TrekRider

Just bought a pair of Dura-Ace pedals on Ebay. All the feed back on the seller, ebikesworld, was positive. I e-mailed them and made sure the pedals were brand new, and still in the box. The owner assured me they were.

So, for $146.50 (including $7.50 shipping) I have a set of $240 Dura-Ace pedals for Christmas. (I got $300 for my bike fund and accessories).

This is my first experience with EBay. I hope it doesn't disappoint me.

BikeInMN

They're a great outfit to deal with. I bought two Cateye wireless cycle computers from them on a Monday and received them that same week on Thursday. New in the box as advertised.

Enjoy the pedals!!

pjbaz

Ebay is great...BUT you need to be careful. Watch the feedback and if it "feels" wrong it probably is.

Remember, the Trek 5900 should never sell for $1,000!

PJBAZ

fogrider

Agreed, ebay is great, just be sure to ask the right questions and check their feedback. And pay by credit card through paypal. Paypal says they will protect you, but they have all these conditions before they will help you, with a credit card company, it just takes a phone call and they said its taken care of.

TrekRider

Great advice, fog, and that is exactly what I did. There was not much feedback, but what there was was good. Because of the holiday, I am going to give him a week before I start bugging him.

Feltup

I have never had any problems with Ebay. I just bought a brand new Easton EC90 roadbar for $100. It is over kill for me but hey at that price I had to give it a try.

geneman

I read somewhere recently that the best selling technique is to request payment by postal check only. Laws surrounding money transfer under the watchful eyes of the USPS are especially tough. Were one to try to forge a postal order, it would be investigated by the USPS.

-mark

Simon Ed

Yeah I did a deal out of ebay because the item was retracted by the seller. Top and bottom, I got ripped off to the tune of $680. (I am pursuing this but on a more 'personal' read vindictive level)

Just use the credit card, BidPay or Paypal so that the trail is well lit.

It has really soured me and I won't buy anything off it again which is probably unfair to all the honest peopel out there, but if it does not have a receipt I wont touch it with a 10ft barge pole disinfected at both ends

Feltup

What do you mean the item was retracted? Is that a nice way of saying it never shipped? If you use Paypal or a credit card, or even your debit card you have a trail. I have always been covered when I purchased online. I once bought a digital camcorder from an online company. It never came. One call to the credit card company and the charge was removed.

HarryK

Have to side with the cynics here. For any fatigue or damage-sensitive items, like stems, bars and seatposts, there is a risk here that you're buying a used or damaged item when you don't know the seller or source of the part.

Plus, ask yourself how these sellers get the new items at such a bargain price. It's easy for someone to sell used parts as new, or "part-out" new bikes by selling OEM parts as new. If the parts are hot, or ripped-off from an OEM bike, that's not something I want to support.

Simon Ed

Feltup,
Retracted means that it was posted on ebay then the guy decided to take it off as there were no bids for it. It must have been really poor timing (on my part) but I emailed the guy just before he retracted it and he wrote back saying he still had the stuff and would consider a private sale. I called him up and we spoke at length. He had all good reviews and on the surface looked and sounded like a good guy. Cash went into the post, Sweet FA came back. I thought that after actually talking to the guy how bad could the deal actually go? Ha! Well I guess I know. Needless to say my wife has given me 5hit about it since and homicidal urges are not uncommon when I see an ebay advert. I have an email 'paper trail' and some stuff from Fed-Ex to show that something was actually sent to his address but the AG office is slow to get anything done. Plus I live in Japan which was just dandy for him but I have recently seen him in action and emailed somone that he bought stuff off. His listed address is BS and I emailed the seller and asked by stating the address I sent the cash to was it the same, she wrote back confirming he has not in fact moved. (which I thought he had) Soooooo, it time to get the book 'Dirty Tricks' from Amazon and find a suitable retort.

Live and learn....

TrekRider

I received an e-mail notification yesterday that my pedals had been shipped via USPS. Earlier, I had asked if the pedals were new as advertised. The seller replied they were brand new, still in the box, just as I would purchase at my LBS.

If all is true, the mark-up on cycle components must be extraordinary if this guy can make a profit selling them at $70 less than retail.

Feltup

I received the Easton bar yesterday. It is in perfect condition. It is in the original package and has no signs of mounting. I will continue to use Ebay.

Yes LBS have big mark-ups. It is nessesary for them to stay in business.

LowCel 

Keep in mind that the markups are pretty much just on parts and accessories. Bike shops don't make much at all on the actual bikes. The markup on parts is actually pretty low compared to other items as well. Most people that are in business would never even consider opening a bike shop after looking at the low margins.

Just thought I would throw that in real quick. By the way, I don't own a shop or work at a shop, just have a friend that owns one. I couldn't believe how low the profit margin was once I started looking at it. Just to give you an idea, the prices that www.frankfordbikes.com sells shimano components for is the same price that he gets them from his wholesaler for. How can the lbs compete. As for how these people on ebay get components so cheap....I have no idea.

TrekRider

My wife used to work in the jewelery trade. The mark up for retailers was sometimes as much as 500%!

My LBS sells bikes for less than suggested retail. The Trek 5200 is suggested to be $2750 on the web site, but is sold for $2450 at my LBS. There are six franchises of the type that is my LBS, and they all seem to be doing well. Hopefully, mine will flourish.

Arizona-Cyclist

TrekRider,

Generally speaking e-bay is a great way to go to find parts both new and used. I sell a lot of my old stuff on e-bay when I no longer use it. I try to get the best pic I can and list all the scratches and how long I used an item. In the over 150 transactions I have had on e-bay both selling and buying only one was a sour experience. I purchased a Colnago CDX advertised with a Campagnolo Nuovo Record Group. I was after the group and not specifically the frame. When it arrived, the numb skull that sold it to me had just thrown it in a box and it was really scratched by the wheels. Then I discovered that the components weren't Campy Nuovo Record at all but the cheaper, stamped/not machined Nuovo Gran Sport. I tried to get the guy to make things right but to no avail. I gave him bad feedback and since I did the deal through e-bay I was covered by their insurance and they reimbursed me. I later sold the frame on ebay, showed pics of the damage and described it well. The guy that bought it sent me an e-mail and told me it was exactly what he was looking for for a fixie.

Don't overlook used stuff too if it is from a reputable seller. I bought a pair of not very used speedplay pedals for about $50 for my backup bike. Sold three pair of used SPDs recently for @$6 each. It can be fun, just be careful.

LowCel 

Yeah, ebay is a great place to buy used parts. However, you can generally find new parts for about the same price or just slightly higher at on-line retailers. Much safer most of the time.

TrekRider

I just got my new Dura-Ace pedals in the mail today, 2 Jan. They were exactly as advertised, brand new and still in the box.

LowCel 

Cool, congrats TrekRider!