Bought a new bike was I hoodwinked?

[Ming the Merciless]

Doesn’t sound like you were hoodwinked. Just sounds like you didn’t think to ask questions about the things concerning you before you bid. You could have got a three year old bike crash damaged rather than lightly ridden 10 year old machine.

 

[Mralexrides]

We shall see I'll be sure to post pics

 

[Rusty Nails]

I’d never buy a carbon framed bike sight unseen. You really need to inspect it for any possible damage.

I took a gamble and bought a used three year old £2k carbon Genesis Datum for £400 on eBay. It was described as spares and repair, but in fact just had broken spokes and needed a good clean, one new gear cable, new tyres and a tune-up. I asked the seller a lot of questions and he answered them all to my satisfaction so I took the chance, even though I knew the risks I was taking

It turned out very well, came up clean on the stolen bike database, and there was nothing else wrong with it, and more than a year on it's my favourite bike.

 

[HMS_Dave]

I sell on Ebay, it is my livelihood. Believe me, ive seen it all. But Ebay is your friend. It is a buyers platform. Sellers get next to no protection, even against indecisive people who have twitchy fingers who buy on impulse without obtaining all the details. Generally speaking, you can in most instances get a refund for most products for most reasons. I've even had people damage stuff on purpose and claim it arrived that way in order to obtain a refund, a refund which i would have granted anyway (and paid for couriers) had they not, which costs me even more money. I have fought a few cases with the dispute system, but believe me, no seller wants to go through that and every seller ive spoken to in the group im involved with wants that because Ebay will 95% of the time, side with the buyer. They want to preserve the buyers protection in all the marketing spiel with figures to back it up...

There are bad sellers, buyers do need protecting but i struggle to find sympathy in these sorts of cases.

I hope the bicycle is everything you hope it is and you stack up against your friends on Sundays otherwise i sense the seller might be getting his bike back and be out of pocket...

 

[PaulSB]

Jesus Christ!!

Let's hope it's a Minter when it arrives or this will go on forever.

 

[CentralCommuter]

What do you sell, out of interest?

I sell on Ebay, it is my livelihood. Believe me, ive seen it all. But Ebay is your friend. It is a buyers platform. Sellers get next to no protection, even against indecisive people who have twitchy fingers who buy on impulse without obtaining all the details. Generally speaking, you can in most instances get a refund for most products for most reasons. I've even had people damage stuff on purpose and claim it arrived that way in order to obtain a refund, a refund which i would have granted anyway (and paid for couriers) had they not, which costs me even more money. I have fought a few cases with the dispute system, but believe me, no seller wants to go through that and every seller ive spoken to in the group im involved with wants that because Ebay will 95% of the time, side with the buyer. They want to preserve the buyers protection in all the marketing spiel with figures to back it up...

There are bad sellers, buyers do need protecting but i struggle to find sympathy in these sorts of cases.

I hope the bicycle is everything you hope it is and you stack up against your friends on Sundays otherwise i sense the seller might be getting his bike back and be out of pocket...

 

[battered]

If the bike is "not as described" when you go to collect it, or receive it, you can request a dispute/refund from ebay. You would probably win this on the basis that you were told it was "a few" years old, not 10. Ebay sides with the buyer in 95+% of cases.

 

[uphillstruggler]

@Mralexrides When does it arrive - you can put us and you out of our collective suspense

i hope its great

 

[Mralexrides]

[

If the bike is "not as described" when you go to collect it, or receive it, you can request a dispute/refund from ebay. You would probably win this on the basis that you were told it was "a few" years old, not 10. Ebay sides with the buyer in 95+% of cases.

Yeah that's what im upset about really I thought it was a few years old from the description and the seller who didn't know how old it was doesn't seem to think being 10 years old doesn't devalue it at all. I guess we will see what ebay says.

 

[vickster]

If it’s in top nick, given the market currently, £800 isn’t unreasonable, 10 years isn’t that olds it’s still a modern looking and specced bike. Anything new in carbon with 105 would be 2k plus minimum. You won’t lose much even if you sell in a few years, it’ll still be worth a few hundred at least

 

[Shortandcrisp]

I had the exact same model also bought off eBay. I paid £400 for it 5 years ago, so make of that what you will. What I would say is that the seat post and clamp is an awful design. My saddle started to slip about 18 months ago, so I ordered a new clamp from the US ( none available over here); this didn’t solve the problem. I’m currently looking for a new seat post, but they’ve been out of stock anywhere for well over a year now and the design is so unique to this particular model that I’ve not been able to source an alternative.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I had the exact same model also bought off eBay. I paid £400 for it 5 years ago, so make of that what you will. What I would say is that the seat post and clamp is an awful design. My saddle started to slip about 18 months ago, so I ordered a new clamp from the US ( none available over here); this didn’t solve the problem. I’m currently looking for a new seat post, but they’ve been out of stock anywhere for well over a year now and the design is so unique to this particular model that I’ve not been able to source an alternative.

I noticed that the sale bike seemed to have 2 seatpost clamps.

 

[Shortandcrisp]

I noticed that the sale bike seemed to have 2 seatpost clamps.

So did mine after I’d bought a new one, but neither of them kept the ruddy saddle horizontal. 😀

 

[raggydoll]

I had the exact same model also bought off eBay. I paid £400 for it 5 years ago, so make of that what you will. What I would say is that the seat post and clamp is an awful design. My saddle started to slip about 18 months ago, so I ordered a new clamp from the US ( none available over here); this didn’t solve the problem. I’m currently looking for a new seat post, but they’ve been out of stock anywhere for well over a year now and the design is so unique to this particular model that I’ve not been able to source an alternative.

That ain't good!

Is it one of those flat aero type seatposts?

 

[Shortandcrisp]

Communication is the key I guess.
Guy seems legit and I'm sure if you had asked him about the age he would have told you what he did in his email.


That ain't good!

Is it one of those flat aero type seatposts?

Yer, it’s a kind of tear drop design original to Cannondale at the time; as I said, can’t seem to find a replacement.