Shopping on Ebay...

[Jman]

Okay I admit it I've never once purchased an item on ebay. Yep...I know...its pathetic! However, thanks to a few links here on STR I have created an account and looked a few items up. I have seen some pretty good deals on some bikes both complete and frame only and I'm wondering just what to look for when buying a bike on-line. It's not like you can ride them or inspect them but $700 for a complete Superlight isn't bad.

Any advice is welcome as that's alot of money to get burned on. Thanks.

[stinkyrider]

Let's do this Jeff Foxworthy style...sans humor.

If you see a price that is so insanely low to where you find yourself saying, "this is too good to be true," it's probably a scam

If the item is listed in a category other than Cycling, it's probably a scam.

If the auction is a 3 day or less auction for an expensive item, it's probably a scam.

If the seller asks you to direct all questions directly to their email posted without going through the ebay, "ask seller a question" feature, it's probably a scam.

If the seller is offering free shipping for something like a 45 lb Santa Cruz V10, it's probably a scam.

If the seller knows Jack Sh!t about the product he's selling, it's probably a scam.

If there is only one small picture of the bike being sold, it's probably a scam.

If the seller insists that you contact them directly by their e-mail listed before bidding, it's probably a scam.

If the seller has a rating of like 1,000+ and their other items are things that have nothing to do with biking, it's probably scam. Like when you have someone selling a $3,000 DH bike and you check the other items they are selling and it's antique dolls, that should clue you in that the account has been hijacked and is being used for scamming.

If the seller wants you to pay through direct wire money transfer like western union, it's MOST DEFINITELY a scam.

Other few things to note.
Stay away from buying from sellers outside of the US or Canada
Pay only through Paypal.
Paying cash on delivery is ok if it's for local pick-up.


More thorough info for what to look out for can be found here:
http://reviews.ebay.com/Bike-fraud-s...:-1:LISTINGS:3

[Liquid55]

Biggest thing for me on eBay is to wait until the last minute before bidding, I'll place my max bid that i'm willing to pay. If you bid to earlier and somebody else is bidding too the price will go up quick.

[Jman]

Great reponse Stinky thanks. So things like cracks in the frame and what not are just a blind thing and you hope that the frame is decent when it arrives? I mean the pictures would help obviously but a picture does not always show you everything.

I assume some questions like where it's been ridden and how might work. Any other suggestions. Thanks again Stinky, the link was very eye-opening.

[PacMan]

Well, Stinkyrider just about covered it all.

My only advice other than what he already covered is to be mindful of a seller's feedback rating--try to stick to someone with a high percentage of Positive feedback.

Also--pay attention to the shipping cost. A lot of sellers pad the bid price by asking too much for shipping. I saw a fork I wanted once and the seller wanted $50 to ship it to me. I have sold and shipped forks before and it isn't anywhere near that expensive. I emailed him and asked him if he would lower it and he refused. If I hadn't paid attention and had bid without checking, I would've been stuck getting reamed on the shipping.

[dudevf1]

Be extremely careful and try to buy something that is located within driving distance so that you can see it in person. My experience with ebay was pretty bad. I won a bid on a bike. The owner was located in Mission Viejo. I was going to pay via Paypal but the guy asked if I could pay cash if I wanted to come look at the bike. I said "sure." I rode the bike around and it felt okay but squishy and I noticed that the tires were low. I started to add air and when I touched the presta valve it disintegrated and air whooshed out across my face. "Never seen that before." I said. The owner says, "I don't know what caused that." I took the wheel off to fix the tire and couldn't get the wheel back on--why? Because the hub was coming apart right in front of me. This was getting comical and I told the guy "both of your hubs are shot and this bike is seriously messed up". He said he didn't know what happened to it and asked me not to report the seller to eBay. When I returned to San Diego the guy who was selling it for him on eBay had emailed me saying, "You can't just not buy the bike." Then I reported the guy immediately. I doubt that eBay does anything, as that would take time and money to police their circus auctions.

[FONT='Times New Roman']I have purchased other non-bike items from eBay, but stuff under $30 so who cares if it's junk. But for a bike you better know something about whom you are dealing with or take a look in person, it's too much money to risk and the ebay vehicle is perfect for scammers.[/FONT]

[Lefty Kev]

Like Liquid55 says, wait until the last few seconds before entering your maximum bid. Ebay will only enter the minimum amount needed to make you the highest bidder and will then bid automatically for you up to your maximum amount. If yours is the highest bid, it hopefully won't leave enough time for anyone to make a counterbid before the auction time expires. Bidding early, like ebay rookies often do, will just drive the price way up.

A rule of thumb for avoiding scams is to go by the sellers feedback. If he/she is a Power Seller who does a lot of ebay trading, the chances are you're gonna be okay. I would avoid bidding if the person has no previous ebay activity (or just one or two prior transactions) or has a crappy feedback score. Always read negative comments to see if there is a recurring pattern to what people have to say. Also, I would avoid buying big ticket items from outside the United States and always pay via PayPal (don't ever use credit cards, Western Union money transfers or personal checks as forms of payment). Make sure you ask for clarification on any points of concern. For example, if you're looking to bid on a frame, ask the seller if there are any scratches, cracks, etc. before you commit yourself. This should be disclosed upfront but don't take anything for granted.

Finally, even if it seems like a smoking deal, make sure you are clear on the seller's shipping policy. No point saving money on the item if you go and get ripped on shipping

Hope this helps

[Jman]

After surfing through Ebay I have to agree, it's a lot of money to be just sort of taking someones word for it. I wish I could find some of those deals locally but it's difficult to find used bikes or someone locally who can take a credit card!

[guero]

when i bought 'purple haze' (an 05 gary fisher 'rig' 29er), she came via mtbr classifieds, kinda similar to ebay in a sense that i only had limited pix of the bike to look at, and to go off of phone an email conversations. i believe the guy lived in nebraska or something. i was pretty fortunate that everything was okay, but the guy did the worst packing job ever, didnt bubble wrap the frame or use anything to protect the parts from banging into each other while in the box.