I'm just curious if anyone has any good/bad experiences with buying a bike off of ebay? I've been considering buying a road bike this way, but I've heard from a lot of people that you have to be very cautious.
Buying bikes off Ebay
- Thread starter bluebug32
- Start date
Go for it if they have good feedback! Ive sold 2 or 3 bikes on ebay, everything on my end went fine, but there are stupid buyers that think $40 to ship a complete DH bike is way over priced!
What about 3rd party?Slugman said:
right and it's difficult to really assess the condition on ebay. Anywhere else where bikes can be found a little cheaper than retail?
merrrrjig said:
I've sold bikes, and purchased lost of parts on eBay with no problems. Read the feedback first though!!
If you pay with PayPal and usea credit card you have the PayPal buyer protection (though it's only 500.00 I think) and your CC's buyer protection to fall back on.Slugman said:
I have bought many bike parts, and frames off of e-bay. Only got screwed once and that was because some scumbag stole the box off my porch.
I find that you need to check the feedback of the seller, and contact them first. Even better is if you can find a local seller and go check out the frame or bike yourself. Ask for extra pics from specific angles, and nver buy from out of the country.
Good luck.
Other than classified adds on sites such as these ebay is usually your best bet. As mentioned, look at the feedback, it should give you a good indication as to the integrity of the seller. You can always request more photographs from the seller, and ask questions, so I would feel free and ask away for every conceivable detail, especially if the bike is worth a considerable amount of money. Beyond that and buyer protection from PayPal its all up in the air.bluebug32 said:
WHEN CHECKING FEEDBACK:
Click on the items and make sure they didn't just buy a bunch of $2 trinkets and pay immidiately to develop feedback.
I've seen a few people selling things this way. They buy lots of random, cheap crap to develop good feedback, then start selling lot's of expensive items and split with the cash.
It's nice if they actually sold things. Especially good if they've sold other bike stuff before.
Click on the items and make sure they didn't just buy a bunch of $2 trinkets and pay immidiately to develop feedback.
I've seen a few people selling things this way. They buy lots of random, cheap crap to develop good feedback, then start selling lot's of expensive items and split with the cash.
It's nice if they actually sold things. Especially good if they've sold other bike stuff before.
Actually, how I found out about this was I google'd a sellers user name and found a message board where people were saying he was the same as _______ (other now deleted ebay user name).
The guy was selling the same crap, using the same pics as before and walking off with the cash.
As soon as I read his feedback in detail, it became painfully obvious.
The guy was selling the same crap, using the same pics as before and walking off with the cash.
As soon as I read his feedback in detail, it became painfully obvious.
try and find a (buy it now thing) then you can email him and tell him you will buy it for what he asked for it then go to the house and buy it
J
JRB
Guest
What size??? I know of a decent deal on a Giant TCR2. It's a small though.
I have sold several bikes on Ebay (even some out of the Country)
and bought my Surly on Ebay, its just like most have said check their feedback and check what they sell & buy, the more pics the better, and of course the standard if it seems to good to be true- it ain't.
and bought my Surly on Ebay, its just like most have said check their feedback and check what they sell & buy, the more pics the better, and of course the standard if it seems to good to be true- it ain't.
I am on my second E-Bike both have turned out to be amazing deals, but I watched for them for about 3 weeks and I would not recomend doing it if you don't know what to look for (scum sellers) I will say that now with all the ebay stores out there you will most likely only find bikes around 10-30% off retail factor in shipping and most of the time you get a better deal at a LBS sale
ive sold a few frames through ebay.... I feel i am an honest guy so the deal was good for the other person, but I am sure there are people out there just looking to rip other people off... seller feedback is always a good way to weed out the bad ones
50 or a 52. How much?loco said:
I'll PM you, Loco
I got my current bike off ebay. I just made sure the sellers feedback was positive and I asked a lot of questions. Worked out great for me.
Now I'm trying to find a Giant OCR on Ebay
unless someone has one they'd like to sell
unless someone has one they'd like to sell
i've spent thousands of dollars on e-bay in bike related stuff. only had one bad experience, but she was willing to give me my $$ back, so i guess they were all positive experiences.....
my two DH bikes were gotten from ebay, and i was very happy w/ the price i paid and the condition of the bikes. have also bought a fork, and a bunch of parts.
look at it this way...classifieds like this site and MTBR have no feedback systems at all...at least you get that from ebay. as always, caveat emptor.
look at it this way...classifieds like this site and MTBR have no feedback systems at all...at least you get that from ebay. as always, caveat emptor.
I have had no problems selling on Ebay...and I do sell complete bikes....but they are almost always new....just check feedback...and I mean check it! Some folks will leave a positive to avoid retaliation but if you actually read the feedback...it should have been a negative. As far as Ebay and Paypal helping you out...forget it. I have needed their help on occassion and it was a complete waste of my time. I ended up having to "visit" the seller and work it out in person...D