at the start of the week I was starting my way up towards home after a day on the bike as a Field Bike Mechanic for Capital BikeShare
with traffic wizzing by I stalled at a red light and waited for the light to change
another cyclist pulled up along side of me
looked familiar
not sure why
took a look at his bike and made a comment
he looked back
looked away
then looked back as he started to pull away
he said "you look familiar "
to which I said, "yeah... I sold you a bike on Facebook Marketplace"
he looked forward and started to grumble
buyer's remorse?
it was 50 bucks for what I called in the ad "a project bike"
complete road bike except for the rear wheel
KHS or Jamis
I can not recall... it was a dumpster find
it was hard to decipher his grumbling
something about the seatpost
no matter
that guy was dancing like a gold miner striking it rich when he made the purchase
it was priced as it was
because it was being sold as it is
parts alone... heck... front wheel alone
this guy did better than break even
guess he thought it was an easy flip that would make him rich
I would have not sold it for 50 bucks if that were the case
oh well...
no hard feelings
but... feel what you will
it was an honest sale
the price was good
all in all
fair
I have a number of bikes and bags on Facebook Marketplace
which reminds me
I need to measure a bike frame and a large Chrome bag
I really can use the money
and
I am not using much of this stuff
today is a good day to make that happen
and
I saw someone looking for a suspension fork
I have that same suspension fork
time has passed... wonder if he still needs it...
I still have it
I have a basement and shed full of parts
parts and broken bikes
lots of broken bikes
some bikes waiting on parts
some bikes waiting on repairs
all bikes waiting on me
then also...
last week I had someone asking about a 24 inch wheel kids bike I was selling
not much asking
more trying to arrange a time for meet up
lots of cancelations
okay... maybe some cancelations... maybe once or twice
but a good deal of back and forth online before agreeing on a meet up day\time
after rushing home from work for a convenient meet up twice before and being greeted with cancelations
(no big deal really)
I came home confident that today was the day that the bike would be sold
there had been some cash or Vemmo
with all the cancelations... I was a tad worry of someone paying electronically and immediately canceling that
I do not know what people do
another person wanted me to leave a bike out for them to grab and they would PayPal me
I guess I could get the money first
still fearing the cancelation of the wire transfer
so...
I delay the walking of the dog
get a wrench, Allen set, pump, lube, and rag
did a quick glance of the bike
needed to air up the tires
wheels were straight
brakes needed adjustment
gears were good
chain\cassette show room new
this person had talked me down from 150-100 bucks
they went 75
I agreed to 100
she wanted to pay electronically
I wanted cash
like clockwork the buyer arrived
a young mom in her business casual pulled up across the street
I already had the bike out front and was waiting
she was clearly not a dog person
as she shied away from my normally aloof dog
the bike looked good
there was a little talk about this and that
I tried to show her the adjustment of the quick release on the seat post
and
the ability to raise the handlebars with an Allen key to the stem
it is awkward in these times
in these modern times
in the woke times
I do not know what she knows
I am just sharing information
does she know what a "minimum insertion line is?"
lots of people ignore this and make their bicycle unsafe
so... I shared this information
trying not to mansplain
she redirected the question to a "child's age"
I told her that the bicycle size has less to do with a person's age
but more to do with that person's leg length\height
she asked about my kids
when they rode this bike
when really... my kids never rode this bike
this is another dumpster dive
rather than lie... I was more vague
saying I do not remember what age they were riding what size bikes
but again saying... it has more to do with height
I guessed it would be a good fit
we did not even get into wheel size
I just assumed she knew what size bike she needed for her kid
the adjustments I suggested are micro adjustments
these can not make a wrong size bike fit a child
these adjustments can just make the right size bike fit that child better
I offered to help load the bike into the car
she denied the offer
I used that money to get an Ethiopian dinner with my son deal later that night
for a hundred bucks...
SHE GOT A DEAL!
an essentially NEW kids bike... maybe 300 or so new... for 100 bucks
if it is the correct size bike!
Facebook Market Place... slow as molasses at times... but when it works out... it works out...
I think this was a fair deal
in both cases
low price
good value
money in my hand
bike in theirs
now to get that fork...
measure that frame...
measure that Chrome bag...
and
and...
list a few more things
