Why I hate the Classified's here...

[ducati2]

I think people here want the Paceline bro discount. Recently I asked for opinions on price for a mint Peg Duende, Mille Shamal wheels, full Record, high end 3T bits. I was asking $4000 and got the feeling that folks thought I was crazy and that $2000 would be a fair price. I had people email me crazy low ball offers. Well, I listed it on CL and sold it local for $3750...no shipping, face to face cash sale with no fees, no trauma. Unlikely to list stuff here in the future. Will stick to ogling Clean39T’s and Ryan’s bikes.

[zzy]

Cash talks, BS walks. No dibs - first to get that $ in the PP account gets it. I often wait a bit so I can give preference to buyers who use the forum for knowledge rather than profit. So far that has been good, but..

I've had some frustrations responding to WTBs lately. Often I've removed parts for buyers to photograph them correctly, or once even disassembled a whole bike to a frameset in the parking lot of my storage unit for a member who grew cold feet. But not before I packed the bike for int'l shipment to get the most competitive price possible. I also wish WTBs required a price range offer. Too many people with extremely specific requirements who also want to pay sub ebay prices.

I'm was getting ready to do my first big FS post in years but these posts are making me nervous.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

This happens pretty often. I'm starting to think that when I see a WTB and I have the item I should just post a For Sale so everyone can see the info at once. That takes no more time than answering all the questions/proposals of the guy who posted the WTB and that person can respond just as easily as if I had only responded to him. No down side, right?

Pretty sure I dropped the ball on closing the loop on our email convo about some silver Campy stuff, and apologize for that. Too many irons in the fire and I should have circled back with all the folks I was talking to on it.

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

If one of those was me, I apologize. I think there were a few folks who offered me older Campy silver stuff and I had so many PMs come in I got lost. Still, I should have done a better job of managing my inbox.

dan, wasn't you.

here's the thing about WTB...I can see why it makes sense. hey, I just bought a frame. need a group. I'll WTB 11sp group. see what happens.

maybe I have a group I wasn't thinking about selling or hadn't motivated to sell..now you gave me incentive. but, also, now I am in some kind of bidding race to the bottom. no thanks. I would rather just list it now on my own like Ken mentioned.

all of this is just courtesy. you want it? send funds. or make an agreement. how hard is that? and, as a seller, pack it right and ship in a timely way and communicate the tracking etc.

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by ducati2

I think people here want the Paceline bro discount. Recently I asked for opinions on price for a mint Peg Duende, Mille Shamal wheels, full Record, high end 3T bits. I was asking $4000 and got the feeling that folks thought I was crazy and that $2000 would be a fair price. I had people email me crazy low ball offers. Well, I listed it on CL and sold it local for $3750...no shipping, face to face cash sale with no fees, no trauma. Unlikely to list stuff here in the future. Will stick to ogling Clean39T’s and Ryan’s bikes.

Oh thats better than i thought you would get as complete. Good for you! Ill ad the data to my ongoing value bank and try to do even better next time .)
(tho i think i had it at the highest of the responders in that thread which obviously was still a bit low).

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by ducati2

I think people here want the Paceline bro discount. Recently I asked for opinions on price for a mint Peg Duende, Mille Shamal wheels, full Record, high end 3T bits. I was asking $4000 and got the feeling that folks thought I was crazy and that $2000 would be a fair price. I had people email me crazy low ball offers. Well, I listed it on CL and sold it local for $3750...no shipping, face to face cash sale with no fees, no trauma. Unlikely to list stuff here in the future. Will stick to ogling Clean39T’s and Ryan’s bikes.

I was one of the ones who thought $4K was a fair price. Glad you got what it was worth!

There are a lot of good people here and on Craigslist and on Facebook classifieds. It's pretty easy to separate the good from the bad. One just has to be willing to not step over a few cowpies to go pick the flowers.

99% of my dealings here have been positive; and most so overwhelmingly positive that it makes up for the small annoyances that creep up from time to time.

That said, I will give a big thumbs-up to what Angry said and put it in my own words:

Write a detailed listing and give it a title that states the product and the price.

If it's obo, say obo; if it's firm, say firm. If you're looking for trades, say so. And respond to inquiries accordingly.

If there's anything you would want to be aware of as a buyer (scratches, dents, etc.), use the Golden Rule, and take a pic for full disclosure as the seller.

Pack your products such that you'd be happy to receive them (more Golden Rule stuff).

And finally...

If we all give cold shoulders to bad buyers/sellers (and out them in the feedback), those folks will go away over time.

[d_douglas]

I know that my location in Canada influences some of the offers I get from people, but that is my problem.

I have sold some smaller items lately where it was questionable as to whether it was worth it to sell at all once shipping was factored. My bottom line is simply, " yes, I think this stem is worth $40 and for less, I would rather hold onto it and possibly use it on a future build ".

There is a bottom line for value that I adhere to. Where there are things that I believe I will never use, I give them away for the cost of shipping. I feel that it all works out.

I still have fun looking on the classifieds here, waiting for that 58cm Crumpton to show up!!

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

dan, wasn't you.

here's the thing about WTB...I can see why it makes sense. hey, I just bought a frame. need a group. I'll WTB 11sp group. see what happens.

maybe I have a group I wasn't thinking about selling or hadn't motivated to sell..now you gave me incentive. but, also, now I am in some kind of bidding race to the bottom. no thanks. I would rather just list it now on my own like Ken mentioned.

all of this is just courtesy. you want it? send funds. or make an agreement. how hard is that? and, as a seller, pack it right and ship in a timely way and communicate the tracking etc.

