Ebay Rippoff Merchants

daowned

I was looking for a dura ace part on ebay and up come these two as haveing the part I need.

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/bikeontime/
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Number1bikebits

If you have alook at the feedback on these two its a wonder they are allowed to trade and worse than that on Cyling Weekly Number1bikebits even has a bargian of the week plugs for many items!

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/shoppingmall/ Dave Hinde = Number1bikebits

Just doesnt sit well with me and I thought the comic would know better, this isnt a dig at CW BTW just a few conmen that give the cycling trade a bad name....

End of rantarama

the ferry

don't seem to bad to me, plenty of positive hits on the bike bits one.
went through 5 pages of feedback 1 neg 1 neutral - must be nice to be perfect

Hotblack Desiato

In the last 12 months:

5627 positive feedback vs 44 negative.

Hardly criminal is it??


.

daowned

I think you will find bikeontime has 30 negs in the last 12 months and no1bikebits 44 if I were buying from them I would be concerned but then I am not a idiot.

must be nice to be perfect

what you telling me for did I say I was or someting? I don't rip folk off mate like these two outfits you dont have to be perfect to be honest.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=number1bikebits

alfablue

Dave Hinde has infamously bad service, with many reports of unsent goods, poor quality goods, or goods out of stock. In addition there have been many reports on this and other fora concerning extreme rudeness when buyers attempt to gain a resolution. The eBay operation (Number1bikebits) seems to run a little more smoothly - perhaps they are wary of getting too bad feedback, however you can still detect some arrogance in their response to negatives. Remember also, that there is a very big disincentive to buyers leaving negative feedback because of retaliation - I certainly wouldn't want to risk my feedback status by doing so.

Dave Hinde did have an ASA Ajudication against them for advertising products with no proof that they actually had them in stock.

I would never touch them with a bargepole, on ebay or via their Dave Hinde brand. It is of some concern that mags still acceopt their advertising, but I guess they need the cash!

Anonymous

Doesn't Dave Hinde help to sponsor the Comic?

Hotblack Desiato

daowned wrote:

I think you will find bikeontime has 30 negs in the last 12 months and no1bikebits 44

30 / 2874 and 44 / 5627

I'd have no problem buying from them.

.

gandalfcp

IIRC, back on the old Cycling Plus forum there was a veritable running sore of a thread about Dave Hinde horror stories.

alfablue

Hotblack Desiato wrote:

daowned wrote:

I think you will find bikeontime has 30 negs in the last 12 months and no1bikebits 44

30 / 2874 and 44 / 5627

I'd have no problem buying from them.

.

but would you ignore the chequered (to put it politely) history they have as a company (beyond their eBay operation)?

alfablue

Just 5 minutes Googling found this, this, this, and this; I could have dug up more with a little more time, and added to the above ajudication, I don't think they are worthy of our £s.

Oh, and just look at the sort of eBay feedback DH leaves for others, just a few examples:

* LYING SCUM, AVOID AT ALL COSTS, DOESNT PAY + LEAVES NEGATIVE FEEDBACK. NML SFB

* THIS GUY IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED, SUCH A SHAME COS WE HAVE WRECKED YOUR RATING

* NOT TO BE TRUSTED, LYING FILTH. DONT DEAL WITH HIM UNLESS U WANT RIPPING OFF

* LYING SCUM, DO NOT TRUST THIS SCAMMER AS FAR AS YOU COULD THROW HIM (NOT FAR)

* FUNNY THING IS THIS DESTROYS YOUR RATING. YOURS DONT MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Such nice people to do business with!!!!! :shock:

cq20

Everybody can make mistakes and screw-up and misunderstandings do occur. The important thing is how you react to it and the boss of this outfit must be brain dead to let such a cretin give feedback on behalf of his organisation. I've bought from online shops and from ebay but I would never buy anything from someone who left that sort of thuggish feedback (even if they are in the right), no matter how low their prices are.

alfablue

cq20 wrote:

Everybody can make mistakes and screw-up and misunderstandings do occur. The important thing is how you react to it and the boss of this outfit must be brain dead to let such a cretin give feedback on behalf of his organisation. I've bought from online shops and from ebay but I would never buy anything from someone who left that sort of thuggish feedback (even if they are in the right), no matter how low their prices are.

