Any experience in buying bikes on eBay?



P

Prometheus7

Guest
Anyone had any experience, good or bad, in buying high end
bikes off eBay? It looks like you could get a good deal,
like Trek 5900's at 1/3 cost of a new one. Thoughts?
 
On 05/01/2004 09:16 AM, in article
[email protected], "Prometheus7"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Anyone had any experience, good or bad, in buying high end
> bikes off eBay? It looks like you could get a good deal,
> like Trek 5900's at 1/3 cost of a new one. Thoughts?

If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Typically, I've seen new bikes going for 75-90% of retail
... Anything less, and it's likely either stolen, or a
fraudulent listing.

--
Steven L. Sheffield stevens at veloworks dot com veloworks
at worldnet dot ay tea tee dot net bellum pax est libertas
servitus est ignoratio vis est ess ay ell tea ell ay kay ee
sea aye tee why you ti ay aitch aitch tee tea pea colon [for
word] slash [four ward] slash double-you double-yew double-
ewe dot veloworks dot com [four word] slash
 
"Steven L. Sheffield" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:BCB91F61.2EA4A%[email protected]...
> On 05/01/2004 09:16 AM, in article
> [email protected],
> "Prometheus7" <david@nospammers-
> honeyhousedesigns.com> wrote:
>
> > Anyone had any experience, good or bad, in buying high
> > end bikes off
eBay?
> > It looks like you could get a good deal, like Trek
> > 5900's at 1/3 cost of
a
> > new one. Thoughts?
>
>
>
> If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
>
> Typically, I've seen new bikes going for 75-90% of retail
> ... Anything
less,
> and it's likely either stolen, or a fraudulent listing.
>
Be aware that Trek doesn't allow the sale of it's new bikes
over the internet or by mail. So U.S. Trek dealers may not
sell their bikes except to customers who come to the dealer.
New Trek bikes, offered at large discounts from overseas are
SCAMS! How could someone possibly import a bike, pay the
freight, duties etc, then sell it for less than it sells for
in the country of origin? BE VERY CAREFUL! There are many
bike scams on the internet now.
 
Prometheus7 wrote:

> Anyone had any experience, good or bad, in buying high end
> bikes off eBay? It looks like you could get a good deal,
> like Trek 5900's at
> 1/3 cost of a new one. Thoughts?

There are some great deals to be had for sure, but you
better know bikes, and what you're looking for. You need
eBay sense -- the ability to read between the lines -- to
spot the ripoffs, as well as the truly good deals.

I bought my latest bike on eBay, practically brand new, for
less than half of retail. My next door neighbor got a
similar deal. I'm posting a couple of bikes for some friends
this weekend. Even if they bring the full price we're hoping
for, someone will get a good deal -- practically new, at
about 30-40% off. (They're Trek 7500 hybrids, BTW).

I doubt you'd get a good 5900 for 1/3 the cost of a new one.
If it's cheap, it's likely from a sketchy seller, or worn
out. If not, people will bid the price right up. There are
always flukes, but popular items attract a lot of attention.

Many legitimate dealers sell bikes on eBay too -- not just
bike shops, but distributors who liquidate overstocks, such
as American Bicycle Group (who own Litespeed, and several
other brands). IBM and Dell both sell computers on eBay,
w/ full warranties.

Matt O.
 
"Prometheus7" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Anyone had any experience, good or bad, in buying high end
> bikes off eBay? It looks like you could get a good deal,
> like Trek 5900's at 1/3 cost of a new one. Thoughts?

The savings of buying a new bike are minimal to nonexistent
after you factor in having the bike shipped, assembled and
adjusted. Add in that most dealers include free lifetime
service, and you're usually worse off buying off the
interet. I wish I had known this a year ago.

I don't think I would buy a used bike unless an escrow
service were used, or I was able to inspect the bike
personally.
 
