Maxxer

Because it is insinuated in the title.

Let's all learn to read between the lines.

jdprice

yeah... well i used paypal financing and a money order to buy the bike... and i maxed out the financing at $1500 which was my limit... so to to complete the payment on the bike + shipping i sent the guy a money order for $131 which makes the total cost of the bike $1631.

paypal investigated ruled in my favor and covered the $1500 that i used through paypal..but said they couldnt cover a money order. so i filed the complaint with ebay..who in turn said they wouldnt be able to do anything further since paypal already investigated and returned money to me. so basically i am out $131 to this a-hole on ebay, (ID: BICYLECHEMISTRY).

jdprice

partially... i only received the 1500 i used through paypal financing. not the additional 131 i sent via money order

oh and by the way...paypal doesnt cover everything.... paypal covers up to $1000, and the paypal buyer financing covers up to $1500.... so basically if you want to make a big purchase on ebay there are loopholes sellers could go through to screw you over... like in my case.

and i believe ebay only covers up to $300-$500

jimbud

None of my business but I looked at his feedback (BicycleChemistry) and saw someone had a problem with a Lemond Zurich. Was that you? What happened? Was it damaged during shipping or what?

aham23

i suggest using your credit through paypal. it is much easier to dispute charges with a credit card company then paypal. but $1500 is better then nothing. later.

Ineedhelp

E-bay's like everything else, there are scammers out there, just be careful, learn the clues that identify scammers, pay with a credit card through paypal, and yes, if you have a good credit card company, you can probably dispute the charges easier through them than through e-bay.

I even went through an identify theft incidence when my debit card was stolen. I didn't realize that the clerk at a store didn't give it back to me, and then I found they were using it when I checked my account on-line. I remembered the store I used it at last, and even remembered the clerk, so he was busted, but didn't charge enough to make it a felony, so last I heard, their lawyer was working something out with the prosecuting attorney. My bank immediately returned the funds to my account. I have now learned the perpetrator was a minor, and did confess, so I'm leaving it to the prosecutor's discretion.

When I bought my bike on e-bay, I used the same card, which is also a credit card, and had the deal gone bad, I know I could easily have disputed the charges. I'm very happy with my bike.

As a number of other posters have pointed out, it's not e-bay, but bad sellers on e-bay. Still, I don't feel e-bay offers enough protection, especially not for buyers who are not aware, or paranoid enough to be on guard against this.

jimbud

The wierd thing on this one is from seller's feedback he looks like he is OK. I've bought components from him and I don't remember the parts being different then there discription.

jdprice

yeah that was the zurich that was cracked. just a clean 3 inch crack in the carbon fiber on the top tube...and it wasnt a shipping mistake... as it was packaged sufficiently and even fedex inspected the packaging and said the crack wasnt due to shipping. basically i think this guy had the bike....with the cracked frame... snapped some digital photos of the bike... quite possibly, and easily, edited out the crack and posted it up on ebay to pawn it off on someone. he was also a pain in the a*$ to deal with on the phone, and kept insisting that he had nothing to do with it.

it was funny too...how later when i reported him to the better business bureau he said that i probably had "buyer's remorse", and smashed the bike to get a refund. if i had "buyer's remorse" or decided that it was too much $ to pay for the bike why would i end up buying a 2004 lemond maillot jaune- a step up from the zurich and a couple hundred $ more.

jimbud

You know I read his discription on how the bike was a display model that one of the local teams carted around with them as a promo item and it makes you wonder how close he inspected the frame before he put it up on eBay. That guy sells alot of parts on eBay. I don't think it would have killed him to at least split the cost of your loss on the deal.

jdprice

yeah i would agree... just still a little pissed that he still has $131 of mine.. not really about the money but just the fact that he was wrong

Mariner Fan

The scammers are getting smarter. Of course you see the idiots who post 30 Trek Madones for a starting bid of 1.00. All they need is one noob to bid to make their killing. Kinda sad.

squeegy200

Lots of good advice offered from Bikeforums members.

I've been buying items from the online auction for years. And I've just started selling items. I picked up a couple of books which have helped me to become proficient at the techiques and traps of eBay.

But one of the best pieces of advice that I've read is to use good judgement and control your emotions before participating in an auction.

I've built my most recent mountain bike and road bike from parts acquired on eBay resulting in some considerable savings. Careful planning, deciding what you want before diving in, doing the research, and exercising patience helped me to have a positive experience with the online auction.

thewalrus

I have found Ebay to be most useful when filtering search results to show only the 'Buy it Now' option items... By doing that you can treat ebay/paypal more like a store, and avoid getting caught up in the bidding frenzy hype. People pay too much for stuff on ebay all the time because they've invested themselves in "WINNING" the auction. I only bid on auctions for things I don't particularly need, but would like to have.

jimbud

I've been buying bike components on eBay for years and it has allowed me to be able to own different brands on bikes that could never afford to go out and buy from a bike shop. I consider myself pretty good at knowing what components are worth and I even bought a crankset on eBay last week that I could have bought from Colorado Cyclist on a close out for $10.00 less. Walrus is right, the buy it now option allows you to check prices of on-line stores and make a decision without letting the bidding process get the best of you.

Rocket Richard

My whole fleet was bought on e-bay.....check my signature!

Maxxer

I don't need a road bike for the moment but I would like to have one.

But a 1500$, is to take seriously

Hugh

Like this guy. Three positive feedbacks, but he's got 273 different items right now on ebay, and he managed to list all of them in about 17 minutes. Free shipping, $1.00 opening bid, no minimum. I've heard that these folks will steal someone else's user name and sell stuff under that name. Pretty creepy.

In case I'm wrong about this seller, my apologies.

Treespeed

Haven't done it yet, don't think I will. I keep hearing so many horror stories and I really find everything I need at either the LBS or bigger online retailers.

TomM

I trust eBay. It's some of the sellers I don't trust.

Maxxer

Personnally, my step bro got scammed by a guy for a video card 4 months ago.

About 300 buks and mastercard, e-bay and paypal did not insure it.

EURO

Next topic title:

'Do you trust people?'

Ed Holland

I've used ebay quite a few times and not had a problem yet, so has my wife. That said, I'm purchasing (mostly) second hand, low value items. The most expensive thing so far was $150 for a reclaimed MG gearbox for our car restoration project. Usually its £20 - 30 items, such as the nice pair of SPDR pedals & cleats I scored a while ago.

As ever, caveat emptor.

Ed

120372

If you're not in a hurry and are diligent in your search, if you contact the seller and ask specific questions about condition issues or components before bidding, if you look closely at all the photos (I generally import them to photoshop and zoom in to closely inspect the items) and if you're comfortable with the risk of buying practically sight-unseen to get a bargain, ebay is great.

I had a really good experience w/ my road bike purchase. For the price of an entry-level trek at the LBS, I found a full carbon Look w/ dura ace. It takes time to find what you're looking for at a steal but for me it was well worth the effort.

so far, I've had no problems with purchases through ebay. The feedback system makes repeatedly scamming people nearly impossible. I only buy from people with lots of past sales.

jimbud

For anyone interested, I e-mail the seller asking to here his side of the transaction and that his reputation as a e-bay seller was being discussed on a on-line bike forum and he didn't bother responding. I even told him I was bidding on a set of wheels he has listed on eBay which I still am. I really wonder about the damaged bike transaction now.

ovoleg

I will not be associated with PayPal or EBAY ever again...

I am disgusted by their customer service and ethics.