Anybody else notice a spike in bike prices as of late? Last year around this time there were all kinds of bikes on CL for <2k, like Katanas, Bandits, etc.. Now, people seem to think a 10 year old Katana 600 with over 10k miles is worth $4000...are they high? It's not just one bike/person, either.

Examples:
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/mcy/3738496327.html over 20k miles and you think it's worth 4000?
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/mcy/3652577636.html this one is just hilarious...
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/mcy/3736586455.html 4000 again...and it's missing the windshield
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/mcy/3719682958.html 4000 YET AGAIN...annnd it's rusty and been sitting forever...
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/mcy/3672413730.html almost 4k...but it's okay, it has "strobe"

Throwing this one in here just because of its seemingly serruptitous nature: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/mcy/3730157679.html

Anyway...are these people serious? I mean...what happened to all the $1500 Katanas? Figures when I want to buy something, the prices skyrocket. Good luck convincing someone that what they have listed for $3500 is only worth $1800, right?

Its called contagion - one fool advertises a rat a$$ bobber with 1/2 the junk not working and the other 1/2 looking like garbage and thinks that his rattle can flat black is a gift from god for 7500 and pretty soon the rest of the country follows ...
Like this fool - http://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/3737786143.html

The loser is the one that buy it ... usually they are easy to spot, they're the ones who're at the side of the road with a fugly broken bike.

Cool.
Srinath.

Yeah, that's the problem with Craigslist. You can never tell how much things are actually selling for. Keep in mind that also, we're getting close to actual riding season in many parts of the country (the ones in the snow belt), so people tend to think they can charge double. They get instant reinforcement of their pricing when they log into their local CL and find a similar bike listed for a similar price.

How many of these will sell anywhere close to their asking price? Unknown. And, because CL is just free classified ad space and all purchases take place offline, there are no records kept of actual selling price.

Plus, most people think they sh!t rose-scented gold and everything they own appreciates in value....

Plus, most people think they sh!t rose-scented gold and everything they own appreciates in value..

you mean it doesnt? 

Such a shame. I was wanting to buy something with my tax refund. Oh well.

dont despair Kij ... you gotta think around the issue....

all these inflated prices .... the owners may get lucky and some fool will hand over the full amount.... but .. more likely is a lot of people will all be thinking like you... 'hell no!! thats way too much' .... which .. over a few weeks may inject a little 'reality' into the owners brainpan ...

then theres you.... 'just happened to be in the area today with my $xyz in folding CASH!!' .... and make them a realistic offer... worst they can say is no... but .. the mental image of your Wad'o'Cash will eat at their thoughts.... 'dayam.. my bike is still sitting here!, i was sure i was gonna sell it for a gazillion bucks!.. hrrrmmm .. that guy the other day .. he had a nice fresh looking wad'o'cash ... maybe i should work something out with that guy!'

cant hurt to try ...

and a good line you could try .. 'wow!, $XXXX eh? ... so how many people have come around with THAT kinda fresh folding cash? .. i dont have that .. but i do have this $xyz' .. still its not that close to your asking price .. hope someone comes along with pockets THAT fat! .. see ya! ' 

Quote from: Janx101 on April 12, 2013, 09:38:08 PM
dont despair Kij ... you gotta think around the issue....

all these inflated prices .... the owners may get lucky and some fool will hand over the full amount.... but .. more likely is a lot of people will all be thinking like you... 'hell no!! thats way too much' .... which .. over a few weeks may inject a little 'reality' into the owners brainpan ...

then theres you.... 'just happened to be in the area today with my $xyz in folding CASH!!' .... and make them a realistic offer... worst they can say is no... but .. the mental image of your Wad'o'Cash will eat at their thoughts.... 'dayam.. my bike is still sitting here!, i was sure i was gonna sell it for a gazillion bucks!.. hrrrmmm .. that guy the other day .. he had a nice fresh looking wad'o'cash ... maybe i should work something out with that guy!'

cant hurt to try ...

and a good line you could try .. 'wow!, $XXXX eh? ... so how many people have come around with THAT kinda fresh folding cash? .. i dont have that .. but i do have this $xyz' .. still its not that close to your asking price .. hope someone comes along with pockets THAT fat! .. see ya! ' 

Man. You're crazy haha!

It'll work on novice sellers, sure. But that would never work on me LOL!

..... so if you were selling Kij ... and really knew that your price was ridiculously high! ... and no one was making offers anywhere near your 'gold plated' asking price...

.. and the weeks dragged on.... and on.... and on....

but you knew really that a realistic price was pretty close to what someone HAD offered ...