Thanks - my memory isn't the best..

On the flip side, if I saw you post a WTB for a Campy 11 group, I'd probably be willing to let one go to you at a bit below market-price -- but I have no interest in posting that group because I don't need to sell it right now and may use it myself in the not-too-distant future.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by ducati2

I think people here want the Paceline bro discount. Recently I asked for opinions on price for a mint Peg Duende, Mille Shamal wheels, full Record, high end 3T bits. I was asking $4000 and got the feeling that folks thought I was crazy and that $2000 would be a fair price. I had people email me crazy low ball offers. Well, I listed it on CL and sold it local for $3750...no shipping, face to face cash sale with no fees, no trauma. Unlikely to list stuff here in the future. Will stick to ogling Clean39T’s and Ryan’s bikes.

Well, I'm sure that's part of it. You have to be competitive with the whole world now days. I've been sorting out how to build up a nice old Dutch steel bike. Wanted to go with a decent Campagnolo groupset and saw several come up at this site over a couple of weeks time. But condition and price just wasn't competitive with what I've paid recently at other bike forums so I couldn't justify it in my mind. Instead I'm going with a mint Shimano 600 Tricolor I had on hand. As a lover of vintage steel and an owner of over 25 bikes that all get ridden I have to seek out the best prices. I'm sure lots of folks do the same.

That said, totally uncool to say you want something and not follow through. Once I say I want it I'm ready to shoot payment right then. It is a matter of respect that is owed to the seller in my book.

Oh, but in no way am I saying that there aren't deals to be had here. I see quite a few on here everyday. There's just a savvy crowd now that knows of many sources for like items which makes it harder to sell stuff.

[11.4]

I've been on here since 2003 and on eBay since 1999, plus various other forums and selling sites, and I just think the world is changing a bit. If you think PL has gotten rough, try eBay.

What PL is, that nothing else is, is a forum dedicated to (mostly) high end cycling equipment in good condition from people who know what they are selling. That makes us a very small community and like any community, it has its good and its bad members and everyone in between.

I've had iffy experiences with people with 15 posts and iffy experiences with people with 4,000. I didn't have those at one time. I'd always be willing to ship before receiving payment, or ship on approval, or whatever. I think that the whole online retail shopping marketplace, with the discounting and easy return policies, has tainted all selling venues. And eBay has taught people how to dump on a seller to get a better deal or to handle a case of buyer's remorse, so there's simply not much handshake in a deal any longer. It isn't Paceline. It's everywhere.

I do have to say that feedback doesn't amount to much on this website. Am I going to read 920 pages of feedback posts? And it really only addresses closed transactions, which by and large seem to go pretty well. It's the frustration from the people we don't cinch a deal with that we seem to be talking about mostly. There may be no way to address that.

One bitch I have is with people who want to throw posts on a classified, either editorializing about a price or about the item itself. It's not your business if you're not going selling it or buying it. In a few instances of mine, threads got completely sidetracked by editorials on irrelevant matters, and while the mods were quick to delete the posts, it still killed the listing. I stopped listing some of my items after those occurrences.

Still ... this is a classified forum like no other. And it's small enough that I know who I'm messaging with and know their peculiarities, good or bad. I'd say that as well about VS and I don't think that PL is worse than VS. We're lucky to have this place and have a herd of mods who think like members and keep the place civilized.

[Clean39T]

Should also add that I've taken a small deposit and held stuff for a month until the person was ready to pay. I did that because (1) they were very nice in how/why they asked, and (2) I wouldn't have been put out if they didn't come through.

He11, there are some folks here that I'd send a frame too and let them pay on monthly installments

[skiezo]

I know for me I have bought quite a few items here on the classified recently. Probably over 3K in the last couple months.
If I say I want it that is my word. Alot of time I need to transfer $$ from one bank to another as my slush fund gets low. I do this in person instead of via online so it my take a day to do that but my word is my word and I follow through.
Prices here are below ebay prices and when I do a purge soon this will be my first stop.

[Cloozoe]

Never had any trouble myself, but I regret that I had overlooked the existence of the feedback thread; I hope nobody that bought anything from me or from whom I have bought something was offended. I'll try to reconstruct my transactions and post feedback.

As an aside, it's no skin off my nose, but sellers of frames/bikes must roll their eyes at the umpteen public responses to every ad that read, "Darn! What a steal!! If it were only my size it would have been gone instantaneously at 20% over the asking price as I wouldn't have been able to live with myself for buying it so cheaply!!!"

This of course is the response to every size ever built; if you've got a great 54cm something or other, apparently the entire universe is looking for that exact something or other in a 58. If you've got a 58, it would sell in seconds if it were only a 54.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by 11.4

I do have to say that feedback doesn't amount to much on this website. Am I going to read 920 pages of feedback posts?

no, but if you're considering selling your $3k bike to someone, it would be prudent to hit he "search this thread" button and type their user name and see what pops up.

here you go, i did it for you. there are 14 posts that mention your user name. it took me under a minute to read them all and decide if i want to do business with you based on them.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/searc...archid=3642346

[earlfoss]

Originally Posted by ducati2

I think people here want the Paceline bro discount. Recently I asked for opinions on price for a mint Peg Duende, Mille Shamal wheels, full Record, high end 3T bits. I was asking $4000 and got the feeling that folks thought I was crazy and that $2000 would be a fair price. I had people email me crazy low ball offers. Well, I listed it on CL and sold it local for $3750...no shipping, face to face cash sale with no fees, no trauma. Unlikely to list stuff here in the future. Will stick to ogling Clean39T’s and Ryan’s bikes.

This, this all day long.