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Me: hi is this bike still available and what size is it please?
Woman: yeh hunni it's still here. It's a man sized bike, it's a bike 4 a man.
Me: not all bikes are the same size. There might a sticker on the tube under the saddle saying M or L or it might say something like 48cm..
Woman: I'll have to go and check but it's in the shed and we're having tea.
Me: Ok no problem, let me know..
2 days later I'm still waiting. A man sized bike! ..like the tissues 😆
Idiots and Facebook seem to go hand-in-hand!
Is there a pic? Often the size can be estimated from that.
What tyres for a man sized bike?
Yeah you can generally tell when no useful detail is in the ad that it's not worth chasing.
eskay has it. Don't you read the news? 🙂
We've a lot of large FS mtb's around Edinburgh being sold by Riess or Kyle who is 14, has a profile picture of himself in a suitable rapper pose, who wants 'offers or swaps' for a bike with hidralic breaks and downhil supsension - and no pictures at all in profile of him ever having ridden a bike off road...
Usually the 'bak brakes dont work' or the 'gears need sortin' this is code for the drivetrain has never been replaced and it skips like a mofo.
I tried to join Facebook but was told that my I.Q. wasn't low enough, so they wouldn't let me in.
Don't think I'm missing much.
The other side of the problem being when you list an item for sale with a clear an detailed description then get endless questions:
Q: what colour is it
A: The colour I said in the ad, and the colour you can see it is in the pic
Q: Where are you?
A: Where I said in the ad, also where the little pin on the map is on the ad
Q: What size is it?
A: The size I said in the ad, also the size you can see in the pics where I held a tape measure up to it showing the important dimensions
Q: How old is it?
A: The age I said in the ad
And so on, and so on...
And then when you wasted your life replying to all the questions that they already had the answers to you get, will you take £X for it? where £X is approximately 1/2 what it's advertised for or 'will you swap for a playstation?'
Fun times.
Or it's been nicked
There are loads just as bad on Ebay. It's amazing how many don't post the frame size - there's even a space for it in "About This Item" FFS.
I've asked about frame size in the past and had the reply 29" or 27.5"....
Also love the ads with liquid brakes, gas suspension and Top of the range mentioned in them.
Shame on you for interrupting their tea with your questions.
Fb bikes that cost a tenner are sometimes good donor bikes for the 'better' rat bike, currently doing duties with the kids bike seat attached..like those thumb shifters that don't click or those magic chrome hubs that will spin for a lifetime without ever being serviced.
I've been trying to by a small 26" bike for my son and i have to ask every time what size is it, what year is it and possibly what top tube length if i can't find the geometry online.
I know i'm picky, but it would help if they want to sell it.
I got my Kona shred off an FB selling page. The bloke selling it was pretty precise with the details. He told me about the fault & said he couldn't figure it out. 40 quid & a few hours later I had a nice bike 😁. But there's loads of obviously nicked ones on there. There's a certain surname in my area that anyone with morals will avoid like the plague. They crop up quite a bit with " I'm selling this bike,needs work. They're normally home painted with mismatched parts from Halfords specials to top end parts 🙄
If you really want to get an understanding of the challenges of literacy faced by young adults try advertising a BMX on FB.
Idiots selling bikes on FB
Technically your thread is about a single idiot selling one bike. It's a poor rant in any case.
Also love the ads with liquid brakes, gas suspension and Top of the range mentioned in them.
Surely gas suspension is top of the range?
2 days later I’m still waiting. A man sized bike! ..like the tissues
An M then?
So basically the conclusion to be had is not all facebook users or folks who are selling bikes are bike nerds like most on this forum (including myself). I can pretty much guarantee that if my mum sold my old bike in the garage at home and and you asked her anything beyond what colour is it she would be stumped.
And I can pretty much guarantee that she's holds a far higher level of educational qualification than most on here, so definitely not stupid.
Nor would she interrupt making dinner to rush out and check if there was a size badge on the frame.
So all in all..a poor rant...2/10
After we got broken into I managed to track one down through a Facebook for sale page.
Tipped off the Police and they managed to recover it.
We told the insurance company who had already paid out. As the bike had (very minor) damage, they released it to us for "disposal"
I'm not saying all bikes on FB are stolen but as eBay is now more secure and traceable, Facebook is apparently the easiest place to sell stolen goods.
HaHa, me on Gumtree, Spesh Allez road bike, £120 (had it on at £150 previously for 3 weeks & never got a sniff) Gets an email....
'Hi will you take £90?'
' no, if I would take £90 I'd have put it up for £100'
'£100?'
