# Ebay for cycling stuff - what's the point ?



## brokenflipflop (27 Oct 2011)

I've recently been getting some parts together to build a bike and I've noticed that a lot of the second hand stuff on Ebay doesn't appear to make much financial sense to me.

For example. Someone recently was selling some shimano 105 brake calipurs. Hardly used (so they said) and just slight cosmetic scratches. 

They eventually went for £50. Add the £5 P&P which totals £55.

I simply googled 105 calipurs and picked up a brand new pair (choice of silver or black) for £54.95 inc postage.

The same with the shifters. Same seller as the calipurs, I think they went for about £160. I'm sure I've seen them brand new for not much more.

Either some people are getting carried away bidding or the seller is getting friends/family to ramp up the prices in the hope one or two people are that desperate to win the auction they will bid over the odds just for victory.

I've nearly got all the bits for the bike now from sale items at proper bike shops. All new, 12 month warranty, certain not to have been nicked, more choice re sizes and colours and free postage.

I think Ebay is a bit like paying Selfridges prices at an Oxfam shop.


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## Pikey (27 Oct 2011)

I know what u mean! I've been looking for parts on eBay too and most recently there have been a lot of 'almost mint barely used' kit going for silly prices.

I'm sure its like u said, people getting mates to bid and up the price, a few times I've got into a bit of a bidding war in this situation, pulled out at the last minute and had the seller contact me after the auction as the other bidder 'wont pay'. All a bit suspect...

I suppose it's just like buying stuff down the market, but u can't spot the twelks in sheep skin coats trying to rip you off as easily...


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## tyred (27 Oct 2011)

Ebay has got to be far too expensive imo. Most of what you can buy on Ebay can be bought elsewhere for less, the only exception being odd or hard to find parts.


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## Dave 123 (27 Oct 2011)

Ebay doesn't have bargains any more. As well as cycling I'm a white water kayaker. Boats (with scratches and gouges) go for almost retail price. Also the items are usually miles away.
I've used Gumtree to buy bike stuff recently, local, and no auctions. The downside is that I'll wager a fair bit is knock off*

*allegedly


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## smokeysmoo (27 Oct 2011)

A mate of mine has just sold THIS bike on Ebay. He bought it about 4 years ago and paid £280, he's commuted on it for the last 4 years and someone has just paid him £500! Granted it was in excellent condition, but even so.

Goes to show, they're not all locked up yet


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## MissTillyFlop (27 Oct 2011)

Still use it for cyclewear and that.


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## Panter (27 Oct 2011)

Ebay's great, but you have to be a bit careful. I think that some people assume that the best prices are on ebay, when sometime's it's not the case.


Cycling and fish keeping equipment seem to be two things where you can easily pay more 2nd hand if you don't search around thoroughly.


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## Fletch456 (27 Oct 2011)

It could also be seasonal - a friend who is much more of an ebayer than me feels theres is a marked difference, this year at least, between Spring / Summer and Autumn / Winter on there. He said that earlier this year things were going for more than they have been in the past few months, such as a Dura Ace cassette which went for very little a month or two ago.

I also think that some people don't seem to be aware of the best online price from things I've been watching lately. Or they've got carried away without setting themselves a limit and sticking to it or barely deviating from it. It's exciting in that last hour or three isn't it though


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## PpPete (27 Oct 2011)

For "modern" parts it rarely represents the best deal. For items that have fallen out of fashion and bits and bobs that only fit older bikes its still a useful source.

Bits like this for example. You can buy the modern equivalent (ugly as sin) from several big online retailers for twice the price.


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## DCLane (27 Oct 2011)

I've found bargains and yes, there's people bidding above retail for stuff. It may be they don't have a credit card, or more likely it's shill bidding by getting someone else to bid on it. That's usually obvious if it's suddenly relisted, although it's not always shill bidding.

For purchases, much of my clothing has come from eBay - new and well below normal price.

I've also sold things though and they've nearly all gone for more than I paid for them originally, even when eBay's high fees and postage costs are included. The Peugoet bike I couldn't give away went for nearly £100.

