Manufacturer, Retailer, Survey and Consumer Feedback - Beware of ICYCLESUSA.COM, they have a very bad service

I am enjoying this civilized discussion, don't get me wrong, But...


I've got no skin in this game. I'm not an ICYCLE customer and I'm not an ICYCLE friend. I simply read your post and the responses and thought I'd give my opinion.

Let's review:

1. I say that you made an unsupported accusation.
Support: Unless you failed to mentioned direct evidence that you have, you cannot prove the reason for which your order was cancelled. Several other people have already posted plausible explanations for why your order was cancelled and for why ICYCLE may still show the wheels in stock. Those seemed reasonable to me. What isn't reasonable is how you went from getting your order cancelled to saying that ICYCLE cancelled your order because they "prefer to sell it to somebody paying full price."

It's unclear how you came to this conclusion. And then in your e-mail, you didn't ask for an explanation, you simply accused ICYCLE.
Thursday my friend placed an order for the same wheelset; he contacted them to confirm the order and their response was positive. I only found out about it today while riding.

2. I say that you made an unreasonable demand.
Support: After re-reading your statement, I may be wrong to say you were unreasonable. I think it is reasonable for you to expect a company tell you why an order was cancelled. However, they don't have an obligation to offer you something different. While your request to be put on a waiting list is also reasonable, ICYCLE's response said "the sale was limited to the quantity in stock." That's why they didn't offer you something else, and that's why you're not on a waiting list.

3. I say that you threatened the merchant if it didn't give you what you wanted.
Support: Merchants, online or brick-and-mortar, rely on good word of mouth for business. Inversely, they're loathe to have bad world-of-mouth and will often go out of their way and beyond their obligations to satisfy an unhappy customer.

You made it clear in your initial contact to ICYCLE that you felt they were being unfair in how they handled your order and you were unhappy and you were going to tell people about it. It's not expressly written but it's sure implied by your message that if they don't give you the wheelset at 20%, as someone else put it, you would "drag their business through the cyber-mud." And this, based on your unfounded feeling accusation!
I dont feel that I threatned them, because I didn't want anything in return; when I send my first email I didn't want their business anymore.
4. I say that you got the exact kind of response from ICYCLE you deserved.
Support: Uber-professional it's not, but the ICYCLE response is terribly honest and warranted. Assuming there was a legitimate reason for your order to be cancelled and the wheels were out of stock (and why wouldn't we believe so?), ICYCLE has every reason to feel offended by your accusation. And since you were pretty much being a jerk in your e-mail, and because you'd already decided you were going to tell people bad things about ICYCLE and your experience based on an unfounded accusation, they're response back was right on.
honestly, I can understand their response. However, if they want their business to succeed they could have kept that response to themselves and apologized or explained what happened better.

There's a quaint saying that sums this one up:
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Next time, try being nice instead of assuming everyone's out to get you.
I didn't expect that this thread will go that long and didn't expect that I will get judgemental responses about my personality or character... that is the nature of any community, there are people of every color, every belief and different level of education... Gotta love the web for bringing everybody togethere like that...

I originally defended these guys but after my latest round I'm voting with my purchasing dollars that they stink. Making second chance offer of ebay with no way to buy the item? What the ..... Then acusing me of not acting on the offer within the 24 hour offer window. BIG waste of my time. I don't care if they are giving stuff away take your chances with this company.

Ugh -

"As for your threats we don't want you as a customer if you are that petty."

Valid or not, that's just something you don't say.. I'd be pissed.

Just got some shoes that I ordered through Icycles.com. Their website said nothing about the item being a return or salvage item. I believed I was buying a new item. Received them and the right shoe had either marks from a dog biting it, or tools had been used inappropriately to release the buckle. In any case, the buckle no longer worked. I contacted Icycles, and asked for a replacement buckle. I was told, too bad, we don't have any and we don't have any more of the shoes either. Return them with a re-stocking charge or keep them. This company is TOTALLY disreputable. Don't do business with them.

Just one more complaint after almost 4 years...wow!

Did you contact your credit card company?

And their reseller rating is not stellar...6.5 out of 10. Did you do research on this company before you gave them your money or was the deal too good to pass up and hoped that you might get lucky?

Consider this scenario. Perhaps the guy drop ships. Some automated system gave you a shipping notification. It was wrong and it was later corrected manually.
So the merchant drop ships nothing which triggers an email and 4 days later notices he doesn't have the stock? Then when the irritated customer complains, he gives a snarky reply?

Sorry, but I've received plenty of abuse by customers trying to run a scam. This is a clear cut case of the customer getting a bit heated after treatment that should make no sense to him, and then the merchant being an idiot.