I agree with your sentiments, the feedback is defamatory and libelous, and if I ever received feedback such as this I would hold eBay accountable for publishing it, there is no right involved. And I gather it goes on (and has gone on for years) with the full knowledge and support of the owner of DH/No1.

OffTheBackAdam

Bikeontime does get a lot of customers who feel they should get items virtually instantly, but they don't seem to have any type of customer service policy, ie replying to e-mails off the "Where's my item?" nature.
Looks like the majority of complaints have been within the last few months.
Overall, I'd have few worries about buying from them, certainly not "Rip-off merchants"
Now, number1bikebits, about 100 -ve or neutral and 5,600 positive! Again, complaints are off slow delivery and lack of communications.
Again, I'd happily buy from them.
Delivery times depend on a number of variables, how quickly the vendor can process the order and then it's in the lap of the delivery service. If it's The Royal Snail, then it can take a long time!
One item I eBayed took 21days to travel the 15 miles between me and Grantham!
So, both vendors have a 99+% +ve rating - A baseless rant!

alfablue

Adam, each to their own, but the "raw data" of 99% feedback does not reassure me. Numberonebikebits / Dave Hinde are proven to advertise items that they have no stock of (see the ASA ajudication), have a dreadful reputation apparent on many many fora, and clearly attempt to blame all failed deliveries on the courier (very few items are actually lost /mis-delivered, despite the popularity of the "lost in the post" excuse) or the buyer, when it is obvious that things are just not sent. They also charge customers' cards prior to dispatch, which is illegal. If you would really like to deal with a company that calls its customers "LYING FILTH / SCUM" then that is your choice, but I think relying on the raw data is a little naive. My biggest worry would be that if I dealt with them and things went wrong I would not be able to give honest negative feedback because they would (as they gleefully brag) wreck MY eBay feedback rating.

There are plenty of totally reliable online vendors that we can use instead, okay things may not be quite as cheap, but you know you will actually receive the items, they will genuinely be new if they are sold as new, and you won't become the subject of extreme abuse if you have the audacity to complain.

OffTheBackAdam

One bit of negative feedback isn't going to "Wreck your rating", when I'm bidding for items or receive bids from eBayers with a less than perfect feedback rating, I check the feedback, see & why. I cross-check with the item's number, to see what the other party's comments are.
My feedback's only 99.8%, does this mean you wouldn't buy things from me?
I've got an Itie lodged a Paypal dispute about non-receipt, I posted the package on 19th September, some of the -ve feedback comments given on these sites are because it took a week, yep, a whole week! for their item to arrive, terrible ain't it!
Many, if not all traders will take orders for items not in stock, even a large shop can't keep everything in stock, they might get a sudden run on an item.
If the vendors are using a courier, then there is an audit trail of item despatched, item received.
If the worst comes to the worst, if you've paid by card or Paypal, you'll get your money back.
Anyhow, thanks for poointing out these shops exist, I need a set of bar ends for the MTB!

Tom Butcher

I am the "lying scum....scammer" in alphas post above!!!

Ebay refused to remove No1BikeBits feedback about me but their fraud department did conclude that Dave Hinde and his merry men had ripped me off and awarded me compensation for the parts which they simply refused to send me.

Do not touch them with a bargepole. I know of several people who have been similarly ripped off but did not leave negative feedback because all you get is similar negative feedback left about you. I don't buy Cycling Weekly because they know full well what Dave Hinde is like - if C+ ever started to take his advertisements I'd stop buying that too - and plenty of people feel the same.

alfablue

OffTheBackAdam wrote:

One bit of negative feedback isn't going to "Wreck your rating", when I'm bidding for items or receive bids from eBayers with a less than perfect feedback rating, I check the feedback, see & why. I cross-check with the item's number, to see what the other party's comments are.
My feedback's only 99.8%, does this mean you wouldn't buy things from me?
I've got an Itie lodged a Paypal dispute about non-receipt, I posted the package on 19th September, some of the -ve feedback comments given on these sites are because it took a week, yep, a whole week! for their item to arrive, terrible ain't it!
Many, if not all traders will take orders for items not in stock, even a large shop can't keep everything in stock, they might get a sudden run on an item.
If the vendors are using a courier, then there is an audit trail of item despatched, item received.
If the worst comes to the worst, if you've paid by card or Paypal, you'll get your money back.
Anyhow, thanks for poointing out these shops exist, I need a set of bar ends for the MTB!