Gumtree's good in some ways - last week I bought the Python bike from there - originally £500, the seller started at £260 and I paid £150 for an unused bike. It's supposed to be my dad's Christmas present, but it'll more likely be an n+1 bike for me.


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## tyred (27 Oct 2011)

There are still real bargains if you are prepared to be patient.


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## Panter (27 Oct 2011)

tyred said:


> There are still real bargains if you are prepared to be patient.



Absolutely, or if you keep an eye out for things that finish early mornings or other slightly obscure times.


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## The Dwaff Family (27 Oct 2011)

I wouldn't be buying anything on Ebay unless it actually was a bargain and alot cheaper than brand new, great for selling things on though! I do find it mad how some peoplpe just get carried away and not research how much these things are brand new.


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## Gixxerman (27 Oct 2011)

I agree. In the early days of Ebay, bargains could be had.
However, now it seems to be more of an online shop (lots of buy it now auctions), or frequented by fools who will pay more for new stuff, or even in some cases, second hand stuff, than you would if you just bought from any normal shop (online or otherwise).
For example (not cycling related), a few years back I was after a force feedbak steering wheel for a PS2.
At the time, Argos were selling them for £50. I missed out on loads of them to stupid bids approaching, and in some cases exceeding the Argos asking price. One notable example fetching just over £70 + p&p, so £75 odd. I eventually got one for £10 + p&p, but it took a long time. This was not an issue as I was in no immediate rush to get one.
So I suppose there are still bargains to be had, but you have to look hard, and be in no particular rush for them.
Not sure why people will pay over the odds for stuff. Maybe they are not doing their research before setting their maximum bid.
I personally do an extensive internet search for what I can buy the item for new.
I then set myself a maximum bid of 80% of this for new stuff, and 50% for good second hand stuff. I base this on the fact that it is so much harder to get refunds on Ebay compared to a real shop / internet retail store.


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## middleagecyclist (27 Oct 2011)

Bargains can be had. I got a £50.00 piece of electronic gear for 99p +p&p recently. Result!


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## Moss (27 Oct 2011)

What did Forrest Gump Say: "Stupid is, as Stupid does" eBayers have gone crazy with what they will pay for items in their auctions! STUPIDITY.


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## Jezston (27 Oct 2011)

Got a £1000 (allegedly) piano for £100 on ebay.

However, I was forced to suddenly sell it (moving house, removal firm suddenly realised actually no they can't move it - the day before moving!). Put it on ebay 24hr - got £2.50 for it.


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## lulubel (27 Oct 2011)

Pikey said:


> I'm sure its like u said, people getting mates to bid and up the price, a few times I've got into a bit of a bidding war in this situation, pulled out at the last minute and had the seller contact me after the auction as the other bidder 'wont pay'. All a bit suspect...



No, it's people getting carried away with the bidding (usually in the closing minutes).

My OH has been selling handmade items on eBay for years, and items do sell for silly prices. She'll often have the same item listed twice, one as an auction and the other as a buy now, and the final auction price will go well above the buy now price. She's had a few winning bidders not pay for the item when that happens (presumably because they realise what they've done, and they don't want to pay "over the odds"), but most of the time, people do pay.


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## Mozzy (27 Oct 2011)

Agree whole heartedly with L. Some items, well plenty actually go for far more than you can buy them for new; This then has to be as said the hype of the final moments, plus that :who as bid higher than me????' syndrome about wishing to see yourself as high bidder and wasted a week of your time off and on checking bid status.

To some extent I think the really good times have gone. I joined EB in 1999 and had a significant collection of things and decided I would have a pop to see how the water was. I made a killing over a few years, getting ten times what I thought I might. Sold as many privately as well, folks would ask as a winning bidder if I had this or that and invariably I did. Far better in my pocktick than left in the cupboard till when I became shroom compost.

There are some bargains to be had, just means searching around and keeping toes and fingers crossed no-one else wants it. I almost never bother anymore looking at buy it now and ignore anything with a reserve or single number feedback. Just this week I had my eye on something and it went for around £25 more than new … again, being caught up in the moment I suppose.