The merchant needs to get his act together. If he sends message sent saying something has been shipped, that message shouldn't occur until it has been shipped. If he doesn't have time to do that right, he shouldn't send them at all and tell people to wait 2 weeks (or whatever it takes) for stuff to arrive.

Responding like a teenager was totally out of line, particularly since a reasonable person would have thought he ordered something and that it had been shipped. It is not crazy for the OP to think that something that looks like it is for sale is unless there is a disclaimer that some things that appear to be for sale may be out of stock. It is not the OP's fault if the merchant cannot afford/set up a system that makes sense to the customer. The customer may have been a little out of line, but that doesn't make it OK for the merchant to act like a jerk.

I have an experience with them also, like 3 years ago maybe i got a campagnolo veloce flatbar brifters the 2nd time and the 1st time was a set of BB7 disc brake calipers.

The right brifter stopped working, something broke inside and i asked their help getting in contact with any of the campagnolo repair places because of a warranty issue, they said they had nothing to do with it. It was so simple as send a darn email and they didnt do it. Thanks to BF fellows i contacted the campagnolo people myself and i got luck they honored the warranty.

With Disc calipers I got lucky because the suckers have such a mess in there that they sent me two sets, 1 week appart. Never contact them again after the show i got with the campagnolo brifters.

THey have good stuff sometimes but what im thinking is that they get things that are 1nd quality or stuff that nobody wants and thats why they good prices sometimes. And yes their costumer service sucks big time.

I've personally had good luck with icycles.... ymmv.

I can also vouch for their terrible service. I asked them a question about a wheelset, the difference between black and white rims to justify the price difference. Was it the hubs? Their answer?

"One is black, and one is white."

WHAT? :twitchy:

I wrote back to get an explanation and the possibility of an answer to my question, and they never wrote back.

Never had a problem with them. Have ordered there before on several occasions. Maybe give them a ring......

The OP's email was ill-worded. A better message would be something like,


To Whom It May Concern,

Hi, my name is [name], and on [date] I ordered [item], item number [x] and order number [y]. I was then notified via your order tracking system that the item had shipped. On [date you received email], I received an email from your company saying that the item was out of stock. I'm hoping you can clarify the situation for me - will I not be receiving the item(s)? Is there any way I can get them backordered? Please let me know!

Thanks,
[name]


THEN if you received a sketchy or beat-around-the-bush response, it might have been acceptable to start asking questions about their business practices.

Their response sucked, but yeah, you were a bit unreasonable. You get more using honey than a hammer, and as someone who works in customer service, customers who make ridiculous demands and unreasonable accusations do not make me want to go the extra mile to try and make them happy. Sometimes their money just isn't worth it.

A couple months ago I emailed Slane Cycles about the availability of an '09 Cervelo R3SL 48cm which is my dream bike. I wasn't as interested in the 2010 model because I don't like the paint scheme as much. To my amazement they had one left. I emailed them on Monday morning and later that day they told me it was available so I placed the order online the same day. A couple of days later I emailed them to ask if the frame had shipped. They responded by saying that my order was canceled because the bike had been sold in the store. I was devastated and angry because it was impossible to find this frame in the states. I emailed them back explaining that I ordered the frame the same day I was told that it was available. I wanted an explanation as to how my frame could have been sold to someone after I had already placed an order for it. I asked them if they could find me another '09 R3SL or get me a deal on a 2010. A couple days went by without a reply. Then the next day I got an email saying that they, meaning Andy and Paul Slane (the owners) would take care of me. As it turns out they gave me a pretty huge discount off a 2010 version (about $600 less than retail). I jumped at their offer. They even chased and faced the bottom bracket as well as cut the steerer tube to length for me without any extra charge. It took less than a week for my new frame to arrive from Ireland. They have earned a customer for life. I just ordered a couple pairs of bibshorts, a jersey and some socks from them. I just wanted to share my positive experience with Slane Cycles. This is how customer service should be.

If any of y'all didn't notice, the original post is like 4 years old now, so you're reading history, not news.

The reseller rating comments are informative, although I'm not sure if they're the same as when originally referenced.

One of the early posters up there mentioned the camera/electronics scam outfits in Brooklyn. One thing I have noticed about them in past reading is that you can have a very shady dealer that still has some apparently very satisfied customers. One thing to keep in mind is that if any kind of dealer does great on 9 deals and then just screws the 10th customer, that's still a dealer you absolutely want to avoid. One other lesson to be learned is that there really are people out there that give good service and good prices (for cameras, it was B&H, by the way).

