it's trash. buy mine.

Thanks for the unbiased input

Yes the answer to that question is absolutely misleading and I think you have no problem getting your money back either through seller or through Ebay.

Quick update. The seller replied saying send it back for a refund. Alternatively, Kurt said ship it down and he'll straighten the damage.

I say send the seller down here and I'll straighten their damage.

-Kurt

Is the seller refunding shipping as well, or splitting the cost of shipping? I'd say if you're going to take a hit, might as well get something out of it. Of course, a shipping penalty is less than $150 + paint + all the other costs of a refurb.

Is there any damage on the top tube? That doesn't really look like crash damage. Looks like the downtube was banged around somehow.

I'd ask the seller to compensate for the cost of repair, Rob - the whole $150.

Better than losing out on shipping, and you get the bike anyway. Let me know if you'd like me to draft up a letter.

-Kurt

There's a saying that goes something like "if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." Well, Tom's tool of choice is a torch, and it's no surprise that it's the tool he would use to fix this frame. If his tool of choice was that snazzy Park frame tool, he might well use that.

But I don't think so. I consulted with Tom about a frame with very similar damage a couple months ago, and not surprisingly his advice was exactly the same. But he explained it very well, I thought. 531 is very springy stuff; you can bend it pretty far, and it goes right back to its original shape. There is a limit, of course; if you bend it beyond that limit, the metal starts to give. In the case of a tube like this, one part of the tube gets stretched out, while the other part tries to compress; and instead of compressing, it deflects into that characteristic bulge. Your frame now has a weak spot, and it has a new racy geometry. If you force it back to its original shape momentarily, it will spring back to the new racy shape. To return it to original shape permanently, you have to bend it far beyond that shape until the metal gives again. Maybe now the ripple will stretch back to its original shape, but it will be a little longer; and your stretched area at the other side will deflect into a new ripple. And you will have further weakened your weak spot. That's probably fine, for a display bike, he said, but if you want to ride it, replace the tube.

If you take a bent frame to a frame builder, you can expect this answer. If you don't want this answer, don't take it to a frame builder. That said, I think you did want this answer. Either replace the tube, or send back the frame. I sent back the frame.