Well I have a feedback of around 100 (not many) but have 100% - I really wouldn't want a feedback that called me "Lying Filth / Scum".

Advertising items as in stock when they're not, and debiting cards before dispatch are both illegal, DH/No1 do this. They also take longer than the legally required 30 days to give refunds. In the feedback they get, and other forum reports you will see that some people wait more than 2 months for items.

Tom Butcher

If only they were that good ! In my case I ordered a groupset. Couple of weeks later it doesn't arrive - eventually get told the parcel must have got lost and they'll send another one. Doesn't arrive again - several weeks later they claim the parcel has got lost and they'll send another one.

Eventually my stuff arrives. Wrong crankset and front mech. I phone up and they say return the stuff and they'll send the right bits out. I do so - with proof of postage - guess what - nothing comes in return. I phone up - parcel must have got lost!!! FFS that is three parcels out of 4 that have apparently got lost. I ask for the tracking number and the company so I can chase it up - they refuse. I ask when I can expect my stuff - the reply "how should I know". I say - as politely as possible - that unless I receive something soon I'll have to contact trading standards - they say go ahead they don't care and trading standards have no powers.

Trading standards tell me to write a letter asking for a refund. I do this. No1BBs tell me I've had my stuff and I am getting nothing out of them. I start an ebay fraud claim - I must admit I didn't hold out much hope - eventually this finds in my favour and I get some money that would just about cover the cost of the crankset and mech if I bought it cheap. It must have taken about 5 months from ordering to getting my stuff - much messing about on the phone, involving trading standards, registered letters etc etc.

They didn't make a mistake - they were knowingly ripping me off. I have met several other people who have also been knowingly ripped off by this outfit. I can understand people shop there because it is cheap - that is why I shopped there - but there are plenty of other cheap internet retailers that will not treat cyclists like this. The negative feedback on ebay is the tip of the iceberg - yes most people probably get their stuff OK if a little late - but buying stuff new isn't supposed to be a gamble is it.

alfablue

Tom Butcher wrote:

If only they were that good ! In my case I ordered a groupset. Couple of weeks later it doesn't arrive - eventually get told the parcel must have got lost and they'll send another one. Doesn't arrive again - several weeks later they claim the parcel has got lost and they'll send another one.
.

They have an unbelievably (!!!) bad relationship with the Royal Mail!!! I do feel sorry for them :twisted:

alfablue

Tom Butcher wrote:

I am the "lying scum....scammer" in alphas post above!!!

Ebay refused to remove No1BikeBits feedback about me but their fraud department did conclude that Dave Hinde and his merry men had ripped me off and awarded me compensation for the parts which they simply refused to send me.

Do not touch them with a bargepole. I know of several people who have been similarly ripped off but did not leave negative feedback because all you get is similar negative feedback left about you. I don't buy Cycling Weekly because they know full well what Dave Hinde is like - if C+ ever started to take his advertisements I'd stop buying that too - and plenty of people feel the same.

I think eBay could be responsible for libel as they are publishing defamatory and incorrect feedback that can damage your reputation - if this ever happened to me I would pursue such a case to ensure they removed offensive feedback like that. There are some limits to what they are legally entitled to publish in the public domain, and they need their collar felt about that, and they need to strengthen their policies about acceptable feedback. At the moment they obviously think they are immune from responsibility. It may also make them review the reputation of traders and their continuing status as members. Ebay do little to protect buyers as it is, especially as the protection schemes exclude postage, victims are rarely restored to the position they were in before being ripped off.

alfablue

OffTheBackAdam wrote:

Many, if not all traders will take orders for items not in stock, even a large shop can't keep everything in stock, they might get a sudden run on an item.

With eBay listings they refer to actual items, either singly, or a specified number - the presumption is that the vendor has them to sell.

top_bhoy

Don't get me started on Ebay.............faceless shower of Ba******s

ricadus

Use Paypal and check that its Buyer Protection option is offered (shown in the table of payment options in the item's listing page). Buyer Protection guarantees items up to a value of £500.

alfablue

ricadus wrote:

Use Paypal and check that its Buyer Protection option is offered (shown in the table of payment options in the item's listing page). Buyer Protection guarantees items up to a value of £500.

yes, though it excludes postage - I have been stung!