.... you'd just tip your nose in the air and refuse to sell 'because this bike really is different from all the others offered?' ... ??

... or might you put thy testicles back inside thy pants and try to make a sale??

$$$ talk to everyone sooner or later

I was searching for my first bike on CL, EBAY, and Stealerships, Cycletrader for like 6 months before I bought it.  It took determination and eventually I found the right one.  Many others I looked at and talked to the owner about were 'over priced'.  Most of them sold or were at least not for sale forever. In my case I had two choices - an 07 gs500f with 20000 miles, for $1,900 asking or an 05 with 4000 miles and $2,100 asking. The 07 was VERY rough, the 05 was a garage queen with only 200 miles in the past two years! 
I bought the low mile 05 for $1900!  Most people don't know that much about bikes and assume it's worth double. 
Oh yeah this was in February in Charlotte.

Quote from: Janx101 on April 12, 2013, 10:00:54 PM
..... so if you were selling Kij ... and really knew that your price was ridiculously high! ... and no one was making offers anywhere near your 'gold plated' asking price...

.. and the weeks dragged on.... and on.... and on....

but you knew really that a realistic price was pretty close to what someone HAD offered ...

.... you'd just tip your nose in the air and refuse to sell 'because this bike really is different from all the others offered?' ... ??

... or might you put thy testicles back inside thy pants and try to make a sale??

$$$ talk to everyone sooner or later

Nooooo!! I wouldn't ask exorbitant prices, duh!

I have bought and sold a dozen bikes so far. Mostly bought low, sold higher due to "fixing up"

cool Kij, but that negates the point.... if your price is realistic then they dont have to try haggle you down from 'you kiddin!!" in the first place! 

Quote from: Janx101 on April 14, 2013, 10:53:22 PM
cool Kij, but that negates the point.... if your price is realistic then they dont have to try haggle you down from 'you kiddin!!" in the first place! 

Right. Cause I AIN'T FOOKIN STUPID!!

Lol!

Quote from: Kijona on April 15, 2013, 01:33:52 AM

Quote from: Janx101 on April 14, 2013, 10:53:22 PM
cool Kij, but that negates the point.... if your price is realistic then they dont have to try haggle you down from 'you kiddin!!" in the first place! 

Right. Cause I AIN'T FOOKIN STUPID!!

Lol!

Bahahaha.. There ya go then.... You have your "golden line"  .... Approach a seller.... Kick the tyres etc... Ask them what lunatic price they want... Do the 'people's eyebrow' ... Then rip out a 'Do I look fookin stupid?!' .... See if they back down some 

Don't forget that all too often, people owe more on the bike than it's currently worth after depreciation & drops.

Not my problem that seller was stupid enough to pay full sticker/asking price, then compounded the stupidity by financing the full amount at 18% because his credit sucks...then dropped it/lowsided it within the first week of ownership.

Quote from: Janx101 on April 15, 2013, 03:17:49 AM
Bahahaha.. There ya go then.... You have your "golden line"  .... Approach a seller.... Kick the tyres etc... Ask them what lunatic price they want... Do the 'people's eyebrow' ... Then rip out a 'Do I look fookin stupid?!' .... See if they back down some 

I would never. 

Quote from: jdoorn14 on April 15, 2013, 08:22:13 AM
Don't forget that all too often, people owe more on the bike than it's currently worth after depreciation & drops.

Not my problem that seller was stupid enough to pay full sticker/asking price, then compounded the stupidity by financing the full amount at 18% because his credit sucks...then dropped it/lowsided it within the first week of ownership.

yeah true that!....

however the people that get themselves into that situ.... want a buyer to pay for their initial stupidity?!... my outlook is .. I'll pay a fair price for any product, if they want me to make them feel blameless by getting them totally out of their $ f..kup.... nah not likely!!

gives me an idea though.. 

i'm gonna buy a house brick.... any style.... cos house bricks are useful things.... they often get used whole... or as a half brick on corners etc ... so i'm gonna break my brand new brick in half .. resulting in two handy dandy half bricks which also happen to be pre-prepared for those tricksy building corners!! ... for my extensive labour of breaking the brick in half (and i might even rough up the edges a bit for that 'rustic' look) ..i shall add a 50% premium to each half .. plus maybe some 'tax' ... and sell to a 'newbie' builder that is a but unsure about such technical modifications.... ..... of course then i can probably add on a delivery fee.... 

ooooh oooh!! ... and angled breaks!!.... thats a 65% markup!! ... custom 'bobbed' pavers..... ooooh now we into the money!!


bahahahahahahahahahhaaaa