Some catagories just have far too much in them. I just recently gave away a load of almost new suits, jackets, trousers, coats, many unworn. Daughter said I should have used ebay; in the end I just couldn't be arsed with all the packing up, long queues in PO, argee bargeeing about any potential inaccuracies regarding sizing that I would have included.

Mozzy


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## MarkF (27 Oct 2011)

Yes it's daft but some posters are right there are still some bargains.

I recently bought a "worn once" £60 Altura rain jacket for £20, you take a risk but it really is as new, result! I bought a Dawes Horizon for £99 and was the only bidder, I didn't like it so re-listed it............. and it sold for £365. 

There are still often deals at "Buy it now", but people procrastinate, why? I don't know. There is another Dawes Horizon on Ebay right now at £300 "Buy it now", nobody has bitten but he's had one offer. If it was larger size I'd buy it, ride it next summer, then list it at .99p no reserve, it would sell for more than £300.


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## Lurpak (27 Oct 2011)

I bought some Oakley sunglasses for only 13.99. I could see there was a slight mistake with the logo so they were probably factory seconds. Good bargain nevertheless.


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## smokeysmoo (27 Oct 2011)

Lurpak said:


> I bought some Oakley sunglasses for only 13.99. I could see there was a slight mistake with the logo so they were *probably factory seconds*. Good bargain nevertheless.



Or counterfeit  

Ebay is still awash with shysters peddling fake goods, always has been and I suspect it always will.

Like they say, "If something looks too good too be true"


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## brokenflipflop (27 Oct 2011)

Jezston said:


> Got a £1000 (allegedly) piano for £100 on ebay.
> 
> However, I was forced to suddenly sell it (moving house, removal firm suddenly realised actually no they can't move it - the day before moving!). Put it on ebay 24hr - got £2.50 for it.



£2.50 for a piano. That destroys my whole argument in one fell swoop then. 

Bargain


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## brokenflipflop (27 Oct 2011)

That's a good point Mozzy. You can spend your whole life faffing around on-line with your bids/offers and then be unsuccessful.

Last Saturday I spent most of the day pissing about on Ebay for some shifters. If I'd done a days overtime (which I could have done) then I could almost have bought a brand new set of shifters from Wiggle (and got a free packet of toffees toboot)

I think I need to rethink my retail therapy strategy





Just ordered set of Shimano gear and brake cables for half the price of a current Ebay auction that some bandit is peddling.

Happy days


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## Bicycle (27 Oct 2011)

eBay can be frustrating - and some things are very expensive) but it can work.


I got a nice HT MTB a few years ago at a fraction of the new price and not too used.

I suspect the original owner had not parted with it willingly, but that's another story...

I also got a lovely Pinarello road bike for my daughter that was oldish but in LOVELY condition.

The price for that was very good too - and I'm pretty certain it was legit. 

But... I have walked away from MANY items in the last 3 hours because the price goes barmy in the last moments.

Why, I cannot imagine.


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## brokenflipflop (27 Oct 2011)

Uncle Mort said:


> I've got bargains from EBay. It's easy.
> 
> I only buy what I want.
> I only buy if I know what I'm getting.
> ...



Trouble is _DO_ you always know what you're getting?

At least most shops have a complaint/returns process.

My wife bought a genuine pair of Ugg boots off Ebay from China.......you can see where this is going can't you.

Yes she's a women, yes she's from Little Hulton, yes she's trusting.......BUT COME ON LUV...........*CHINA !!!!! *


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## smokeysmoo (27 Oct 2011)

brokenflipflop said:


> Yes she's a women, yes she's from Little Hulton, yes she's trusting.......BUT COME ON LUV...........*CHINA !!!!! *



Oh dear!


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## middleagecyclist (27 Oct 2011)

I got a one year old Marin Rocky Ridge HT MTB which I inspected before bidding on for £500.00. New price £1100.00. Nice!