OffTheBackAdam

Although I'm usually against "Threadomancy" the raising of old, dead topics from their graves, I've got to add to this one.
I ordered from "Bikeontime" a pair of bar ends.
I pay through Paypal and await.
Now, the Royal Snail's poor, overworked & underpaid souls decide to strike, so I expect that my item will take a tad longer to reach me.
I wait, several weeks and nothing, so I contact the vendor via the eBay "Ask seller a question" link. I get no reply. I then e-mail via the hotmail contact given as the Paypal payment contact, no reply. I start a Paypal item not received complaint, no response, I leave negative feedback and escalate to Paypal dispute, no response but yesterday I do get my refund from Paypal who've found in my favour.
Additionally, the cheeky gits send me a spam e-mail thanking me for being a customer and would like anything else! Did they get a reply to that or what? Needless to say, I got no reply to my reply.
So, you either get your goods or you get nowt.
Looking at their feedback currently http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=bikeontime&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true&seeallfeedback=See%20All%20Feedback it's much the same, complete satisfaction or complete disatisfaction with no response to complaints and money back via Paypal.
I'll now try the other monkies mentioned in this thread & see what happens there

flattythehurdler

My problem is not so much the feedback left for him, as the filth he writes about other people. I wouldn't use him.

plug1n

We should start a sticky list of problem ebay bike sellers

My own contribution: Banana_brain in the US.

- Ordered some 1980's shimano brake hoods
- Took a month to receive some 1950s Mavic half-hoods
- Seller did not respond to emails or phone calls
- Paypal found in my favour but wanted me to pay to "return with tracking" the goods which would have cost as much as the original purchase
- The only way to communicate with PayPal was the online return receipt form which I filled out as "you must be kidding...."
- The paypal automated system emails me to say I will get a full refund in 5 days

I have a rule that I only buy on ebay when I don't mind losing the money, so the £10 here is not going to hurt either way

ademort

I cannot say one word for or against Dave Hinde, as i have never purchased anything from him , although comments from many members do tend to be very negative. As regards ebay thats a different ball game.Anybody can join ebay (18+) and when we join we expect all fellow members to be honest, and to abide by and adhere to all the terms and conditions that are laid down by ebay, this is where the problem begins. Unfortunately not all members are honest Advertising goods which are not in stock or that are no longer available is not what ebay is about IMO,and the more people who complain about this type of selling the better.I too have been ripped off by ebay. On two occasions i bought an item and never received it, went through all the usual complaint procedures and got nowhere, so left negative feedback for the two sellers, they then left negative feedback for me , something that really pisses me off, As a result my feedback is no longer 100%, and i am out of pocket.Ebay is a great market place imo but there is room for improvement.

mr pumpy

I'm afraid all mags rely on subsidy from advertising revenue, which is why their product reviews are often hideously skewed.

Hinde pays for a big advert in cycling weekly and in return they don't publish any letters bad-mouthing him, and make sure his bikes get a good write up...occasionally with a special feature.

C+ carries multi page adverts from Ribble...and, ahem... guess which bike came out tops in this months mag test. Interesting also to note where the Ribble ad page (or one of them) appears.

top_bhoy

mr pumpy wrote:

I'm afraid all mags rely on subsidy from advertising revenue, which is why their product reviews are often hideously skewed.

Hinde pays for a big advert in cycling weekly and in return they don't publish any letters bad-mouthing him, and make sure his bikes get a good write up...occasionally with a special feature.

C+ carries multi page adverts from Ribble...and, ahem... guess which bike came out tops in this months mag test. Interesting also to note where the Ribble ad page (or one of them) appears.

What has this got to do with the scalliwags at Ebay and if you haven't tried the bikes in the test on what basis can you cast aspertions on Ribble and C+ s integrity? I can't vouch for the bike or test in question but having spent a sizeable chunk of money with Ribble over the years, I've always received what I ordered with prompt customer attention at decent prices and place a lot more faith in C+ reviews than other mags - though you still have to keep an open mind with reviews as ulimately it is subjective and people like different things.

mr pumpy

Oh, it's not casting aspertions... it's stating a fact about how magazines help finance themselves. I've got no beef with Ribble... I'm a frequent customer and ex-owner of a Ribble bike, but I am not naieve enough to think that there aren't strings attached to their adverts.

As for Ebay, my post was refering to the posts about CW's adverts and Hinde....maybe I should have included a quote so as not to confuse you.