Best Way to Sell A Bike?

[GoldOxide_imp]

LOL "runs good just needs battery", starts but just needs carbs adjusted".

Reminds me of the time maybe 8 years ago my friend asked me to call the person selling a motorcycle he was interested in. He had spoken with him but just wanted my impression to be sure since it was a 3 1/2 hour drive each way. The seller only had an old phone, the camera in it wasn't working well and the only 2 images he had were taken from a distance in a dark garage. Anyway so I called.
The guy said his DR650 was "immaculate, never down, I bought it new in Texas, rode it a couple years then moved here to Cleveland where I have it stored." I specifically asked are there any scratches, nicks, anything missing, in short how would your bike be different from a brand new one other than mileage? It's just like new, I really take care of everything I have, just the way I am." My friend said he was told essentially the same thing. $3,200 was high at that time unless it was in immaculate condition but that's what my friend had been searching for. So I ride along with him to Cleveland in his Dodge truck that got 11 mpg to pick up a pristine Suzuki DR650.

The address takes to an apartment complex (projects). The guy comes out and walks us over to a large storage building, unlocks the door and backs out a mangled up, filthy dirt bike of some kind, so we can go in to see his bike. Only the bike he backed out WAS the bike! Besides being absolutely filthy it was also in horrible condition; all plastic (that wasn't missing) was scratched and faded, tank dented and scratched up, 2 broken and one missing turn signal, One hand guard missing, headlight and little wind cowling pointing to the left, chain rusted, rust on frame, practically all exposed bolts and screws were rusted, brake fluid looked like molasses, I could go on and on.
I said "what the heck, you completely lied about the condition of this motorcycle, it's been wrecked, why did you lie?" He stuttered around and said "it is in really good shape and I can tell you it's never been down". I thought my friend was going to kill him so I got his arm and said let's just leave and pulled him to his truck.

Lesson learned is to INSIST on very good pictures and lots of them, if they can't furnish good images don't waste your time.

... and while you're asking, insist to be told when these beautiful pictures have been taken (or look into the meta data of the pics yourself, where the dates are shown).

There was an expen$ive and in a pristine condition Suzie 750GT for sale just several streets away from where I live, so I responded to this add.
I only sent one request: take some pics of your bike and show me the places you think are the worst. I pay the price you want.
Never got any answer back.

A very good approach to start with, love it, peterB

As a general rule, car keys are likely a better security than a partner.

Mr.Corm ... what exactly do you mean by this. A public response please AND a PM to me too !!!

Mr.Corm ... what exactly do you mean by this. A public response please AND a PM to me too !!!
Anything interesting learned yet?