Good source for 2nd hand bikes

phreak

I've been riding an OCR4 for around 18 months now and wouldn't mind upgrading to something a little flasher. Two main questions.

Firstly, I've added SPD pedals to the bike, what benefits would a flasher bike would bring? I'm not really that proficient with the technical side of bikes, I presume a better bike would primarily bring better/more gears plus perhaps be a bit lighter.

Secondly, where is a good place to find second hand bikes? Ebay is an obvious source but I wondered if anyone here had first hand experience of buying second hand.

Thanks

spasypaddy

i bought my first roadie off ebay, i got an excellent deal £250 for a cannondale r400 2003 model (so was 4 years old when i bought it in may), now that doesnt sound that great but:
The guy i bought it off had kept it properly serviced as both he and his wife were professional athletes so it was in excellent condition
He gave me a brand new set of tires, and fitted them for me.
He couldn't find the stock saddle so gave me his selle italia saddle...

Shame i then went and crashed it doing £400 worth of damage a month later

chrisjsmith

Ebay is terrible for the seller and buyer these days. They're losing customers, not gaining them at the moment.

I'm working on a non-ebay FREE gumtree style cycling swap site (as I noticed there isn't a specialist one). ETA 2 weeks. I'll post back when it's complete.

Need something useful for my portfolio you see!

heavymental

Why's ebay so bad at the moment then? I'm about to hit it hard to buy bits to hang on my new frame. Should I look elsewhere?

irb10

Ebay's fine, as long as you're sensible. As a buyer, shop around first so you know the value of what you're buying and can judge whether you're getting a good price (remember to factor in p&p). I'm always amazed how much some people pay for stuff on eBay, when a quick Google search would show the same item much cheaper elsewhere. There are some bike shops which use eBay to trade in addition to their own website - worth comparing prices, they sometimes differ. Use a seller's feedback ratings as a guide to determine whether they're safe to buy from, and pay by credit-card/paypal so you have more comeback if the goods don't arrive.

chrisjsmith

Ebay problems (from 8 years experience now!)

* It's slow
* It's very unreliable. My ebay has worked for all of 10 mins this afternoon loosing me 2 auctions.
* Paypal has no comeback at all and has a tough s.h.i.t policy on most problems.
* They send the debt collectors around if you refuse to pay listing and sellers fees because international bidders or fraudsters bid on your UK auctions and didn't pay.
* If you contact them (via the hard to find forms) you are lucky to get anything but a template response.
* There is no phone number to call.
* The charges for the seller are hideously large.
* Throwing things away is sometimes cheaper than selling them on ebay.
* You still have to involve the Royal Mail.

I've had to take them to court to stop harassing me over a £84 debt incurred by having to sell a laptop 5 times due to chinese and nigerian con artists "buying it now" and then not paying up. I refused to pay the sellers charges for the non-genuine bidders after attempting to contact them to get the issues resolved several times to no avail. Next thing I know - debt collection letter for sellers fees!

The world would be a better place without ebay. They ruined car boot sales and charity shops as well.

Disclaimer: I am a self confessed luddite, yet I am also a software developer.

ukdavvy

I find ebays charges hard to fathom

Out of interest what would the total listing and commission come to for a bike selling for 900 pounds?

Roughly speaking

D

chrisjsmith

ukdavvy wrote:

I find ebays charges hard to fathom

Out of interest what would the total listing and commission come to for a bike selling for 900 pounds?

Roughly speaking

D

Say sensible options. Reserve of 600. Start of 100. Final value of 900 quid:

£12 reserve + £2 listing + final value of £15.67 = £29.67.

Painful.

I'm going to charge £0 for everything on the site I'm developing

I have a ton of bandwidth to spare (500Gb/month) so it's not costing me anything other than the development. Even if it takes a marginal 1% of ebay's market, it can be classified as a success. I'm not controlling the transaction and taking commission, I'm providing a free service for people to communicate items to shift for a grand total of £0. It's more a community (like freecycle/gumtree) than a cash rapist (like ebay)

ukdavvy

Cool

Put me down in the wanted category then, I'll be your first post

"60cm road bike, ultegra, good nick, cash waiting"

Good luck!

D

Mettan

One thing I've noticed is that from a buyers perspective, Ebay seems to be a bit pricey for buying 2nd-hand budget road bikes, but ok-ish for buying mid-range 2nd-hand models. You'll regularly see 2002-2003 budget road bikes that cost £300 originally selling for £200 now - it'd be nice to see them a bit cheaper.......they seem to hold value very well - not suprising in one respect, "bikes do have obvious utility" - still a little steep though.

phreak

Well a couple of points.

Firstly I'd be looking to buy a second hand bike so as long as the seller isn't dodgy then it should be ok?

Secondly, if Ebay is the crappest thing in crap town, where else would anyone suggest for second hand bikes?

