For Sale: Giant TCR Advanced (Carbon) - Professionally Optimized
Model: Giant TCR Advanced (2023 Colourway)Size: Medium/LargeCondition: Like New. Meticulously maintained.Description: Selling my exceptional Giant TCR Advanced. This bike is already a fantastic lightweight climbing machine, but it has undergone extensive professional optimization and performance tuning focusing on drivetrain efficiency, frame responsiveness, and overall ride quality. The result is a bike that punches far above its weight class, delivering performance comparable to models costing thousands more. Perfect for the serious enthusiast looking for a competitive edge without the pro-level price tag. Selling due to upgrade.Price:$4,000 (Firm on price reflecting the unique performance enhancements)Pickup Only: Due to the high value and nature of this item, shipping is not available. Local pickup only. Inspections and test rides welcome for serious buyers.
He deliberately avoided specifics, sticking to vague terms like "optimization" and "tuning." Let the test ride do the talking. He set the price at $4,000, building in a buffer. He expected haggling; everyone haggled on used marketplaces. His mental floor was $3,500, a $2,500 profit on his $1,000 investment, all from ten uses of his power. A stunning $250 profit per charge. Now this was the kind of margin he needed.
He hit "Publish Listing," the familiar mix of anxiety and hope prickling his skin. This felt different from the knives. More substantial. More… real.
Just as he was closing his laptop, feeling a sliver of exhausted satisfaction, his phone buzzed with a notification. An email alert from the defunct Eversharp Edge marketplace account forwarded to his personal address.
Subject: Item Not As Described - Order #7834B Message: This Eversharp knife is garbage! It dulled after cutting one chicken! Felt no better than the cheap knife I replaced. Total scam! I want a refund NOW!
Another buzzed through almost immediately.
Subject: Where is the +1? Rating Changed to 1 Star Message: Used the knife for a while. It's okay, but definitely not worth $100. Doesn't hold an edge like advertised. Feels like a rip off. Changing my review.
He swiped the notifications away, archiving the messages without replying. Predictable. Annoying, but ultimately irrelevant noise from a burned bridge he'd already crossed. He'd siphoned the funds, the platform could handle the fallout. It was the cost of doing business in a world that had never shown him any kindness, a dog-eat-dog reality where you took what you needed to survive, or you got chewed up and spat out like he'd been from the bank tower. Did he feel good about shipping plain steel to people expecting something more? No. The world wasn't fair, it hadn't been fair to him, snatching his parents, leaving him scrabbling in the dirt. He did what he had to do to survive, to climb out. If a few online buyers felt cheated out of a hundred bucks for a knife… well, they weren't facing eviction. They weren't one step away from the abyss.
His survival trumped their minor dissatisfaction. A flicker of something uncomfortable, maybe guilt's pale shadow, touched him. But it wasn't sharp enough, wasn't deep enough to cost him any sleep. Back then, staring at the rapidly dwindling numbers, facing eviction, it had felt like a do-or-die calculation. Secure the capital for the real play, or sink back into the poverty line that he was so desperately trying to escape from. Ethics felt like a luxury item, something you could afford once you weren't drowning. Maybe, a tiny, nagging voice whispered, karma kept accounts. But for now, survival was the only currency that mattered. He pushed the thought down, pragmatism had always been his strongest suit.
The end of week three arrived like a deadline notice. Friday morning. Rent ($450) and estimated living expenses ($300) were due. He logged into his bank account. He initiated the transfer for rent, paid his estimated weekly cost of living via various bills and cash withdrawals, watching the balance decrease.
Theodore Sterling - Financial Ledger (End of Week 4)
Starting Balance (Beginning of Week 3): $2825.62
Income:
None
Expenses:
Giant TCR Bike Purchase: -$1000.00
Rent Paid (Week 4): -$450.00
Living Expenses (Week 4): -$300.00
Total Expenses: -$1750.00
Net Change During Period: $0.00 (Income) - $1750.00 (Expenses) = -$1750
Ending Balance: $1075.62
Status:Pressured. Significant capital invested in bike. Bike sale pending. Current balance covers next week's rent/living ($750) with approx. $325 buffer remaining. Runway approx. 1.6 weeks basic expenses before bike sale revenue. Success of bike sale is crucial for next phase.
He stared at the number: $1075.62. Better than the brink, but still precarious. The thousand-dollar hole the bike purchase burned in his finances was starkly visible. While not facing immediate eviction tomorrow, his entire pivot, his escape from the low-margin grind, depended entirely on recouping the bike investment and making a substantial profit. The pressure remained immense.
Just then, his phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn't an angry knife buyer review. It was a message through the marketplace platform where the bike was listed...
User: CycleNut88 Message: Hi, saw your ad for the Giant TCR. Looks mint. When would be a good time to come see it? Am very interested.
Another message followed quickly.
User: PedalPusherPete Message: Hey mate, that TCR looks sick. Is the price negotiable? Can potentially come by tomorrow.
And a third.
User: SpeedySarah Message: Interested in the Giant bike. Available for viewing this weekend? Let me know.
Theo's breath hitched. Interest. Multiple potential buyers, already. He quickly drafted replies, suggesting meeting times early the following week. Keep them slightly eager, manage the logistics.
He leaned back, the tension easing fractionally, replaced by a sharp, focused anticipation. The gamble was placed. The bait was taken. Now came the crucial part, landing the fish. The enhanced carbon fiber bike sat gleaming in the gloom of his apartment, a potential ticket out or a $1,000 anchor dragging him under. The meetings were set. Everything depended on the next few days.