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I Sold My Motorcycle on Craigslist – Tips on Selling

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She was a good bike in her day, but she had to go.

Four years ago I purchased a 1983 Honda V45 Magna motorcycle for $1,800.  As a youngster I grew up riding around on my dad’s 1984 V65 Magna and had wanted my own for years.  After being wanton so long I was totally stoked to be buying this bike.  Looking back now it pains me to say this, but it was pretty much a big, fat, hairy disappointment – almost straight outta the gate.

The day I took ‘er home everything was kosher but shortly thereafter she started leaking oil, then developed a stripped 5th gear, then came down with wiring problems and rotted fuel lines, until finally… she blew a clutch while I was taking my wife for a drive – which was the last straw for both of us.  I really wanted to keep the bike, but she just never treated me well.

An attempted sale

In late autumn of 2009 I finally decide to post an ad on Craigslist for $600.  I know right… what better time to sell a motorcycle than right before winter in Michigan?  Don’t ask me what I was thinking… to be honest, I just wanted to get the bike out of my garage to make room for a new workbench.

I didn’t receive one phone call on the ad.

Lesson learned:  never try to sell a motorcycle before winter… you’ll be lucky to give it away.

The 2 hour start to finish sale

I didn’t get my workbench before winter.  Sure, I could have taken the bike to the junkyard for $50, but the Jabs in me wouldn’t let it happen.  I knew I could get at least $250 if I waited till spring.  So we waited out the cold Michigan winter with the hopes of selling for big money a few months down the road.

This past weekend spring sprung here in Michigan so I quickly threw up my ad on Craigslist and went about my business.  While upstairs with the better half I noticed my phone ringing, but thought nothing of it.  A few minutes later it rang a 2nd time, then a 3rd, and then a 4th before I irritably ran down to see which family member was trying to reach me by calling over and over again.  To my surprise the calls were not from family, but four separate and unrecognized numbers.  Then the light bulb went off, “Ohhhhh… the bike!  Wow, already?”

I was very surprised.  Within 15 minutes of publishing the ad my phone was blowing up.  As I began calling the buyers back, more calls were coming through on the other line – apparently I was asking a good price for the bike!

The 2nd caller on the list offered to pick up the bike for $250 right away.  I accepted – a rash decision that ended up costing me at least $250 more.

Within an hour the buyer showed up at my home, we exchanged title for money and he was on his way.  From start to finish the sale took less than two hours to complete… and I deleted my Craigslist ad accordingly.

Tips on selling

If I had it to do over again I would do several things differently.  As I mentioned above, accepting the first offer on the bike was a mistake that cost me at least $250.  I know this because the 4th guy I called (I returned the calls of all interested parties) was flabbergasted I was letting the bike go for $250 and offered to give me $500.  As badly as I wanted to accept the offer, I had already given the other guy my word and had to stick to it.

Next time I sell a decently priced item I will follow these guidelines:

  1. Low price or best offer. If you know you can sell the item for $500, publish the ad as “$300 or best offer.”  This will get the calls rolling in.
  2. Just take offers first. Give yourself a designated time frame or number of contacts before deciding to move on.  Do not make any commitments to sell at this point, just take offers.
  3. Play buyers against each other. Don’t lie, just play the actual offers against the others.  If one buyer offers $400, let the others know.  If they are truly interested in the purchase they will beat the offer.
  4. Make the sale. Once you secure the highest offer… make the sale.

I sold the bike for $250, but could have sold it for $500 or more by following these simple steps.  Lesson learned.

What about you?

Have you recently sold an item and learned a few lessons of your own?  Any tips on selling you want to share?

5 Minutes to Lower Monthly Bills – DFA Tip of the Week – 3/30/2009

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There are many ways to reduce costs in our everyday lives, so to help do just that each Monday I will post a money saving “Tip of the Week”.

“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” Luke 19:17

This week’s tip involves…saving money on monthly bills by simply calling & asking for a price reduction!

How much it saved me…

I started with Comcast and DirecTV whom I have for Internet & television providers respectively.  The reason I use both companies is a little complicated.  Originally I had Comcast for both Internet and television, but was not happy with being changed an arm & a leg for service, so I decided to switch to DirecTV.  Since DTV did not provide Internet service and because DSL is not offered in my new subdivision, I had to keep using Comcast for Internet.  Regarding television, I skeptically entered into a 2 year contract with DirecTV because I didn’t really have a lot of other options.

Now over a year after all my shifting around of services I was paying $63.95/month to Comcast for Internet along with $75/month to DirecTV for television – and so there went my other arm & my other leg.  Being armless & legless was making it quite difficult to get around so I finally decided to get off my lazy butt (pun intended), and make the calls to demand better prices!!  I did just that and ended up getting my Comcast bill reduced to $37.99/month and my DTV bill down to $55 creating an additional $46/month for me to put into my savings!

Now I’m just going to buy an HDTV digital antenna and get TV for free!

Use these tips when calling…

The CSR’s (Customer Service Reps) are trained to try to dissuade you from your dream of reduced expenses so I will now give you a few pointers in dealing with them:

  1. Maintain an excellent spirit when dealing with the CSR – The old adage, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” is quite true.  Just think of how you would like to be addressed then give the CSR the same respect and courtesy.
  2. Maintain separation between the CSR and the company itself – This is quite a successful tactic that I have not ever heard anyone else mention.  Basically you want to create a distinction between the CSR and the company they work for.  This allows you to voice your displeasure with the company, while not attributing any of the displeasure to the person you are dealing with on the phone.  For example instead of saying, “You are charging me too much for Internet“, say something like…”I am just really unhappy with how much Comcast is charging me for service, especially with all the other options out there.“
  3. Get the CSR to empathize with your situation – Now that you have created that separation between the CSR and the company they work for, you are better able to place them in your situation.  Say to them, “What would you do if you were me?” Or simply, “How would you feel if you were in my shoes?“
  4. Use the company’s competitor’s prices and services against them – If you use Comcast for Internet, talk about the low prices AT&T is offering on residential DSL service with similar speeds.  Say to them, “I will stay with Comcast if they can match AT&T’s prices, otherwise I’m going to have cancel and go with AT&T.  I mean, what would you do if you were in my shoes?“
  5. Be willing to discontinue the service – Ultimately if you are not truly willing to leave your current provider, you will be less authoritative and they will be less likely to oblige you.  Make sure before making this decision you discuss it with your wife and/or family.  Be sure to explain the alternatives, and also key on possible benefits of cancelling the service altogether.
  6. Be confident and persistent – Just as you are much more likely to listen to someone who delivers a confident and meaningful argument, so the CSR will be too.  Before you call, make a plan of action.  Write down the reasons why you need the price reduced along with price quotes from several other providers.  If you are prepared and resolved, the CSR will have a hard time denying your request…it worked for me!!

I saved $46/month doing this…how much did you save by employing these tips? Make sure to let us know by leaving a comment below.

Have you already successfully gotten your prices reduced by calling?  Let us know about that too.

Click here to see all our past DFA Tips of the Week.

Google “TipJar” – For Finance Tips & More…

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Google has released a cool new “tips” site they call “TipJar”. It is built upon their very own Google Moderator, and in my estimation is very cool.

Click here to access the Finance Tips section of TipJar

Here is an excerpt explanation from Google’s Official Blog:

As we all navigate today’s choppy economic waters, we’d like to put these beliefs into practice. That’s why we created Tip Jar (www.google.com/tipjar), an experiment powered by Google Moderator that we hope will help you discover the most effective ways to save money.

See Google’s entire post about TipJar here.