friday, it will sell at $1650 if you're interested in doing that in the event this buyer flakes out.

"I don’t question the value of the bike and this is generally what I’m looking for. This said, the only reason I wouldn’t buy it outright at this price is the fact that my wife already has a set of training wheels and race wheels, and as such, I would end up pulling the Rolf’s off and selling on Craig’s List anyway! Good luck in selling. If the deal does fall through and you don’t sell, or are interested in selling bike sans wheels, I’m in."

[Remember this guy, he surfaces again in the story]

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Another inquiry - "Interested in purchasing felt bike you have for sale. Looking to upgrade from my road bike for ironman. Please let me know if bike is still available. Thank you."

I answered back - Yes, a few from south (Broward, Miami-Dade) have expressed interest but no buyers yet, they haven't come up to see it. It's a great deal, first come...

"Thank You for quick response. I'm located in Arkansas. Would You be willing to ship?"

I said - I'm open to that if you're willing to pay the charges. Last year we sent this same bike to a tri in NYC for approx $85.  I know how to disassemble and pack a bike properly. Tell me if this is of interest to you.

"Thank You for being willing to ship. It would be shipped to my bike shop in Jackson Mississippi. Do you know approximately how many miles are on the bike? Thank you"

I replied - No, it is my friend's bike. She has had battery replacement in her Cat Eye so total miles wouldn't be accurate. It is in better shape than even the pictures show, in person it is awesome. She kept in in her living room when not riding.

"Would it be possible to speak via phone? I'm very interested in purchasing bike. Id like to visit with you regarding payment, shipping, ect. My number is zzz-zzzz. Will be Leaving for 3 hour Bike soon. Please let me know your availability to speak. Thank you"

I called her and spoke at length about the bike. She was very interested having seen simialr for sale near her. She wanted to get this one with the upgraded wheels. I explained that the bike's owner was just texting me from the finish line of the Tour de France. I took a picture of me with the bike to let her at ease with the facts - The deal was real, I was not scamming her, I was ready to pack and ship the bike if she was willing to pay.

All was looking good. She wanted to be assured that she'd be the person getting the bike, and I have her that guarantee. We spoke about payment options, we agreed the Western Union money transfer would be best. She could do it online through a credit card and get frequent flyer miles, too. I could visit a Publix and collect the funds, allowing me to send the bike from work the same day. This was a good plan. I went with my son to a local bike shop and got a box from a bike they had just built. We came home, disassembled the bike and carefully packaged it so there'd be no chance of it scratching during shipment. Things were looking good. I brought it to work Monday morning boxed and ready to send. I sent her this picture...

I brought the bike to work and got it ready to go in the mailroom. All paperwork filled out, box measured and weighed...

Her reply upon seeing picture of bike and of bike boxed and ready to go...

"Thanks Dave I'm so excited!"

So was I. I'm happy at this point because I know the owner of the bike was returning Tuesday, surely I'd have this deal closed and done - an envelope with her money waiting to hand over. I explained to the buyer that at some point in this process, she would have to have a "leap of faith" to send the money understanding I'd be trusted to send the bike once I received the payment. There was no way to do this simultaneously, once I mailed the bike I couldn't reel it back in if there was a problem. She understood this. She asked questions about me and the bike's owner, who is an accomplished triathlete that has posted several impressive wins on the bike. I gave her links to this blog, my social media sites, etc. to reassure her that when she takes the leap of faith, I will deliver on the other side. I cannot disappear and hide from her, she'd have many ways to track me down as a result of my disclosures. This credibility offering worked well to make her comfortable with the deal.

I received an email that next day with a request to mail the bike to a different location - not the bike shop where she was on vacation, but home where she was heading mid week. Here is that correspondance...

"Dave, I apologize for the change in plans again. I should have just have had you send the bike to my office from the start. I was just trying to kill two or three birds with one stone and missed all three. Here is the shipping information 

(address deleted) 

I want to thank you for being so forthcoming with information such as your blog etc. and being so flexible in this process. You've gone out of your way to help me get this amazing bike! Let me know if you get an accurate quote on shipping. Thank you"

I had phone coversations that Monday and Tuesday with her. She was working out the details of how to send the money. By Wednesday we had agreed she would do the transfer at lunchtime, I'd go to Publix, get the Western Union money and retrun to the office and release the UPS shipment.   