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## HovR (27 Oct 2011)

I love eBay for accessories. Light brackets for £1.99, cable clips for 99p - Some great deals. But when it comes to bikes.. Last years Spesh Allez for £800? Might as well buy this years model for the same price at the LBS. :s


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## broomwagon (27 Oct 2011)

I got a good deal 'tother week when I bid for a Trek Pilot 2, 6 months old in mint condition. The auction was to end at 3am, which was a big mistake by the seller. With no reserve, I left a bid of £250 and went to bed. It was a nice surprise to wake and find I'd won it. Also picked up some cheap cycling jerseys which will do for training in.


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## Xiorell (27 Oct 2011)

I get where the OP is coming from, alot of things on there do go for nearly new prices or sometimes more.
It's not just cycling stuff, I keep Marine fish and stuff relating to that hobby goes for mad prices on there quite often.

Having said that I have picked up some bargains, for both the cycling and the fish thing, just gotta look hard and hope for a bit of luck


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## Mozzy (27 Oct 2011)

Hmmm, thinking about it, I just got my nearly new Cannondale Street Prestige for a song. They were after all £1400 in 2009.

Mozzy


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## scotty110788 (27 Oct 2011)

well i'll love ebay if i win this next auction, cant say what it is cos proper bargain for me bike and want no one stealin it haha. I paid 30quid other day for it from shop, but now i want another, less than day bidding left and im winning at 1.20 and its brand new


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## brokenflipflop (27 Oct 2011)

scotty110788 said:


> well i'll love ebay if i win this next auction, cant say what it is cos proper bargain for me bike and want no one stealin it haha. I paid 30quid other day for it from shop, but now i want another, less than day bidding left and im winning at 1.20 and its brand new



So it'll go for about £32 plus P&P then


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## Bayerd (28 Oct 2011)

Not being the greatest Ebay buyer in the world, would those with more experience say my strategy is wrong?

All I do is decide what I'm willing to pay, bid that amount early doors, then forget about it until the time's up. The way I see it is if the second highest bid is quite a bit lower, I'm going to pay less than I wanted to anyway....


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## DCLane (28 Oct 2011)

My suggestion (and my feedback's over 1500) is that it's a 'new eBayer' strategy.

Most will wait until the last moment before bidding their maximum amount, and once only - that's what I do. There are bidding services which will automate this for you, but I prefer the bid process personally.

Those who bid early are probably also similar to the people who keep bidding well above retail; they're new to it and so either get outbid or go above their previous maximum.


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## Andrew_P (28 Oct 2011)

A lot, and I mean alot of the auctions that end high have been shilled up to that level. I have one competitior who I know for a fact has ten+ shill bidding accounts and the plonker even leaves himself positives, he doesn't care if he wins it, he will get the feedback and probably at least one sale by offering it to second, and third+ bidders.

BUT I used to run regular auctions for identical items that I had on buy it now, so say one item was a buy now @ £29.99 the auction sometimes reached £39+ even though the advert contained links to the buy now item @ £29.99!

Trouble is auctions attracted so many dead beat non payers and or aggro that I stopped running them.

The problem now with eBay is that their fee structure makes it very difficult to pick up a bargain, and often now you will find eBay sellers are cheaper on their websites than on eBay. Amazon is even worse for fees.


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## Gixxerman (28 Oct 2011)

LOCO said:


> I have one competitior who I know for a fact has ten+ shill bidding accounts...



Really? If that is so, and you have evidence to the fact, you should report him to Ebay as shill bidding is not permitted.
Ebay will then take action.


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## Andrew_P (28 Oct 2011)

Gixxerman said:


> Really? If that is so, and you have evidence to the fact, you should report him to Ebay as shill bidding is not permitted.
> Ebay will then take action.


Reported twice..


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## Gixxerman (28 Oct 2011)

LOCO said:


> Reported twice..


Good man. Hope they come down on him hard. It is fraud at the end of the day.


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## smokeysmoo (28 Oct 2011)

Gixxerman said:


> Really? If that is so, and you have evidence to the fact, you should report him to Ebay as shill bidding is not permitted.
> Ebay will then take action.


The trouble is they might block the seller from listing until he takes a set of multiple choice questions test. Once this is passed he's back up and running.

