I gots some competition in my bit of the sticks, LOL...

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OK, so I'll admit I thought about it...I just envisioned I'd be taking up a lot of time chasing calls that turn out to be junk, LOL...not to mention some of you calling just to yank my chain, haha...but really, if it's one of you guys (or some of you have tried this before) I'd be curious to know how that turns out.

What's really annoying is when other collectors post a JMC or Hutch for sale for $50 just sizing up who their competition is for a particular area (local or distance). That's just annoying and childish.

Annoying and childish yes, but BRILIANT!

There are no pockets of CL that do not have members of vintage combing it on a regular basis. I don't need a phishing ad to tell me that.

We have a problem in Phoenix of so many people posting wanted ads they get pulled for overposting. Since non collectors think they are the same person they flag them. There is a TON of competition here!

I posted a couple adds on the local cl. Did not get many responses. I have seen a few ads as well.

True that.

I'd like to hear stories of scores that were made thru ads like that. Everything I have found around here has been local stuff---mostly from the same guy ten minutes away from me. Every so often, someone will bring him something. They always are pretty rough---that's the nature of this particular beast---but one of my finds was the Powerlite 3-bar I fixed up for my wife, and still have. It was at Rockford last year.

There's also the infamous shop an hour south of me...but he knows about eBay and even though he's got the goods, you're gonna pay for them. One of you may be bidding on a NOS Hutch FS stem, or perhaps a NOS Tuf-Neck...well...that's him.

I am a CL whore. I go there about every 10 minutes throughout the day looking for stuff.

Vintage members are all over but so are evil bay flippers who are just in it for the $. I don't need a phishing add to tell me that either, but based on the responses you would get you could probably weed out the flippers from the true collectors. I've never placed or will place an add like that, but it is a good way of finding out what your comp is. I would still prefer to find what I need in old basements, attics, junk/scrap yards, barns or from VBMX Bros. The thrill of the hunt is the fun part. I really don't consider surfing the net for parts "hunting"

You guys need to hire a hit man for that guy in Rye, just let me know so I can get there first

I stopped there like 15 years ago as my grandparents have a cabin outside of payson in Strawberry and he is INSANE!!!!! Has some seriously collectable stuff that is just sitting there when it snows. Believe me I know of a ton of people that would like to see that guy leave and let his wife run the buisness for a DAY!

I would not put "Mongoose" in ANY Wanted ad...people aren't gonna be able to tell old 'goose from Wal-goose, or be able to describe them adequately..."Well, it's shiny, like chrome and it says Mongoose on it, don't know what else i can tell ya..." LOL!

WIFE, that dude is married! I have never seen her, who would marry that guy? His kid (s) are real peices of work to. That place has a real Deliverance meets the meth lab feel about it.

I was thinking the same thing. I can see it now, a barrage of calls from parents trying to sell off thier kids wallgoose because now they think it "worth something" LOL

Yeah very very scary people, Ned Baity should be soo proud! I cannot believe this guy as aqquired all this stuff and still has it all. If you really think about it he has a very NICE collection of rare stuff there. I am sure just like any Meth Head he can tell you exactly where EVERYTHING is located in that hell hole of a yard!

"...but it is a good way of finding out what your comp is."

Who cares who your comp is? How does knowing who your comp is make you get the drop on the next score? It's useless knowledge, and a waste of everyone's time to place bogus ads. I don't care who the comp is, only that I get to the next legit ad first.

Like you said they are just sizing up their comp in an area or areas, and I agree it would be annoying to me as well if I used CL, but I also find that particular use of CL inventive, that's all. It's obvious they aren't doing it to get the next drop on a find, just finding out how hard, and how much time they will have to spend on CL monitoring the adds to compete for that next find. Like I said I could care less about surfing the net for finds, I prefer to do it the less techno way so I could care less about people who find abusive yet inventive ways to use the nets to their advantage.

I have found a few good deals in the chicago area on cl. you can tell the fakes out there when the bike says cycle craft right on the down tube the discription says I dont know what kind of frame it is ....LOL Whos the dummy?? I like finding the stuff thats not listed under bikes maybe garage sale or something different....

^all of this is good,but the really annoying part is his broken CAPS LOCK key.

I have actually gotten a bit of decent stuff from CL ads from posting a wanted. Not in caps mind you, but a couple of decent frames. Never bs'd about where they were going.. more skirting the issue, because it all feeds the GT habit.

Plus keep in mind that Eugene (where I live) is about a 20 minute drive to any part.
Pretty easy to get around. A blurry pic of chrome sends me for a look.

if you guys really want to find stuff. after weeding out all the trash bikes. get hooked up with scrap yard guys. meaning where people and business take metal to to get paid per ton. the guys are more then willing to help out as long as they get paid!

I have ran ads on CL in the past. It does seem like a fishing expedition a times. I did get my 26" GT off that ad but did not steal it by any means. My theory is: if they are able to list something on CL they are able to join one of the bike fourms and find out more about it before they give it away. The 26" GT, we talked, the guy was about half what I ened up paying before he got online. Some wise guy told him he would pay him X amount for it BIT, if he put it on eBay he would get a lot more. So I had to double my orginal offer with cash in hand he took it. I still got it cheaper than eBay and it is all original chrome and decals, with bars, fork and frame all GT. It is an 81, so it matches my 81 20"!

I have had a lot of people email me and ask if I would be interested in some bike - like the last one was a Skyway T/A with Bullseye cranks. I said "yes" and never heard back. I think the majority of those kind of emails are guys trying to find out who I am but in the slim chance they are serious I still follow-up every few months. If it is somone off here I will annoy them either way.

I got a free Torker 540 air frame and fork, my Timmy Judge replica, Huffy Thunder Road and two Yamaha Moto-Bikes off CL last year. In fact my Mathews came off CL too - in a way. I was selling a Motobecane I found at a garage sale. A guy said he would buy it, after talking with him more he told me about a shock bike a friend of his had. Two hours later it was in the back of the truck and on its way home to may house!

My LRV, PL-24, Hutch Pro Racer, G. Boy, 76 DeCoster, 79 Decoster in blue, Thrister Vanishing Point and 79 Nickel DeCoster all came courtosey of my good friends newspaper ad. He runs an ad every week (works for the paper) in the paper looking for certain items. He has come up with stuff that is amazing and for really cheap prices. I usually double his money if not more depending on what he wants to get rid of. He has really hooked me up and I thnk I hook him up with deals when we do some trading. He just gets burned out at times chasing all these bikes. I assure you there are a tons of BMX bikes that have not been discovered yet. People just seemed to save kids BMX bikes. I think it had to do with the initial cost of the bikes!!!!

Problem with those CL ads is that they're in the bike section. Who reads the bike section? People who are into bikes. The people who have the prizes in thier basements are into all sorts of things, but bikes are not one of them.

I have run ads on the Hawaii CL from time to time. I have picked up a Tuf Neck and Minigoose frame. I have also got emails from guys saying I have this and that but alot of the time they don't follow thru when I ask for a pic. One guy emailed me saying he is Johhny Kosmala and he has one of Jeff Kosmala's Cruisers. I asked him to send me more info and pics if possible and we can work out a possible deal from there. But he never replied back. You also get a "I see them going for X amount on Ebay, so what are you offering".