Shimano bought my derailleur on eBay!

[Doug Cook]

I'm upgrading to Dura Ace 10 and bought a front derailleur on eBay. I
didn't read the description close enough and ended up with a clamp size that
was too small. So, when I received it, I relisted the thing for sale. When
the auction ended, the high bidder paid via paypal, and I started typing in
the shipping info. The buyer's email address (which I hadn't noticed
before) was <name>@shimano.com! ( buyer's name deleted to protect privacy)

I've heard they patrol ebay and other online sales to enforce merchandising
agreements, but I figured they'd be a little more discreet about it!

 

[BanditManDan]

Doug Cook wrote:
> I've heard they patrol ebay and other online sales to enforce
> merchandising agreements, but I figured they'd be a little more
> discreet about it!



Just curious, what do you mean they "patrol ebay and other online sales
to enforce merchandising agreements"?

There's nothing wrong with selling parts online is there?

Dan.



--

 

[Doug Cook]

"BanditManDan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Doug Cook wrote:
> > I've heard they patrol ebay and other online sales to enforce
> > merchandising agreements, but I figured they'd be a little more
> > discreet about it!
>
>
>
> Just curious, what do you mean they "patrol ebay and other online sales
> to enforce merchandising agreements"?
>
> There's nothing wrong with selling parts online is there?
>
> Dan.
>

Nothing wrong with it at all... unless you're a distributor/dealer who has
made specific agreements with Shimano not to do so. I suspect they are also
on the lookout for grey market goods as well. An LBS once told me that Trek
has two full-time employees that do nothing but search online and
classifieds to find people breaking agreements. That sounds a bit much to
me, but then I have no idea how much of a problem it is for them.

 

[Pistof]

"Doug Cook" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "BanditManDan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Doug Cook wrote:
> > > I've heard they patrol ebay and other online sales to enforce
> > > merchandising agreements, but I figured they'd be a little more
> > > discreet about it!
> >
> >
> >
> > Just curious, what do you mean they "patrol ebay and other online sales
> > to enforce merchandising agreements"?
> >
> > There's nothing wrong with selling parts online is there?
> >
> > Dan.
> >
>
> Nothing wrong with it at all... unless you're a distributor/dealer who has
> made specific agreements with Shimano not to do so. I suspect they are
also
> on the lookout for grey market goods as well. An LBS once told me that
Trek
> has two full-time employees that do nothing but search online and
> classifieds to find people breaking agreements. That sounds a bit much to
> me, but then I have no idea how much of a problem it is for them.

Then couldn't a dealer just open a personal account and list anything they
want without ever revealing their business name?

Dave

 

[Curtis L. Russell]

On Fri, 28 May 2004 13:06:49 -0500, "Pistof" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Then couldn't a dealer just open a personal account and list anything they
>want without ever revealing their business name?

Dealers and wannabe dealers can usually be outed. To start with, the
items would have to be listed as something along the lines of, "new,
in box" for the dealer to be able to make enough to make it worth
while. Slightly used equipment or items pieced out from the normal set
wouldn't draw much attention.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...