So long as PIERRE OMIDYAR is getting his wedge in fees eBay don't really care


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## apollo179 (28 Oct 2011)

smokeysmoo said:


> The trouble is they might block the seller from listing until he takes a set of multiple choice questions test. Once this is passed he's back up and running.
> 
> So long as PIERRE OMIDYAR is getting his wedge in fees eBay don't really care



Multiple choice test like is shil bidding A ; good or B ; bad. Answer B and your banned from selling for 7 days then its back to normal.
I think only 1 person has only ever been taken to court and that was by the intervention of trading standards.


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## Gixxerman (28 Oct 2011)

smokeysmoo said:


> The trouble is they might block the seller from listing until he takes a set of multiple choice questions test. Once this is passed he's back up and running.
> 
> So long as PIERRE OMIDYAR is getting his wedge in fees eBay don't really care



Is that really the case? If, so then I am dissapointed to say the least. If Mr Omidyar wants to keep/make Ebay attractive, it has to be a safe place to buy items. It never ceases to amaze me how much greed there is in this world. 
I personally have a dilemma. I want to get a decent used Trek Madone. Ebay seems the logical (best?) place to source one. However, how Can I be sure that is isnt stolen? The last thing I want is to fund those particular low-lifes.


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## smokeysmoo (28 Oct 2011)

Gixxerman said:


> Is that really the case? If, so then I am disappointed to say the least. If Mr Omidyar wants to keep/make Ebay attractive, it has to be a safe place to buy items. It never ceases to amaze me how much greed there is in this world.
> I personally have a dilemma. I want to get a decent used Trek Madone. Ebay seems the logical (best?) place to source one. However, how Can I be sure that is isn't stolen? The last thing I want is to fund those particular low-lifes.



I'm sorry to say that is the way it seems to me. Ebay is a cash hungry animal and it seems they don't care how they get it. That may be a bit harsh as I'm sure they probably do take more serious action at times, but it does seem that people can get away with far more than you would expect.

As for the Madone, in a nutshell, you can't be 100% certain. All I'd say is vet the seller, how much feedback do they have, is it all good etc. You can often judge a seller by the advert, is it comprehensive, have they taken time, (and expense) to upload plenty of pictures, do they answer your questions promptly and as you'd expect. Or do they have low feedback, (but consider everyone starts from zero), is the advert brief and sketchy, is there one picture, (usually taken on a $hitty mobile phone), and are their replies basic and non-committal?

I sold my Madone 5.5 few years ago and got almost what I paid, but I advertised it honestly, (as always), the guy asked loads of questions which I answered fully, and I met up with him so he could inspect the bike.

I would expect if someones had the bike from new they would include the manuals and proof of purchase in one of their pictures too.

If you do see one post a link on here and ask what people think, you'll get plenty of replies


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## funnymummy (28 Oct 2011)

I have sold lots of stuff on Ebay, but stopped after the fees went through the roof. 
I still buy from there & have picked up lots of bargains, but I have also seen some ridiculous sales, I made a thread about it earlier this year ... https://www.cyclechat.net/


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## SavageHoutkop (28 Oct 2011)

smokeysmoo said:


> I would expect if someones had the bike from new they would include the manuals and proof of purchase in one of their pictures too.




You'd also expect the sales history of the seller not to be only bikes (unless they are a second hand bike dealer!)


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## Andrew_P (28 Oct 2011)

It is the wild west still but much more controlled than it was say 3-4 years ago. The cost of sale even for high volume sellers is around 12% inc PayPal. But rule braking is still rife on the site

They have recently started to tamper with the default search yet again and in certain cats Auctions are not rising to the top based on finish time, if they spread this across the site their will be loads of bargains for those in the know.


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## freecyclist (28 Oct 2011)

Ebay have put their fees up so high you can hardly blame sellers for trying to maximise their returns.


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## vernon (28 Oct 2011)

It's still possible to get bargains off Ebay.

Less than an hour ago I got a model stationary steam engine and boiler at around 50% of the going rate which represents a substantial saving.


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## brokenflipflop (28 Oct 2011)

I dare say antiques roadshow and eccentric type stuff you can get a bargain if you're an enthusiast and you know your onions. 