[email protected] (John) wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> The savings of buying a new bike are minimal to
> nonexistent after you factor in having the bike shipped,
> assembled and adjusted. Add in that most dealers include
> free lifetime service, and you're usually worse off buying
> off the interet. I wish I had known this a year ago.

I've seen authorized dealers sell brand new name brand bikes
over EBay with $1000+ discounts. Yes, you do have to fit and
adjust it yourself, but anyone spending that much money
should have enough knowledge to take care of that.

What bike shops provide free lifetime service?

> I don't think I would buy a used bike unless an escrow
> service were used, or I was able to inspect the bike
> personally.

Yes, there are a lot of scams on EBay and used bikes are
frequently poorly or inaccurately described. If you're
casreful and patient, though, you can find some good deals.
If you're less patient (i.e., you want a bike in less than 3
months), then go to your bike shop.
 
"Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> What bike shops provide free lifetime service?
>

He probably means derailleur tweaks, brake adjustments, and
headset-tightenings - nothing like hub repacks or tube
replacement. Most shops I know of offer the "free lifetime
basic tune-up" deal like that.

Chris
 
[email protected] (John) wrote in message
> you're usually worse off buying off the interet.

Sorry you had a bad experience, but my experience buying
bikes off ebay has been uniformly good.

One reason to buy a bike off ebay is when none of the local
dealers have the bike you want in the size you want. That
happened to me 2 years ago where I wanted a Specialized FSR
XC in a size small for a friend. None of the local dealers
had it -- they were all out of stock and could not get any
more for the season. Oh yeah, one dealer that was 45 minutes
away (and whom I would never otherwise go to, and certainly
never after purchase) had one, he wanted $100 more than SRP,
and wouldn't budge. Instead, I bought a brand new one from a
dealer off Ebay and paid about $300 under srp, including
shipping. The bike came perfect, I set it up myself (no big
deal) and my friend has enjoyed it ever since. Without ebay,
we would not have had that bike.

I have also bought a used Merlin Extralight frame for myself
off Ebay. I got an excellent price, it came in perfect
condition, and it's the bike I ride now.

I have bought many many bike parts off Ebay. You can get
excellent deals if you're patient, discerning, and don't get
carried away in an auction. For instance, I just bought some
FSA Carbon Compact cranks off ebay. SRP $325 if you can get
them. I got them brand new in the box for $245. It's not
like my local dealer would install a crank bough from him
for free -- he'd charge me normal shop rates.
 
John wrote:
>
> The savings of buying a new bike are minimal to
> nonexistent after you factor in having the bike shipped,
> assembled and adjusted. Add in that most dealers include
> free lifetime service, and you're usually worse off buying
> off the interet. I wish I had known this a year ago.

They do? What planet/country/state do you live in/on? We
recently shopped for a new road bike for my girlfriend, and
I think one shop out of the 10 that we visited offered free
maintenance, but it was so far away it wasn't worth it.

Most places offered *one* free tuneup, or a discount on
service, and that was about it. We did end up buying from a
local shop, but that's probably the last time we ever do
that. It was extremely dissappointing to say the least. I'm
not even going to mention the bad and/or flat out wrong fit
advice we got from some of the shops. We couldn't even get
some of them to swap out the stem or the saddle (for a
female model) unless we paid full retail for the
replacement! Utterly ridiculous. 'Service' is long dead and
gone in the bicycle industry, from my standpoint.

You're only worse off buying over the internet if you're
ignorant of what the real costs are, and you go into the
transaction with your eyes closed and wallet open!

Regards,
H.
 
"HardwareLust" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<Zjblc.69010
> We couldn't even get some of them to swap out the stem or
> the saddle (for a female model) unless we paid full retail
> for the replacement!

I had the same experience when I bought a road bike for my
daughter last summer. She is 15 and has super long legs and
short torso, so bike fit is a real challenge.

The level of fit advice given by most local shops we visited
was abysmal. We had to seek out the most experienced guy at
one shop to get a decent fit, and even then, any changes
such as saddle or stem, were done at full retail additions
-- no swaps permitted.
 