'naa, bollox I'll take it off & stick it on Fleabay for £130'
'Ok, I'll give you £130'
He picked it up next day & actually gave me the £130.
Nutter.
Nor would she interrupt making dinner to rush out and check if there was a size badge on the frame.
To be fair though, they did reply to say they were having dinner lol! Rather than reply the next day with a size or a sorry if they didn't know how to check. 😂😂😂
I’m an idiot selling one ( trying to ) on FB.
The advert is active so I’d think one would assume it’s still available?
My favourite question is “ is this still available “.
me “ yes “.
Silence....
Or generally some 14 year old kid, “ will you swap for a PS4....” NO SWAPS!
I’m an idiot selling one ( trying to ) on FB.
Will you swap for a PS4?
@santcruzsi
The availability questions is autofilled in by Facebook when you first contact a seller. You can delete it but there is an awful lot of stuff on there which is sold but people forget to update the status. Tried buying a camping cooker last year and contacted about 5 sellers all of who had already sold it but not updated the listing status.
“What’s the lowest you will take?” The price in the add you ****ing moron. I know what, I will advertise something at £200 and then you ask the magic question and suddenly the price will drop down to £60! ****ing idiots are winning!
it's a buyers market though so always worth a silly offer, sometimes the seller is an idiot & takes the offer
The advert is active so I’d think one would assume it’s still available?
You would assume wrong on a regular basis....
We have bought two or our bikes via FB now. Both clearly by riders with lots of pics of them out riding on the bike they were selling. Both times great description, clear pics and simple to deal with.
But there are a lot of nutters and nicked bikes on there.
What annoys me most about Facebook sales is the scripted meaaage function. So you get ‘is this still available’ the followed by what’s your ‘Best price’ I usually reply with ‘do you mean the best price for me or for you?’ Some pretty lazy negotiators out there that hit you in the nuts on price. I just ignore, but then I don’t need to sell anything. Just I would like the space, so I’m likely to let something go cheap if I feel the person has made an effort to negotiate. I must say it’s getting more difficult to find somewhere to sell bike stuff nowadays, now here has basically killed itself, Facebook full of morons and eBay scammers. Pinkbike seems to be the only refuge left and that has its challenges.
what’s your ‘Best price’
Any one who asks me that instantly gets a reply with me adding £50 to the initial price.
I can overlook the occasional "best price" question if it's in context along with other questions. I had a bloke exchange about 25 messages yesterday about my Hightower frame.
He was paying in Euro (being in France) and made a low offer. I negotiated a price (bare minimum that I would take), because it came across as he really wanted the frame, then all fell silent.
Couple of hours later, someone offered to buy it at my asking price and I can drive there and drop it off tomorrow 🙂
I honestly don't mind questions and I'll happily answer every one. He did come across a bit worried though (seemed like they wanted a new bike for second hand prices).
On the other side, I've had useless sellers who list stuff for sale then can't be bothered to actually sell it.
When I sold my amazing Voodoo- actually not bad but built out of random bits I'd gathered over the years- the dude that turned up was such a total ned that I kind of thought I was going to get robbed. He got me to pump the suspension up so hard that it didn't move "I want it to be really solid" then his mate jumped on the back and they rode off. £400 cash that was, I still don't really understand it.
But there are a lot of nutters and nicked bikes on there.
Stirling seems to offer a lot of "too good to be true" ads on Gumtree. White rough cast wall with faux sandstone bottom. Every time.
Perth, I can understand the cheaper prices, its out the way but Stirling? A DMR Reptoid for £80. Aye, that's legit.
He got me to pump the suspension up so hard that it didn’t move “I want it to be really solid"
Like Gwin innit.
useless sellers who list stuff for sale then can’t be bothered to actually sell it.
That's me.... 😁
Put a load of bits up on MTB-news.de vs have only managed to sell two bits.
A mix of more important things to do (work) and stupid questions and haggling on already silly low prices.
I purposely set low prices yet people still ask despite me saying no offers.
Or people expecting the price to drop off they take two items.
Truth is, I've not got the time at the moment and I don't need to sell it.
Some stuff I tried to give to a bike charity (no name cockpit parts, old chain sets, old 9spd chains).bits that have little value. They never got back so I skipped it.
and no pictures at all in profile of him ever having ridden a bike off road…
......direct him here, he'll fit right in
A DMR Reptoid for £80. Aye, that’s legit.
A mate paid £140 for a Spesh Enduro Evo last week in Leeds.
Admittedly, it had been stolen from him the week before, but still.