Bronzie

phreak wrote:

if Ebay is the crappest thing in crap town, where else would anyone suggest for second hand bikes?

Classified ads section of this forum.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=40026

Classified ads in the back of Cycling Weekly.

Local cycle jumbles (although these tend to be more for components than whole bikes).

daniel_b

I bought both our road bikes off ebay, and both were bargains in my eyes :-)


Felt F70 - 2 years old, had been pampered, only covered 500 miles, and had new tyres fitted 3 months earlier, and he had fitted a carbon seatpost.
Original cost £850, bought by me for £470
And he threw in a pair of cateye lights, about £60 worth for £5!

Trek 1000 - ex demo, immaculate though in everyway, no damage, no scrapes or scratches, literally looks brand new.
original cost £500, bought by me for £310.

I bought my superbargain Carrera Subway one from Friday-ad, but you need to be quick on there, and you have to be lucky in that something might be on your doorstep, as this one was for me.

£220 two years ago (Had a rack fitted), had been sat in a garage and literally hadn't turned a wheel, he wanted £80 for it, I bit his arm off!

Advantage with Friday ad is that you obviously don't get bidding wars, and if you can arrange to view it, and like it, you buy it, all nice and simple, instead of having to wait for the auction to end etc.

I would defo agree with the comment about low end bikes seeming to go for more than their fair share as it were, and mid range bikes being the biggest bargains on there.

If there are bargains, it seems to be the makes that are deemed to be 'unfashionable' or just not as well known.

Dan

irb10

I've had to take them to court to stop harassing me over a £84 debt incurred by having to sell a laptop 5 times due to chinese and nigerian con artists "buying it now" and then not paying up. I refused to pay the sellers charges for the non-genuine bidders after attempting to contact them to get the issues resolved several times to no avail. Next thing I know - debt collection letter for sellers fees!

Yep, I've had experience of these foreign con artist "bidders" aswell. They've made eBay pretty much useless for selling many electronic items, mainly mobile phones, since they make sure that they win auctions with ridiculously high bids or buy-it-nows then try to get you to ship goods without receipt of payment or con you out of money. eBay really needs to get a grip on this, and certainly shouldn't be chasing genuine sellers for fees when this happens.

I wouldn't completely write-off eBay though; it's large user base means that sellers can often get good prices for things (despite fees), and for buyers there's a huge range of stuff available and the occasional chance of a bargain. For specialist items however (e.g. bikes), targetting classifieds in appropriate forums and magazines is also a good idea.

keebo

I've bought 3 bikes on e-Bay
Cannondale R400
Felt F65
Roubaix Comp
and all 3 have delighted me. I subsequently sold the R400 and a Gary Fisher MTB, all without the slightest hassle. If you're careful, you can pick up some real bargains - my Roubaix had done 200 miles and it cost me less than £950 including carriage

spasypaddy

did i buy the r400 off you!?

irb10

Here's a somewhat topical story:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/08/ebay_victims_track_their_mules

chrisjsmith

Indeed. This sort of thing is rife on ebay unfortunately. I don't know anyone who hasn't had problems!

spasypaddy

chrisjsmith wrote:

Indeed. This sort of thing is rife on ebay unfortunately. I don't know anyone who hasn't had problems!

ive never had a problem on ebay! Seriously!

chrisjsmith

* falls off his chair!

PhilofCas

neither have i, go on, fall off again,

spasypaddy

chrisjsmith wrote:

* falls off his chair!

sorry mate but the worst thing that has ever happened to me is someone hasnt left me the feedback i deserve.

ademort

I to have bought two bikes (new)off ebay, one a full carbon racing bike with campag components for 1100euros an absolute bargain, and the other a hybrid bike for a very good price, so no complaints on that score. However reading other members complaints about ebay i do sympathise they ring a bell with me too.I only have one negative feedback and that was from somebody who i bought an item from and they never sent it, despite any number of emails to ebay over a period of three weeks i could get no further than the same old line (we encourage ebay members to contact each other and reach an agreement without the interference of ebay)i kept saying i am trying to contact this seller but with no reply and so it went on. I left negative feedback for the seller and they then left negative feedback for me even though its me thats out of pocket.Ebay could certainly improve, however to the member who first asked the question about buying second hand bikes i do hope that whatever you do decide you get a bargain and good luck on your new bike, regards ademort

ricadus

I mostly use ebay for adding to my jazz record collection, though I admit to purchasing a Kylie CD recently (only for the Michel Gondry video included on it!).

For vinyl collectors eBay's the "motherlode".

phreak

I guess another thing to consider is the season. Are second hand bikes likely to be more expensive in the summer? I can't imagine people spending big bucks on a bike to ride in winter.

chrisjsmith

Best thing is getting stuff that needs collecting in winter - really puts people off. I've had some bargains l like that.

I know I rant about the badness of ebay but a lot of good really can cancel it out.