Eagle Jackson wrote:

> "HardwareLust" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<Zjblc.69010

>> We couldn't even get some of them to swap out the stem or
>> the saddle (for a female model) unless we paid full
>> retail for the replacement!
>
> I had the same experience when I bought a road bike for my
> daughter last summer. She is 15 and has super long legs
> and short torso, so bike fit is a real challenge.
>
> The level of fit advice given by most local shops we
> visited was abysmal. We had to seek out the most
> experienced guy at one shop to get a decent fit, and even
> then, any changes such as saddle or stem, were done at
> full retail additions -- no swaps permitted.

This is unfortunately common, but perhaps we're expecting
too much of bike shops. There's probably no way they can
offer this stuff for free. It costs them a lot, and the
margins on new bikes aren't big enough to make up for it. It
may be possible with high end stuff, but the average buyer
is probably screwed.

What's really needed is for bike companies to support parts
swaps, by providing shops with a few extra stems, saddles,
etc., for fitting purposes, and taking the discarded ones
back for free.

Several years ago Cannondale was selling small-sized
mountain bikes with way-too-tall front ends, because of
their unique suspension fork system. Reverse-rise stems to
fix this problem were shown in their catalogs, but never
available in bike shops -- except as a special order item,
at some ridiculous MSRP. This is ridiculous -- Cannondale
should have provided a few extra stems along with every bike
order, so shops could fit their customers properly.

This is particularly maddening nowadays, when stems can be
swapped in a minute,
w/o undoing handlebar tape, etc.

Matt O.
 
Just as an example of an outfit that gets it right, Airborne
(www.airborne.net) offers a free stem exchange program if
the one you spec'd isn't right. Lyle

"Eagle Jackson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "HardwareLust" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<Zjblc.69010
> > We couldn't even get some of them to swap out the stem
> > or the saddle (for a female model) unless we paid full
> > retail for the replacement!
>
> I had the same experience when I bought a road bike for my
> daughter last summer. She is 15 and has super long legs
> and short torso, so bike fit is a real challenge.
>
> The level of fit advice given by most local shops we
> visited was abysmal. We had to seek out the most
> experienced guy at one shop to get a decent fit, and even
> then, any changes such as saddle or stem, were done at
> full retail additions -- no swaps permitted.
 
On Sat, 1 May 2004 11:16:48 -0400, "Prometheus7"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Anyone had any experience, good or bad, in buying high end
>bikes off eBay? It looks like you could get a good deal,
>like Trek 5900's at 1/3 cost of a new one. Thoughts?
>
I purchased a 2001 Trek 5900 Postal on Ebay. It is a bike
that had the frame replaced due to a warranty issue and had
only 500 miles on it when the seller was getting rid of it
last fall. It sold for less than 1/3 of what I would pay for
a new one. All in all a great experience. I spent a lot of
time speaking with the seller about this bike and making
sure I was bidding on what I thought I was. This seller was
wanting to make sure I was happy with the purchase, and
everything has been perfect. OTOH, there are a lot of scams
on EBay. Make sure you know what you are bidding on, and
have information about the seller. I had the sellers home
address and phone number. I found that most sellers won't
allow for a personal pick up of the bike along with a cash
exchange if the bike is not legitimate. I also find that
most scammers won't give you the serial number either. So
those were always opening questions I had for the seller. In
the end, I had the bike shipped, and paid with paypal.

David James
 
"Prometheus7" <[email protected]> writes:

>Anyone had any experience, good or bad, in buying high end
>bikes off eBay? It looks like you could get a good deal,
>like Trek 5900's at 1/3 cost of a new one. Thoughts?

My 1998 trek 2300 (carbon main tubes, aluminum rear
triangle) just cracked after about 2000 miles of usage. I
was still running the original tires when it cracked. If you
buy a TREK bicycle used there is no continuation of the
frame warranty.

"TREK carbon frames are not a frame that will outlive
you." - quote from bike shop mechanic.

- Don Gillies San Diego, CA