The perils of selling a bike on craigslist...

al415

Banned
So I've had my track bike on the classifieds here for a few weeks. Tonight I gave in and put it on craigslist. It had been on there for about 5 minutes when the crackpots started to write to me... here is one example of how I spent the past twenty minutes:

To: sale-908672418@craigslist.org
Subject: Panasonic Track Bike 56 lugged, original decals - $500

Crackpot: Hey, pretty sure this bike is stolen.

Me: Are you f**king insane? I've had it for years and unless the 80-year-old guy I bought it from in PA was a retired cat burglar... I am not a bike thief. Thanks for your concern.

Crackpot: ok, if i'm wrong i'm wrong, just saying. pretty sure it was stolen in manhattan

Me: You are mistaken. I am a cyclist, just like you. I wouldn't buy or possess a stolen bicycle. The bike looks nothing like it did the way I picked it up. That day it had fenders, a battered brooks saddle, brake levers with tatty cloth tape and two brakes. The way it looks in the crappy pictures I posted is the way I MADE IT LOOK. Your email was offensive even if your intentions are good.

Crackpot: The way you described it is EXACTLY how it would have looked when stolen. I bought it from a guy on staten island, and gave it to my friend, it was stolen from a subway stop in manhattan. It had two brakes a f**king shitty as saddle and some crappy cloth wrap. Don't be irrational, i am obviously not trying to offend you. I am not going to get in some argument. We'll end it with that.

Me: Holy s**t really?! Maybe it IS your bike! Was the guy a white guy in his 70's? With a beard? If so, he took the bike to a farm in Bethlehem PA and sold it to me at his estate sale... We'll get to the bottom of this racket!
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Peril for you, entertainment for us.

It takes all kinds to keep the world revolving...
 

al415

Banned
It's never going to end... I should just stop stealing bikes.

Crackpot: It doesn't even matter, i payed 90 dollars for it. the guy was using it as a single speed and the front fork was wonky, we replaced the headset.

Me: This frame, the Panasonic Track 2000 sells for $500 at Trackstar... and that is with a rattle-can-respray. I have raced Track, road and mtb xc on-and-off for over twenty years and never owned a stolen bicycle. If you bought it for $90 YOU bought a stolen bicycle. The track 2000 was nicknamed the "Moth" bike in the 1980's. You know why? Because they were EVERYWHERE. Though, in this condition they have become rare recently. My bike has the original fork. What headset did you replace the stock one with?

Crackpot: don't now, wasn't there, but it would have been something cheap like a tange or miche or something. Yeah, they were used trainer bikes by the japanese which is why they are drilled for front and back. 90 bucks seemed appropriate for the condition it was in. Alright, well i am satisfied, good luck selling it.

Me: It has a Campy headset on it now. The frame is in excellent shape. "The Japanese"? Ok. Glad you are satisfied, not sure I could have slept tonight. Perhaps you could work on your approach play... Next I plan to sell my Faberge Egg and a copy of Munch's The Scream. Are you missing any artwork?
 

mike_243

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Classic,
great for a smile first thing in the AM there are sure alot of crackheads in the world I am glad I am not the only one that this stuff happens to...
 

al415

Banned
Classic,
great for a smile first thing in the AM there are sure alot of crackheads in the world I am glad I am not the only one that this stuff happens to...

I just got up and checked my email again. It got even better. I'll post it later when I get back from ny. Sheesh
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
I'll give you the $90 he paid for it before you stole it from him:D

-Jim.

PS-Did you try to list it here first? Not like it would be any better, but at least then we can make fun of the guy in person!!
 

al415

Banned
This guy totally trumped my art collection with his next email. He just ignores my jabs and ploughs ahead with his egocentric-know-it-all'ness.

CRACKPOT: Yeah, every track racer is given two frames for the year. one to race, one to train. usually the trainers were drilled for brakes. At least that is what Koichi Yamaguchi told me when i was building frames with him.

ME: Gotcha, kinda like a throw-away-gun in the Rampart Division eh? Oh you went to Mr. Yamaguchi's framebuilding school in CO? Cool. My best friend's Mum went there too. She loved it. I grew up in a shed behind Ron Cooper's house, didn't learn much from him though. 'Cept how to make tea and sweep floors. Oh bugger, Dario Pegoretti and Richard Sachs are at the door, gotta go. Cheerio!
 
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Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Do you think he's posting this conversation on the board he frequents?
 

al415

Banned
Do you think he's posting this conversation on the board he frequents?

heh... I had that thought. All his mates are saying
"Golly Rupert! This bike-thief chap is rather rude!"

Though honestly, I doubt he has many mates.
 

Panhead

Well-Known Member
This guy sounds like fun. I think I'm going to list a bike of questionable past and see what comes around.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I got lucky selling my Trek on c-list. I posted an ad at 8am.. it was sold by 6pm and i got exaclty how much I expected to get.
 

FFT

Gay & Stuffy
He just angry that the emo-fag genre is flooding the fixie scene. It's part of the tightpants revolution, very sad indeed.
 
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