Clearly there is a misunderstanding between you and Katrina, and I don’t want to get into the middle of that. I wanted to comment because my husband and I are trying to sell a motorcycle on craigslist, and we are having a difficult time.

The first time we posted it we only got 3 responses and 1 of the potential buyers seemed suspicious. We tried posting it again, lowing the price slightly and didn’t get any responses. After researching other alternatives, such as ebay and selling the bike on consignment with a dealer (this is 2009 Harley with only 4,900 miles), we decided to repost the ad again on craigslist a month after our last post. We added more pictures, and again we are not getting any responses.

Part of the problem is my husband and I can’t agree on how to price it. I thought along the lines of Katrina, and thought OBO was an invitation to lowball, and I sort of assumed buyers would try to haggle anyway without the invitation. I also thought I should list the price as slightly higher than what I had hoped to get. This was the way I was taught to sell vehicles.

My husband thought we should list a low price and include OBO and I was flabbergasted. I thought he was just trying to get rid of the bike even if it meant a big loss for us. It never occurred to me that craigslist worked like ebay.

But at this point, after reading your experience Matt, I might try the OBO technique and take offers first. We took it to the Harley dealer, and we were offered $5800. Since Kelley Blue Book says it is valued between $6700 and $8200, I thought it would be foolish to just take that offer. My point is, if I was willing to get rid of it for $5800, perhaps I have nothing to lose by listing it as $6500 OBO. But then I see Katrina’s and Budgeting in the Fun Stuff’s comments which sort of validate my original concerns.

The problem is, if I undersell this bike, we aren’t talking about a loss of a couple hundred dollars, but rather a couple THOUSAND dollars. I also don’t want to offend buyers. What I feel would be helpful is an example of what to say to callers while you are fielding offers. I don’t expect a savvy buyer to make an offer on such a big purchase over the phone. I prefer to assume I will be working with savvy buyers so that as a seller I don’t insult the buyer’s intelligence. Would you still suggest these techniques for a higher priced motorcycle?

Best,

Len
Len Penzo dot Com

Hey, lesson learned!

I didn’t actually think that was directed at you…she was just frustrated with what happened to her. Then I saw your reply and thought “uh-oh, I see gender miscommunication”…

Of course, I also think that OBO means “willing to go lower”, so maybe I’m projecting good thoughts instead of interpreting bad ones.

Hope this helps.

I’m totally not criticizing how you sold your bike (sorry you missed out on an extra $250, but you did the honorable thing- which is cool), but that’s how OBO is interpreted here.

To the Craigslist part, I love Craigslist and have sold both our old vehicles there for way more than a dealership offered. I had a 1997 Mazda Protoge that was awful – stalled, leaked oil, had no a/c in Houston, TX, no power anything, etc. It was a reposssed vehicle my parents bought me for $1400 as a surprise my freshman year – I used it for 3 years and then had to get rid of it or go crazy. CarMax offered me $200, but someone bought it off Craigslist for parts for $1400 in less than two weeks.

My husband was offered $2000 by the dealership for his 2003 Hyundai Sonata, but we sold it on Craigslist in less than 2 days for $4800 (Kelley Blue Book’s value).

I’ve Craigslisted over 15 items in the last 3 years with hardly any problems (spammers suck). I also love Freecycle for things I’m just trying to give away.

Also, sure… they may flip it, but they also know how to fix motorcycles and have the time to do so… I don’t. I’m sure someone will make at least a small profit on the bike, which is cool with me.