Recently made a purchase on Ebay. Before the purchase, I asked all the necessary questions about bike and got photos of what I needed. It checked all the boxes. I won the item. Waited for it. It arrives.

Before I even opened the box, I see this and immediately got me worried (don't mind the yeti foot)


I honestly didn't want to open the box to see the disappointment, but what choice do I have?


NOTHING and I mean NOTHING was protected/wrapped. The frame laid bare; the wheels loose with a piece of cardboard separating them from the frame; and pieces of wadded paper as "cushion"

And of course (not surprisingly), the damage done. The pic is blurry, but I guess it's better that way.


I messaged the seller and asked him if he ever shipped out a bike before. Sure enough, this was his first time Of all the things I forgot to ask this important question. My mistake for not asking before I decided to bid on it. So the question now is, who's at fault? Him or Fedex? Is it possible for him to put the blame on Fedex and file for an insurance claim? Or me for that matter? Any help/insights would be greatly appreciated especially if you have gone through something similar like this in the past.

FedEx will never pay up for that kind of packing job and why should they. Contact seller and give him a chance to make good. And at the same time start the eBay claim process.

That's poor packing. Shipper is not going to take responsibility for the sellers incompetence, nor should they. Seller should make it right. Personally, unless it's something VERY uncommon, the seller would be taking it back, with return shipping on them.

I agree. Certainly not Fedex's fault. Work it out with the seller.

Ship it back, the same way it came.

Buy a different bike.

That is a 3Rensho, is it not?

Considering the bike you got likely for a good price is basically in what most would consider good condition there isn't a lot you can do. About all you can do is file a claim against the seller for partial renebursment I have done this several times through EBay it's not perfect but you should at least get some of your money back likely the shipping cost. Very nice bike which I suspect your keeping regardless looking at it I suspect with a little TLC and touch up those scrathes can be dealt with. I understand your pain it sucks when you finely get a grail bike like this and it's scratched dinged from poor packing.

It does appear to be. The yellow saddle is easy enough to track it down in completed sales. That puts a different spin on things wally. If this bike fits just right it may be a while before you find another Rensho in your size so if you want to keep it I would ask the seller for a partial refund. I have received frames with undisclosed damage or some other dumbasssery committed by the seller and received money back. Some sellers will not consider this option as they think it's some kind of scam and just say- send it back if you don't like it but it's worth a try.

The horse has left the barn but to anyone else that did not read the part- " I messaged the seller and asked him if he ever shipped out a bike before. Sure enough, this was his first time Of all the things I forgot to ask this important question..". ALWAYS ask.

I got a bike with a bar end shifter sticking out of the box. That was a bad omen.

Now- personally... the scratches are minor- dents and bent stuff... not so minor.

Buying on-line can be disappointing, at times, to say the least. After receiving my Marinoni, sporting a horrible packing job(the Campy C-Record rear derailleur was sticking out of the box and broken in half) and I do wish that I had a picture to show the damage. The seller never did anything to help but I was new to the buying on-line game.

With that experience in mind, I put together a series of suggestions for reducing the chances of getting screwed. That article is titled Buying and Selling Bicycles. I do recommend that those, new to the idea of buying a bike on-line, take a wee while to sort through the information. I am pretty sure it will help and I even tend to review the information when I am preparing to buy...

You whine to eBay, seller will get a demerit.

Just had similar with a '75 Moto Le Champion, cogs tore up a spot on the seatpost. Got some reimbursement, but it was heartbreaking. Still, the absolutely worst-packed bike I ever got by some miracle did not sustain a single scratch - shipped from Italy no less.

Bummer. I've had good packers and bad packers. One outfit that is a big online seller just partially ziptied things together and shipped loose in a box that was way too big. Must have bounced around a ton. Fortunately, no damage and it was a kid's bike so mine didn't really care, but some really odd moves out there. Painful when it's a grail bike.

Frahjeelay.

That's sad. Done right you can use card board as a separator. Try to work something out with the seller but first decide if you want to keep it. If you want it decide, ahead of time, what you'd like for compensation. You either want it or you don't.

Because you received it its within your right to leave negative feedback. I hate leaving negative feedback because 'things happen'. In this case, without question, I'd leave negative feedback. The seller, depending how big or small he is, may try to negotiate a 'no negative feedback' resolution which is completely up to you and within ebay policy. But be careful, 'feedback extortion' is against ebay policy and you could screw yourself. Don't say or hint anything like, "well, I'll leave positive feedback if you take $X off the price"

That puts a different spin on it..

********** wow, amazingly good luck on that.

I bought a bike (Lotus) on Ebay two years ago. The seller was someone, who by looking up his feedback, I determined he sold many bikes. Anyway I guess I got lucky because he shipped it in a bike box, knowledgeably taken apart. I worked at Toys R Us and his packing was as good as any factory packed bike, I ever pulled out of a box! Ask for a partial refund and see how it plays out.

Max Bryant

Thanks for sharing. My rule of thumb has always been to only buy a bike face-to-face (and I've done it many times), but the one time I decide to buy from the 'bay, it turns out like this. What are the odds.

OUCH. Now, if my bike came in like that I would definitely be worried. I'm surprise they even shipped it.

At least yours was 'tied down'. lol

Agree. I've used cardboard as separators before, but that's with all the parts/components wrapped.

Yes, it is.

Currently in the process of getting at least some money back for the damage so I can put it towards this thing.

I already own 2 and this will be the 3rd. Regardless, I still would've preferred it to not be damage during the shipment.

I feel you. I understand that a bike that's 15-30 years old will come with it's scratches/bumps/bruises; but in this case it was due to the seller's poor packing during shipment. But a bar end sticking out would be a different story (something and to break).

3 3Renshos now? That's pretty sweet. I owned 1 and enjoyed it but let it go as it was a tad small.

This is one reason I never, ever buy from a seller who does not have positive feedback on prior bike shipments. Obviously poorly packed, so Fed Ex is not going to cover anything. Packing a bike well takes quite a bit of time and skill. Few newbies have a shot at getting it right.

I have on occasion bought from newbie sellers but only if I could pick up the bike.