motorcyclebloggers.com

Nothing pisses me off more then when you write an ad on a forum/bb/whatever that allows comments and someone places a post telling you how high your price is. No, this has not happened to me in quite some time, but as I was perusing the classified on my favorite forum, I noticed that is a common thing these days. Why do people feel the need to reply to an ad for which they obviously have no interest in what is for sale?

I have my thoughts. I’ve heard every reason and excuse for what is simply unnecessary. Here’s a short list:

• Even though I’m not interested in the part, I wouldn’t want someone paying too much.
• My cousin’s brother’s buddy’s uncle’s friend got one on ebay for $20 less.
• I saw one on ebay for $20 less (of course the auction ended w/o the reserve being met).
• The guy who says your bike is worth $3k less than you have it listed for yet can’t understand why the value of his same bike is so deflated)

You get the point.

My personal favorite is when a BB topic starts with either “What’s my bike worth?” or “I just bought a new Brand X bike for $XXXX…I love it!” Inevitably, some douchebag will come along and tell the new owner that he paid too much…WAY too much. This is the one that the respondent deserves a beating. You have a guy/gal who is bragging that they just joined the ranks and bucked up for a new or used motorcycle and WHAM they get a kick in the nuts/ummm…thing. What is gained by telling someone (and the rest of the viewing public) who is completely happy with their purchase, that they overpaid. Just be direct and call them a moron.

Look, I can appreciate trying to inform potential soon-to-be buyers of the street value (cycletrader.com listing price minus 5 to 10% is still the best ballpark street value IMO, NOT ebay…I’m a broker in Europe and I have a cashier’s check from my client, but he’s put of town right now…) of motorcycles. But after the fact, its too late. Its not helpful to tell the guy they paid a little more than some guy you heard of on the internet. STFU and congratulate the buyer for joining the two-wheeled world.

I can say first-hand that Aprilia owners are the absolute worst at this. A current Aprilia owner (mostly Mille owners) will respond to a “what’s my bike worth” thread with the usual $5500 or so, then three months later wonder why their $10k bike is only worth $5500…and bitch about the Aprilia brand not holding its value. Silly I know, but its the only bad thing about owning an Aprilia - the self-inflicted depreciation that the current owners cause to their own brand and in turn, their own bikes.

I absolutely love the Aprilia Forum. It is the best and most intelligent forum I have ever participated in hands down. However, I would have to consider whether or not to post an Aprilia motorcycle on there to sell unless I could ‘uncheck’ comments ;). It would probably go on cycletrader.com to avoid the whiny Ad Police. Heh - the guys on the AF already have an Aprilia anyway! I know what my bike is worth. Its not up for debate. The best response you can send to an over-priced ad is no response at all. If an ad has 107 views and no replies of interest, doesn’t that say the same thing?

Don’t do it. Don’t be one of those Ad Police guys. No one likes you.