frames, but no forks
 

I know that when buying a new alloy, titanium or steel frame you can choose to have the forks in the same material or upgrade (!) to carbon. But looking at frames on Ebay I was astonished to find a helluva lot were being offered with no forks.... The only thought that struck me was that a second hand frame that had no forks had had an accident and the seller was getting rid of the (less?) damaged parts. Perhaps I'm a tad too suspicious but my money is very precious to me :( . This is in the UK, what is it like in the USA, I'm curious? Now I've unburdened myself I feel a lot happier, thanks for reading.

Ebay isn't the kind of commercial channel that we've grown used to. Your methods of recourse are limited so there's greater risk. I wouldn't bid more than I was prepared to lose.

Many of our online bike stores offer frames sans forks as well. As you said picking the king of fork you want when building a bike from the frame up. You have to pick the bars, stem, seatpost, saddle, pedals, Crankset, Chainring, bottom bracket, and wheels. And many of the frames on E-bay are the same. Often you will find they are new when you click on the frame. If they aren't they may as you suggest come from a damaged bike but they could just as easily have donated their parts to a new frame for the owner. read the discription and the rating for the seller well and decide if it is a risk worth taking.

A lot depends on the bike. But, calculate the value of the fork into the cost of the frame.

If you're buying some Classic/Vintage frame, then it is always best to find one one with a matching frame/fork. Some brands like Colnago forks can be quite expensive.

A lot of MTB riders swap forks, and choose a custom fork with the characteristics they desire. So, if you're looking at MTB frames, I wouldn't have any problem at least with the concept of a forkless frame. Of course, as above, the best value may be with a matched set.

Keep in mind a missing or swapped fork can also be a sign of a crash, with the potential for frame damage.