Would anyone buy a bike from an ebay seller with zero feedback? I found a decent deal I want to jump on, but i dont feel like getting ripped off. The shipping charges are only $20 too. It sounds too good to be true.
does the description look fishy?
this is a thread?
heres a link. no one buy it =P
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250485496373&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Seems little risk if you pay with Paypal these days. eBay favours buyers and will refund you at the drop of a hat.
However, don’t bid if you expect to hold the person to $20 shipping. I have no idea how much it should cost to send a bike across the US but most folks seem to charge a little more. People who don’t use the post office regularly sometimes just use the weight without punching in the dimensions, and I (personally) think it’s a dick move to force a rookie seller to cover extra freight costs if you, as the bidder, are aware that it’ll probably cost more.
it’s listed under accessories>>lights!
I think this is legitimately a seller who has no clue.
+1 to everything about paypal ridiculously favoring the buyer. you’re safe.
DO IT, PUSSY
I’d buy it, especially that bike if it was in my size haha.
how harge is it?
edit: oh, it’s 52cm harge
It’s been on craigslist for a week or two now at $550.
I won’t buy a bike from Ebay ever again unless I can locally pick it up. I bought two early this year and both were horribly packed and damaged. The only good thing was the damage was minimal and since I am a (un)trained professional and they were steel I was able to fix them both.
Tons of misspelled words in the ad says no thanks to me. I would never buy anything from a seller with zero feedback.
I am wary of listings that are rife with language errors, especially ones that are very vague with details like component spec.
In this case, I would ask the seller for more pictures, perhaps of a specific part, or to measure something specific. That will be sort of a test of whether the seller actually has the bike, or if they just jacked the photo from CL.
daedelus is right. It will also tell you if they are up to the task of communication should you need if there is an issue.
As for zero feedback… I’m skeptical, but everyone starts somewhere.
I sold a VooDoo frame on ebay with only like two feedbacks. It should have sold for over $500, but ended up going for $250. Some people with no feedback are legit.
yeah, i only have like 3 or 4, and im a responsable seller
im really trusting to people that sell stuff online
ive never really had a bad experience
I have gotten some of my best deals from people who don’t know how to speel on the 'Bay/CL.
[quote=bigmatt]I won’t buy a bike from Ebay ever again unless I can locally pick it up. I bought two early this year and both were horribly packed and damaged. The only good thing was the damage was minimal and since I am a (un)trained professional and they were steel I was able to fix them both.
Tons of misspelled words in the ad says no thanks to me. I would never buy anything from a seller with zero feedback.[/quote]
I’ve bought two frames from ebay and both were well packed and in the described condition.
That said, I probably wouldn’t bid on so vague an ad.
I got new front and rear nondisc King hubs for $225 from a 0 feedback seller.
As stated, don’t expect the seller to honor the $20 shipping costs. With that in mind, if it’s a good deal and the risk is worth it, then do the deal. For ebay/paypal transactions, there is a monetary benefit in assuming some amount of risk. In this case, it’s very likely that you’ll score a really good deal on a bike as competing buyers might be scared away or may never find the listing. For this to work, it helps to be patient with the seller and willing to cope with the consequences of the deal going awry.
I’ve bought tons of items through ebay from low or no feedback sellers or sellers with horrible language skills. These items represent the best deals I’ve gotten. I’ve bought a couple frames through ebay, most of them have been well-packed.