But run of the mill gear sold by thieving scroats and professional Ebayers I've found to be a rip-off. 

My first sentence sounds a bit rude but it wasn't meant to.


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## apollo179 (28 Oct 2011)

Gixxerman said:


> Really? If that is so, and you have evidence to the fact, you should report him to Ebay as shill bidding is not permitted.
> Ebay will then take action.



Sorry but i dont see what is so wrong with schill bidding. Nobody forcers anybody to bid at gunpoint. All this consumer protection is marvelous up to a point but surely there comes a point where the consumer has to mtfu and take responsibility for there actions.


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## lozcs (28 Oct 2011)

DCLane said:


> Gumtree's good in some ways



Last week we had about 20 people turn up at our work throughout the day for an interview for a job that didn't exist.

Took us a while to work it out but turned out somone had advertised a job on Gumtree and then told the candidates they were invited to interview but they must pay for CRB checks. Some of them had paid over £100!!!


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## Gixxerman (28 Oct 2011)

apollo179 said:


> Sorry but i dont see what is so wrong with schill bidding. Nobody forcers anybody to bid at gunpoint. All this consumer protection is marvelous up to a point but surely there comes a point where the consumer has to mtfu and take responsibility for there actions.



OK so you don't see anything wrong with shill bidding.
However, Ebay do.
It also breaks European Union Fair trading laws as illustrated in this article.


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## apollo179 (29 Oct 2011)

Gixxerman said:


> OK so you don't see anything wrong with shill bidding.
> However, Ebay do.
> It also breaks European Union Fair trading laws as illustrated in this article.



I dont dispute that shill bidding is wrong as prescribed by ebay rules and European Union Fair trading laws.
I was saying i dont see what is so wrong with schill bidding. Nobody forcers anybody to bid at gunpoint. All this consumer protection is marvelous up to a point but surely there comes a point where the consumer has to mtfu and take responsibility for there actions.
This just seems another concession to people avoiding taking responsibility for themselves.


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## 400bhp (29 Oct 2011)

Buying stuff off Ebay is absolutely fine.

You just need to be sensible, check sellers/buyers and don't be greedy (which applies to buying and selling).

Set yourself some rules:

Only buy items off ebayers with lots of feedback. If they don't have much feedback ask why/get an address (which you can request off Ebay), ask lots of questions about the item. 

Agree in advance what the highest price you are prepared to pay. Bid early, set your max and forget about the item until the deadline. If you don't win there are plenty of other similar/same items come up.


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## 400bhp (29 Oct 2011)

apollo179 said:


> I dont dispute that shill bidding is wrong as prescribed by ebay rules and European Union Fair trading laws.
> I was saying i dont see what is so wrong with schill bidding. Nobody forcers anybody to bid at gunpoint. All this consumer protection is marvelous up to a point but surely there comes a point where the consumer has to mtfu and take responsibility for there actions.
> This just seems another concession to people avoiding taking responsibility for themselves.



You have a point and to some extent I agree.

However the price something should be sold at should be determined (largely) by supply and demand.

If demand is broadly faked then an item will sell more than it would have sold for under fair circumstances. The buyer may still be happy with the price he paid for the item, but would have been happier to pay the correct, lower price.

Generally, the above affects things at the margins (e.g perhaps items sell for 10% more than they would have otherwise) but the seller is creaming that margin unfairly.


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## MarkF (15 Nov 2011)

2010 Sirrus Sport (lovely white model), 300 miles, few minor scratches to one side of down tube, otherwise mint. Lock, computer, bottle & cage, Specialized pump, rear light and Topeak touring rack.

£200, collected this morning, thank you Ebay.


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## doog (15 Nov 2011)

MarkF said:


> 2010 Sirrus Sport (lovely white model), 300 miles, few minor scratches to one side of down tube, otherwise mint. Lock, computer, bottle & cage, Specialized pump, rear light and Topeak touring rack.
> 
> £200, collected this morning, thank you Ebay.



nicked ?