The problem with Icycles is that they don't provide a phone number on either their website or invoices. That right there should be a red flag for anyone in the future, myself included. Since my post, they have said they might reimburse me for the buckle on the shoes if I can prove my case. I wrote them several days ago and haven't heard anything yet, after sending them pictures. I didn't research them before ordering the shoes, since they've been selling on the internet for several years, and the price was good. I had no idea that they were re-sellers. Had I known that, I wouldn't have bought from them. Is there someplace on the website where they mention that fact? Replacing the buckles myself is costing almost $30, so their good deal, is now not such a good deal. Shame on me for not checking them out before ordering. I've never ordered from them before. Will have to wait and see how this turns out.

Icycles,
(Bikesurplus Com)
716 N Ventura Road
Oxnard, CA 93030-4405

Phone: (805) 383-1480

Source: http://www.manta.com/c/mml9gmn/icycles

FWIW, I agree about being hesitant to deal with a merchant that makes it difficult to reach them by phone. Sometimes issues aren't black and white enough for email correspondence and a phone chat becomes the best way.

I placed a $150 order with them a couple of weeks ago. Order included spokes. This is the email I sent them which explains the situation:

" . . .Hi--
Received my order yesterday which included, among other things, spokes of 3 different lengths cut-to-order.

I randomly selected a few spokes and measured them on my new Park Tool Spoke Ruler (also in this order).

It appears that all 3 sizes of spokes are 1-1.5mm longer than the specified size. The uniformity of the error suggests that your machine is out of adjustment. I am calling this to your attention so that you can check it before doing more orders.

This is my first time at building wheels from scratch, so I am not able to accurately predict what effect these longer-than-specified spokes will have on my build. It may be that they will work just fine; or I may get to the final stages of tightening and find out that I cannot fully tension the wheels.

I am willing to go ahead and try the spokes; but if it turns out that they are unsatisfactory, I'm going to have to return them to you and at that point they will be greasy, bent, etc.

What do you want me to do?

Thanks, regards, Clark Cooper . . . "

I sent this same email every day for six days and also twice through their site messaging system. It took them six days to respond. When they did respond, this is the email they sent:

" . . . Clark,
Thank you for your concern, The spokes should be fine. Give them a try. You want spokes to have a little extra thread on them anyway...
ICYCLES . . ."

No mention of the fact that they screwed up or that I was left hanging for a week and was maybe just a little inconvenienced.

As it stands right this minute, my rear wheel looks like it's gonna be OK. Looking at the front wheel, I have over 1 mm of spoke above the screwdriver slot and I'm not up to full tightness yet--so I don't know how it's going to turn out.

All in all, a real pain in the asse and I hope somebody shoots me for a fool if I ever deal with them again.

Here's another thread dealing with IcyclesUSA.com:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?548582-Beware-of-ICYCLESUSA.com-Very-Shady-Company

As someone who deals regularly with online customers, I have to say just because you are the customer you aren't always right. Threatening and name calling is not a good way to handle the situation. I notice it is mostly Americans who take this attitude, in my business for some reason they think they are entitled to everything perfect all the time no matter what.. like they want the vendor to wipe their arse for em! Well for your info we work for a living and mistakes sometimes happen, freaking out about it isn't the solution.

For the record, i did order from Icycles a couple months ago, they had a part I needed, i got the product shipped to Canada fast and cheap.

Well, I posted this situation elsewhere, but since Icycles seems to be the only seller with more than one Hate thread, let me just post this update here, in case anybody has doubts:

Well, here I am a week later, unable to find the spacer that is supposed to be included with the 5603 crankset. Google shopping shows 6 places that carry it--Guess what? All "out-of-stock" or discontinued. Except for one in Europe, which would cost me a fortune for shipping. As far as I can tell, nobody in Hawaii has it. ShimanoUSA is no help. So I have a brandnew Titanium frame and about $1500 worth of components, all the parts except this one crappy little spacer. And i can go no further, unless i fabricate something myself, which I guess I'm going to have to do.

All this hassle because Icycles is incompetent and irresponsible.

I hope you remember this post when you are about to be seduced by one of Icycles' "good deals". Get it through Jenson, for the same price, and save yourself all this hassle.

EDIT: I just read the post above, where a customer ordered from Icycles and got good service. Of course it happens. But what happened to me also happens (obviously). Do you want to take a risk like that when it's not saving you any money? If so, Good luck and Happy Shopping. I'll look for your feedback on here :)

I've done business in the past with ICYCLESUSA and never had a problem, but granted it's been a long time. Personally I think, as others have stated, it was communication problem that the OP got bent over for no good reason. As long as you got your money returned then there shouldn't have been an issue. No company is perfect, granted some are very bad, but ICYCLESUSA is just perhaps mediocre. According to web reviews by customers they got a score 0f 7.5 out of 10 for the last 6 months and a score of 6.11 out of 10 for a lifetime rating. You can go to JensonUSA and they will price match ICYCLESUSA.