eBay banning private sales of e-bikes

[Dadam]

https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/n...how-well-will-it-police-its-eligible-business
From article:

eBay has announced that only “eligible business sellers” will be able to list e-bikes and e-bike batteries for sale in the UK from October 31. A spokesperson said consumer safety is a “top priority”, but the marketplace has not said what the necessary criteria for sellers will be.

I sort of understand why; lots of unscrupulous sellers and aliexpress specials about, but very much a knee-jerk response.

I cynically predict the unscrupulous sellers will have very few problems registering as "eligible business sellers" meanwhile the normal person who wants to sell on their legal unmodified bike from a reputable manufacturer has to deal with Farcebook marketplace or Gumtree. And won't get nearly as much for it. So basically it won't do anything at all to solve the problem but will deeply inconvenience the people who aren't the problem in the first place.

Note to self must get my unused ebike kit listed this week!

 

[wiggydiggy]

I wouldn't sell mine anyway, it has sentimental value. But this will just drive all the none registered sellers onto facebook marketplace, gumtree etc.

 

[Drago]

I wouldn't sell mine anyway, it has sentimental value. But this will just drive all the none registered sellers onto facebook marketplace, gumtree etc.

Before some smug twit (the long winter nights must just fly by in their house) turns up to accuse me of being obtuse, I genuinely don't know what an Facebook marketplace is because I've never been on Facebook.

I'm presuming from the name that it's some kind of Ebay like affair but under the Facebook banner so the fees go to Zuckerberg?

I do, however, know what eBay is and remember Gumtree with fondess. I also well remember Loot.

 

[ianrauk]

I'm presuming from the name that it's some kind of Ebay like affair but under the Facebook banner so the fees go to Zuckerberg?

There are no fees, it's private sales. More of an introduction service.

 

[mjr]

There are no fees, it's private sales. More of an introduction service.

That's polite. More often "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

 

[wiggydiggy]

There are no fees, it's private sales. More of an introduction service.

That's my impression, and there are loads of dodgy eBikes for sale on it already. Sales seem to be made by contacting the seller and making an offer.

I am also a member of a couple of private groups that do sales just by making a post, and then people reply if they want it. New members are vetted for genuineinness.

 

[Drago]

So it's a cross between a massage parlour and Mos Eisley spaceport?

 

[mjr]

So it's a cross between a massage parlour and Mos Eisley spaceport?

and that's just the less dodgy ones!

 

[Boopop]

I really wish eBay had spent a bit more time looking in to this issue, and come up with a nuanced solution. As I think they discussed on the GCN Tech show (or maybe it was elsewhere), chances are a second hand but reputable brand eBike is going to be safer than any homemade eBike conversion. If I had to guess this won't ever be well known among the wider public, but if it were I fear it'd put off people buying eBikes to begin with. It's one thing selling something for less than £50 on Gumtree/Facebook Marketplace, but it can be a bit daunting selling something worth hundreds if not thousands of pounds without any sort of safety features like eBay has.

I do recall looking this up the day it was announced. Guess what! You can sell cars on eBay that don't have their MOT. Big surprise. Funny how regulations on a form of transport that isn't mainstream and doesn't have huge mega-corps lobbying in its favour tend to be much stronger, even if the amount of harm they cause is very limited by comparison to driving.

I'm glad regular bicycles weren't invented 50 years after the motor car, as there's no telling what sort of hair-pulling regulations we'd have to follow.

OK, I'll get my coat...and the tin hat

 

[presta]

chances are a second hand but reputable brand eBike is going to be safer than any homemade eBike conversion

Manufactured bikes appear safer than converted ones, but there seems to be a big variation in how much safer between one year and the next:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...scooters/07948b8a-2855-4fd3-b205-b9b2f03b6a7c

2022

2023

 

[mjr]

Manufactured bikes appear safer than converted ones, but there seems to be a big variation in how much safer between one year and the next:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...scooters/07948b8a-2855-4fd3-b205-b9b2f03b6a7c

2022

2023

It's a shame that figures aren't broken down by whether the original charger+battery is used, a manufacturer-supplied replacement for one or both, or third-party generic ones. I suspect that looking at the bike manufacturer/homebrew split alone isn't that informative.

 

[Dadam]

Small dataset, dubious data quality

How the data cannot be used​

• The procedure is voluntary and so not all FRSs notify OPSS of fires involving consumer products. This means that the volumes cannot be used to estimate incidents at a national level nor be used to compare FRSs. OPSS is working with FRSs to improve their notification of incidents.
• The procedure is still being expanded and so data cannot be compared across time periods.

Could also be an element of market expansion, there's a lot more brands of all sorts around now. Some of those who supplied bikes under "manufactured" in 2023 could have been under conversions or unknown build in 2022.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

There is also the problem that it could have originally been properly made but someone has "improved it" using whatever bits

so it is not as dangerous as anything made from a kit

and it would be difficult to tell

so Ebay clearly don;t want to be selling damgerous or illegal devices

errr - well - not ebikes anyway

 

[Jameshow]

That's polite. More often "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

Does that apply to Facebook dating?!🤔🤣

 

[Drago]

Does that apply to Facebook dating?!🤔🤣

Facebook has a dating service as well?!

Is there any pie that Zuckerberg doesn't have a finger in?