(I know....you did all the checks



)

To be fair stolen bikes rarely go on ebay whole, just in pieces.


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## MarkF (15 Nov 2011)

doog said:


> nicked ?
> 
> (I know....you did all the checks )
> 
> To be fair stolen bikes rarely go on ebay whole, just in pieces.



 Owner was like Fatty Arbuckle and had bought himself a leccy commuter.

He listed it at £250 (CHEAP!) "Buy it now"on Sunday, I saw it, thought about it for an hour and it was gone, apparently sold within 2 hours of being listed. The sale fell through, why? I don't know and don't care, but Sirrus Sports were now on my mind. Boom! There it was again Monday morning, I offered £200 cash in his hand in one hour..........and the deal was done. Walked to his house, 35mins, and rode happily home.


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## StuAff (15 Nov 2011)

Four out of my last five bikes have been off eBay. Very happy with both the bikes and the prices I paid. It's fine as long as you're sensible, shop around, make sure that the price you're prepared to pay is a good deal...


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## MarkF (15 Nov 2011)

StuAff said:


> Four out of my last five bikes have been off eBay. Very happy with both the bikes and the prices I paid. It's fine as long as you're sensible, shop around, make sure that the price you're prepared to pay is a good deal...



Every week there are some cracking bike deals. Sometimes people just "want rid". The Sirrus was a great example, the owner didn't have room in his flat porch for the Sirrus and his new leccy commuter. I see these "deals"all the time but they are usually "collection only" 100's of miles away, still, people prevaricate and don't press the button, why?  I've waited and waited since summer, something always comes up, it always does.......


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## MickL (16 Nov 2011)

I brought 9 figures few years back from Poundland, Hero Clix (war game geek thing) Sold them on ebay and made over £850 from them


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## Banjo (16 Nov 2011)

brokenflipflop said:


> I've recently been getting some parts together to build a bike and I've noticed that a lot of the second hand stuff on Ebay doesn't appear to make much financial sense to me.
> 
> For example. Someone recently was selling some shimano 105 brake calipurs. Hardly used (so they said) and just slight cosmetic scratches.
> 
> ...



People are obviously not doing there homework then making impulse bids .

I have got some good deals on tyres on ebay. A lot of people buy a new bike then almost immediately change to their favourite tyres. I have had two sets of virtually unused Bontrager Racelights on seperate occasions for half the new price including the p and p.


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## bigjim (16 Nov 2011)

Schill bidding illegal? Ever been to British Car Auctions? The Auctioneer bids the car up whilst pointing into the crowd There is nobody bidding.


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## brokenflipflop (16 Nov 2011)

Maybe I've got a low tolerance threshold or something. I'm sure there are bargains to be had if you're prepared to tolerate certain things e.g. spending days bidding/checking/re-bidding only for the item to either be removed all of a sudden (either they take it off because they expected more or they've had an "I'll buy it now" offer). I've then wasted loads of time for nothing.

I've worked out for myself that if I spend a couple of days doing overtime I can then get what I want new with all the perks of a receipt/warranty/customer service and avoid the mither of fannying around with ebay for days on end.

I suppose if I was an office worker or worked from home or was an i-phone whore then I could keep on top of any particular ebay auction. 

I'm probably in the minority in this respect and not very on-the-ball which obviously accounts for my bad experience of ebay.

I've built my bike now and I reckon it would have cost me about £700 to buy off the shelf ready built. 

I reckon it's cost me about £900 to build it myself....result !





Oh shoot


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## MarkF (16 Nov 2011)

Yikes, I nearly forgot! I wanted a folder but couldn't afford one, not a decent one anyway. I looked and looked and eventually up popped a Dahon D7 at £150 "Buy it Now", as new................and it was.


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## 400bhp (16 Nov 2011)

brokenflipflop said:


> Maybe I've got a low tolerance threshold or something. I'm sure there are bargains to be had if you're prepared to tolerate certain things e.g. spending days bidding/checking/re-bidding only for the item to either be removed all of a sudden (either they take it off because they expected more or they've had an "I'll buy it now" offer). I've then wasted loads of time for nothing.



