Ebay, has anyone here ever purchased a

[Mulligan Al]

bike on Ebay?

Also, has anyone ever purchased just a frame then purchased the components separately and had the unit assembled at the bike shop?

I'm just wondering if purchasing a really great frame on Ebay then purchasing the components separately will get me a great bike at a better price.

 

[John M]

bike on Ebay?

Also, has anyone ever purchased just a frame then purchased the components separately and had the unit assembled at the bike shop?

I'm just wondering if purchasing a really great frame on Ebay then purchasing the components separately will get me a great bike at a better price.

You can do this, but expect to pay the shop $50-100 for them to do the assembly, more if the frame needs to be prepped.

In general, stock assembled bikes in the mid and lower price ranges (either from a shop or online or on ebay) are going to be cheaper than assembling piecemeal. This is because the bike manufacturers buy components in bulk for far lower prices than available piecemeal. At the high-end, the price discrepancy often is less, particularly for smaller production frames for which individual bikes are assembled piecemeal in the first place.

 

[kbone]

I will second John M. I have purchased frames and components on eBay and built bikes up. They always seem to end up more expensive than something stock. That said, you get exactly what you want when you put it together yourself - which in some cases is worth the extra money.

 

[DiabloScott]

I will second John M. I have purchased frames and components on eBay and built bikes up. They always seem to end up more expensive than something stock. That said, you get exactly what you want when you put it together yourself - which in some cases is worth the extra money.

I cut my cost by a lot - or rather I got much more bike than I could have gotten at a shop for the sampe price. Got a frame that was a few years old but never built and way cheap - got all the parts at maybe 20% less than the cheapest internet site. You have to really know what you're doing and be patient but you do get the satisfaction of having picked every single bike bit and putting it together yourself. If you have to have the shop put it together it'll be a lot harder to save money.

 

[capwater]

Building up a stock bike from scratch will always cost you more. But, it's a great learning experience and the way to go if you want something unique. Also, not every shop will be totally enthusiastic about building up your project bike. If you can't do most of it yourself (save for headset install and comfortable cutting a fork's steerer tube) you ought to be looking at an off the floor model.

 

[PeterF]

bike on Ebay?

Also, has anyone ever purchased just a frame then purchased the components separately and had the unit assembled at the bike shop?

I'm just wondering if purchasing a really great frame on Ebay then purchasing the components separately will get me a great bike at a better price.

I saved a ton on my frame on e-bay ($2,500 frame for $975) as well as wheels. Plus I scored a Campy Record Crankset for $108. After that, the savings wasn't great once you start throwing in all the shipping costs. In hindsight, I wish I bought the frame, wheels and cranks from e-bay and then just purchase a reduced groupset, bb and brakes from Excelsports.com. The components generally end up selling for close to list price on e-bay anyway. All the other stuff though, saddle, pedals, bar, stem etc was bought on e-bay at a substantial savings. Know your seller. take time to read feedback and look for people with 99% positive feedback or higher.