I got a call from the buyer, she confirmed that she made the money transfer, I could go get the payment. I drove to Publix, gave them the transaction number, and nothing. The number was legitimate, but the payment was "on hold."  I called the buyer who said everything was done, the money had been taken from her account. I asked her to check on this. She reportedly called Western Union, who asked her what the money was for, if she knew the intended recipient, etc. She claims to have answered the questions honestly, it was for a bike bought over the Internet from a person she did not know. She said at hearing this, Western Union would not make the payment, they refunded her money. I was very surprised, I was right at the Courtesy Desk hands inches from the payment and rebuffed at the cash register. If this was a scam, she had taken it as far as she could, waiting for my insistence that I be paid before I release the bike. If it wasn't ill-willed, the process took the life out of her. She left me a voice message apologizing for the huge inconvenience of having me prepare everything, but this apparently wasn't meant to be. I called her back, suggesting she mail me a bank cashier's check, I said the same through email. I received no reply to either form of communication.

[Still not sure if this was real or if I just held out long enough to outlast a scam]

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All while this was unfolding, this...

"Hello.

If you have not sold this bike yet, I could offer 1,400. Please let me know if this is something you would consider."

Thanks

I replied ...The bike is currently promised to a lady in MS that has said she'll pay full price. If you're local and want to buy it first, cash is cash... Let me know if you're interested. It is a great deal already - it's only been up for 5 days and is receiving plenty of action, first one in gets it.

"Still available???"

Me - Yes, so far good interest because it's aggressively priced and impeccably kept, first buyer wins! 

"Would like to take a look—first concern obviously is sizing. Tonight would be difficult. How does your day look tomorrow?"

 I am located in Palm Beach Gardens, figure Exit 77 Northlake Blvd. The price is firm, if you are serious I can meet you as early as tonight after work.

Never heard another word from that guy.

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"Hello, viewed your listing and hope it is still up for sale,.Thanks"

My "still after all these hurdles" positive reply - Good interest so far, but first buyer wins!

"Thanks for the email, do let me know how much you are willing to sell to me  and you need to assure that it is in perfect condition and i would love to see more pictures if you have. I will be paying with my paypal account which is the safest online payment mode. So please do reply me asap with your paypal account or send me a payment request from your paypal account so i can effect payment to you rightaway. You can easily open an account with paypal if you don't have one at www.paypal.com. its safe, simple and reliable also do get back to me so we can arrange for pick up as i will like it to be picked by my pick up agent, so no shipping included. I await your reply. Hope to hear from you soon."

Another "agent" deal, huh?  I said - I'm better prepared to accept cash in person, I have to transfer the money to my girlfriend once sold. It is her bike. The price is firm, if you know what you're looking at, this is clearly over $3400 worth of bike extremely well taken care of.  It will sell for $1650 cash. You will decide if you're the buyer.

"i can only do paypal"

I'm sorry. This will not work for this purchase.

[Scam extinguished.]

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"Good afternoon, I am genuinely interested in seeing and possibly purchasing this bike. I would not need the Profile aluminum rear dual water bottle mount or the LOOK clips as I have my own. Would you consider a cash offer of $1,400.00 for the bike excluding the items mentioned before.

You can reach me at yyy-yyyy"

My reply -

The bike is my girlfriend's ride, she is selling it to purchase a new one. The description (if you're a keen cyclist) outlines a bike worth well over $3000 and this one is extremely well taken care of. She is in Europe and I'm the one showing it to people. I believe she will sell for $1550.  It is in wonderful condition and ready to go!  Please let me know if this is good for you!

Spoke with her on Skype last nite...  She is good with $1550. Let me know if you'd like to see it this weekend. We have a big triathlon (Loggerhead) Saturday, then I travel next week. Thanks 

"Thank you for the response. Yes, I have done quite a bit of research (a little too much) on this brand as well as others and as such I have a good notion of what I am willing to pay for a used bike. Let me know if $1,400 becomes attractive. Good luck at the Loggerhead. I did the Huntington Olympic distance last Sunday, man it was hot."

I did not bite at the lower offer.

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"Hello, would you be willing to sell for 1K?"

No. Worth over $3k sorry.

"Good luck"

[That was sarcasm. He really wants me to rot in hell for not capitulating and handing him the bike]

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