See my earlier post.

Just don't feck about (drawn in) getting carried away with bidding.

Look for stuff-think about what the max you are prepared to pay, bid on something, setting a max price, then forget about it until you win/lose.

I have just bought a brand new Kryptonite New York lock off Fleabay. Cost me £45. Evans and Halfords sell them for £90. I spent, perhaps 1/2 browsing the internet, including Fleabay. Could have picked up one up for about £65 IIRC off Amazon. The seller of the lock seemed genuine (about 1000 history, 100% feedback). Bought and paid for on Sun night, arrived this morning.


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## 400bhp (16 Nov 2011)

BTW

You could argue this was paid for by my Fleabay sales in the last month of i) a FIA approved race suit (had for over 2 years, bought for £300, sold for £200 so cost me £100 for 2 years use), and 2 items that my wife had almost forgotten about that had been stored in the garage, for an additional £250.


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## MarkF (16 Nov 2011)

People want a bargain............. with knobs on! The Dahon D7 really was up at £150 "But it Now", mint, used once (Or something, I can't remember) and the guy had loads of messages from Ebayers asking for delivery when the ad clearly said "Collection only". 

A mint, as new, D7 at £150 is worth travelling many miles for,why bugger about asking questions? I saw the ad and pressed the button within a minute. Drove from Leeds to Stoke to collect it and felt very lucky indeed.


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## biggs682 (16 Nov 2011)

like most things in life , its just about being carefull and senseable , and not get carried away


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## brokenflipflop (16 Nov 2011)

400bhp said:


> BTW
> 
> You could argue this was paid for by my Fleabay sales in the last month of i) a FIA approved race suit (had for over 2 years, bought for £300, sold for £200 so cost me £100 for 2 years use), and 2 items that my wife had almost forgotten about that had been stored in the garage, for an additional £250.



Admittedly I've never had a problem selling stuff on ebay but then I tend to want to please too much. When I say that I mean I sell stuff for less than it's worth and bend over backwards. Case in point I sold the wife's car. Had it since new, 3 years old and only 13k miles. The bloke who seemed keen to buy it was from Hull and he said his lift has let him down and he's getting a taxi to come and see it (to Manchester) at a cost of £120. In short, he seemed genuine so I drove the car to Hull (risky I know) and he knocked me down a bit even though I'd already saved him £120. (he drove me back home in it, too far to walk



.) He got a mint car (£9500k new) with about a years average mileage on it for £4000, new tyres all round, just serviced and about half tank petrol.

I recently sold 4 VW golf alloys with very good tyres. Two young lads who won the auction came around to pick them up. They were polite, liked the wheels and shook my hand so I said just give us £100 even though their winning bid was £140.

A few years ago I sold my 2 year old Skoda Fabia cheap. Just before the nice young lady drove off I said hang on - ran in the garage and got her the Skoda roof bars that I'd used once and cost me about £130 from the dealer.

On the other hand I'm the kind of chap who's unable to negotiate £50 off a £250k house !

I don't think I'm cut out for this wheeler dealer lark.......!! or maybe I'm just a helluva nice guy


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## bigjim (16 Nov 2011)

> Drove from Leeds to Stoke to collect it and felt very lucky indeed


So £150 + what £50 in juice = £200. Is that still ok? I don't know the price of these things but you have to factor fuel and time into the final price. If you are selling you will always do better if you offer to post.


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## MarkF (17 Nov 2011)

bigjim said:


> So £150 + what £50 in juice = £200. Is that still ok? I don't know the price of these things but you have to factor fuel and time into these things. If you are selling you will always do better if you offer to post.




I can use it, sell it, recoup the purchase cost (inc fuel) and turn a profit so, yes, even at £200, an "as new" D7 is a bargain, find me another and I'll have that too. However it didn't cost £200, more like £175 as I went in a Suzuki Swift and it's all motorway driving...... 

Of course he would have got more if he'd offered postage, at least £100 more. But he didn't want the hassle, he's the seller and it is his perogative, just like it's the potential buyers perogative to ask stupid questions rather than snapping up a bargain.


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