A 29er on the Hartford Craigslist?

You don't see many 29ers, if any at all on any of the CT Craigslist Bike sites, so I thought this add would be fun to look at. Looks like the seller tried the koolaid and didn't like the after taste:

Hartford Craigslist: GT Peace 9er - $500
for posterity, I have captured an image of the add:

Check out the write up on TwentynineInches.com: GT Peace 9er and true to CList pricing standards the $500 price tag is 9% under MSRP, with tax, you are saving 15%. The seller doesn't say OBO so it sounds like he might not be willing to part with it for less than $500 but you never know. Haven't seen this bike for sale on Bikerag, Crankfire or Bustedspoke so clearly he isn't trying to sell this hard enough. Some missing information, which is the most important is the frame sizing.

The review of the bike points out some weaknesses but the main weakness is lack of disc brake mounts. However, to give you some perspective, I found an add for a 2008 GT Peace 9er on Busted spoke and check out what you get for $575 or 12% of the retail value of this year's model:
2008 29er Single speed w/ disk brakes

Was gonna keep this bad boy but not a viable option right now. This is my new 29R single speed. Never seen dirt. Never seen any action actually.
$575 B/O

2008 GT Peace 9r (Medium) MSRP: $649.99

Fork
GT design cromoly rigid XC fork

Drivetrain
Single-speed drivetrain

Crankset
TruVativ Blaze crankset

Brakes
Tektro Aquila mechanical disc brakes

Wheels/Tires
WTB SpeedDisc 29” double wall rims, alloy QR disc hubs, WTB ExiWolf 29” tires

Handlebar
Easton EA-30 Taperwall Monkey mid-rise handlebar

Seatpost/Saddle
Micro-adjust seatpost with WTB Laser V Race saddle

Pedals
Bolt-on alloy cage with alloy body

Cassette
18T. cog

Chain
KMC Z610 HX 1/8"

Spokes
Stainless 14 guage

Nipples
CP Brass

Stem
Easton EA-30, cold forged, 6 degree rise, 75/90/105

Grips
WTB Street Smart design with 3m end plugs

Headset
Standard press-in 1-1/8" alloy cups, cage bearings

Seat Clamp
GT cold forged, GT QR lever

BB set
Truvativ, Howitzer M-15 cr-mo axle, sealed bearings, alloy cups

Frame
GT triple triangle SS design, 29” wheel compatible

The disc brakes are not Avid BB7s, if you are going to get mechanicals, then Avids are the best and the rest of the components are OK I suppose but the important example is the price differential. This bike hasn't seen dirt, looks like it in the pictures, where the other one has. If you could get a 2007 between $400 and $450 then I would think you are getting a good deal.

The funny thing about pricing on Craigslist is figuring out the true worth of the bike. I like to go to eBay to see if I can find what the market value of a used bike or nearly used bike would be before trying to sell my own or buy something from CL.

For example check these auctions out:

$375 and a buy it now. Looks like a new bike and with shipping you are looking at $445. And there are two others where the reserve hasn't been met but the first one I think is probably the best judge of what the market is willing to pay for this bike.