Craigslist Pandemic Price Gouging

[Karate Chicken Industries]

I'm not sure if the whole country is this way, but the amount and ridiculousness of price gouging going on here in Colorado is getting almost comical. Some of the flippers seem to be the worst offenders, as I've seen some inexpensive listings disappear rapidly and then reappear as "tuned" for up to an 800% mark-up. Maybe that's for the better if one is operating within reason by being thorough and not gouging, AKA honest. What's it like in your neck of the woods?

 

[handyandy1100]

I'm seeing new, sometimes still with signage or in the box Huffy Cranbrooks (normally less than $100) priced over $200 on the FB Marketplace. They've all been there awhile now though. I used to see used mountain bike like bikes with old school side pull caliper brakes and thumb shifters in the $20 - $40 range. Now they are running at least twice that. And still just as rusty and crusty.

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[Chuy]

LOL, I’ve seen a listing that said “COVID pandemic prices”. It was for a “lightly used” Hyper cruiser listed for $275!
Also forgot to mention, the fork was put on backwards. [emoji2957]


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[Captain Awesome]

$200 Cranbrooks make my $100 ads look pretty desirable. I haven't had a bike last more than 2 days

I'm not looking to retire off it. Just to get people riding and have money to dump into other bikes

 

[handyandy1100]

Awesome.

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[amecks]

I sold 7 or so bikes since May and cleared over $900. All the bikes were priced well under the others on CL. Like Captain Awesome said "I'm not looking to retire off it. Just to get people riding and have money to dump into other bikes ". I had a lot of fun building and riding them. Almost all sold in a day.

 

[Duchess]

Very locally, it seems people are getting rid of cheap bikes cheap. Metro area, it looks like decent bikes have definitely gone up, but not quite that outrageously and there doesn't seem to be many flipped box store junkers. A guy near me actually has a mint Litespeed with all good components for a very reasonable price, but I really don't need another road bike. I always wanted to try titanium as everyone describes it as sublime and it sounds like its ride is exactly the kind of thing I like, but I really don't need another road bike. I don't. Nope.

The higher prices keep making me think that I should sell Cyclops as I'll never ride it (though a friend did use it a few weeks ago because her bike was defiled by rodents), but I feel too responsible as it only has a rear brake and it's a disc conversion with two aluminum spacers on the hub for the disc. It works well and would likely remain so, but I can't sell it to anyone who needs a real bike and isn't at least somewhat mechanical. If they're the latter, they probably already have a real bike and wouldn't be looking for some floppy step-through cruiser made out of the cheapest seamed straight-gauge pipe Columbia could source in 1961. Of course, if I got rid of this, well, then I'd have an open slot for another bike . . .

 

[Imaginos]

You gotta pay a premium for customization like innovative fork installation.

 

[Johnny Wolf]

LOL, I’ve seen a listing that said “COVID pandemic prices”. It was for a “lightly used” Hyper cruiser listed for $275!
Also forgot to mention, the fork was put on backwards. [emoji2957]


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Ive seen a ton of those backwards forks ads on Local Offer Up haha.

 

[Johnny Wolf]

I saw a $1,100 Schwinn seat on e-bay this am. Even $300 is too much.
***edit*** $1,300 Cant make this stuff up:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-SC...759201?hash=item3b45e5cf61:g:8YIAAOSwxHpeny71

 

[MattiThundrrr]

It's strange here, things are going in both directions. In Canada, bikes get stored for up to six months of the year, and many new riders seem to be coming to the realization that they don't want their new toy in the dining room, or that upgrade they bought with surplus has bumped the old ride out of its spot in the garage. On one hand, you have the gougers, selling Velo Sport MTBs with u brakes as "vintage collectable", and on the other, people unloading treks, giants, Jonas, etc as "hybrid/commuter or beginner MTB"
Also, recently, restrictions were relaxed regarding garage sales, so that market is pretty hot on Saturday morning

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Also forgot to mention, the fork was put on backwards. [emoji2957]

Those kinds of ads make me want to go see it and then admonish the seller in a most harsh manner.

On one hand, you have the gougers, selling Velo Sport MTBs with u brakes as "vintage collectable", and on the other, people unloading treks, giants, Jonas, etc as "hybrid/commuter or beginner MTB"

The "commuter" rebranding of old MTBs is rampant here and I don't see much listed that way that is under $150, which is somewhere close to original retail on most of them. Most of them were probably picked up at garage/yard sales for $20.

 

[us56456712]

I still can’t give away old nice bikes here. Elitist biking community here, wants new and expensive, especially boutique brands. I have a perfect 70s Peugeot with new gator skins listed on Market Place for $200. No enquirers since the first of the year. I’m keeping it there now out of stubbornness, just to see if I get an enquireiry. I have been riding it and decided I like it more than $200, so I’m keeping i.

 

[Duchess]

I wonder if that's what's happening near me. I found a few other steals on road bikes and I think it's because beginners and casuals don't want them and the road bikers are probably the biggest marks for marketing departments and are easily convinced that anything older than the latest generation is basically junk, particularly in this affluent area where high 4-figure bikes are all over the winding, wooded roads. Yet, decent, but certainly not high end bikes of a type that would be more appealing to the new riders and casuals have definitely gone up, even if it's not as bad here as some of the areas people are reporting from. There were some older 3-speeds for under $50—nothing great, but certainly acceptable for a beginner and better than any flipped walbike. One was advertised as collectible for $35. Like, why bother saying that at that price? Maybe he's been trying to get rid of it for a while. I wonder if the poorly-run, hanging control cables that must have been installed as part of the "professional bike shop maintenance" are a deterrent.

 

[RustySprockets]

In the DelMarVa area, $150 has become the rock-bottom price for most any adult bike that's both safe and rideable. Prices on anything more exotic than thrift store refugees have at least tripled since April...or are insanely higher. I've been sorely tempted to sell-off the bikes I don't ride very often and keep my fingers crossed that prices on projects go down in the future.

 

[Wildcat]

Anyone looking for a used bike should at least do a search to see what it should be going for. That should be standard procedure these days. On bike pages I see a lot of people asking what a certain bike is worth, then they reply later that was gone already.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

They who hesitate are lost. I've missed a couple while trying to ascertain the size. You gotta make contact, establish intent, and then do your research. Stuff is moving too fast to dilly dally