Buying kids' bike off CL

[Anonymous]

I have been trying to buy a kids' bike used from a local bike shop. Due to COVID, they aren't accepting bikes from people looking to sell them, so they only have new bikes. I don't want to spend 300-500.00 bucks for a new bike for my 6 year old. I think I have to resort to Craig's List. What do I look for in a used bike in order to make sure it is an OK purchase? What questions do I ask?

[Anonymous]

You won’t find any so this is kind of a moot point

[Anonymous]

I just bought a bike for my 5 year old off of Craiglist a couple of months ago. The post said it was like new and when I emailed I asked if it had been kept inside (chain and other parts can rust if kept outside). The answer was yes. When I went to look at it, I just pushed the petals around a couple of rotations to make sure they seemed to be working and that the chain didn't slip and tried the hand breaks. Tires held air and all seemed ok and the price was right so I bought it. The gentleman I bought from put the bike out in his driveway and stayed back while I messed around with it. Then I venmoed the $ and that was it. Went really well and bike is still going strong after lots of riding so far this summer.

I would look for better brands like Trek or Giant. You can usually tell by the pictures if it's a bike from Walmart.

Also, Phoenix Bikes in Arlington sometimes has kids bikes for sale. I bought my daughter's $250 trek bike from them a while ago for $80 and it was in pristine condition.

[Anonymous]

Whats wrong with a Walmart bike for a 6 year old?

[Anonymous]

We did it a few years ago and then spent $50 at our local bike shop for a full tune up. It was worth it for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whats wrong with a Walmart bike for a 6 year old?

Nothing wrong with them but I think they are mostly sold out right now.

[Anonymous]

All kids bikes are sold out everywhere - and backordered through Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Try your local Nextdoor listserv. Found my kid's bike there and since it is local folks and surrounding subdivisions I didnt feel so paranoid like with Craigslust which, to me, has too many creeps.

Also your local FB Marketplace. I've gotten great deals there too. Again, they're "local"/surrounding zip codes so it foesnt feel like you're dealing with strangers and lurkers like on CL.

[Anonymous]

I’ve bought two kids bikes off Craigslist during covid. Probably tried for 15 to get those two. It works. Just keep trying

[Anonymous]

Walmart. My teen is going on 6 years with a mountain bike from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walmart. My teen is going on 6 years with a mountain bike from there.

There are no bikes at Walmart. All sold out. But thanks for playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You won’t find any so this is kind of a moot point

I don’t know. I just got my child a new bike, so I’ll be posting the old one online for sale soon. I’m not shady or trying to rip anyone off. A bike is a bike. As long as it works, then it’s fine. I would look at the tires and make sure they have tread left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All kids bikes are sold out everywhere - and backordered through Christmas.

Got one from trek in Clarendon A few weeks ago. Never even went to the store. I just called and they delivered it to my house. They were awesome.

[Anonymous]

There is a national shortage of bikes now (in stores).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You won’t find any so this is kind of a moot point

I don’t know. I just got my child a new bike, so I’ll be posting the old one online for sale soon. I’m not shady or trying to rip anyone off. A bike is a bike. As long as it works, then it’s fine. I would look at the tires and make sure they have tread left.

Where are you going to post? I have two high end kids bikes a trike a scooter and a bike trailer to sell and I'm afraid of craigs list.