Are there any reputable online cycle shops?

jarrvo

So far my experience is as follows, ordered a jersey, bibs & some tubes via wiggle and 24hrs later my credit card details were used fraudulently. (coincidence?)
Merlin cycles, ordered some bibs and a jersey and after 2 days my order was cancelled, despite the website saying it was instock apparently they weren’t.
Ordered some pedals & Shoes from CRC which took over a week to arrive during which time again my credit card details were used fraudulently. (coincidence?)
Ordered some bibs, a tube & cleat covers from ribble, 2 weeks later still no delivery and despite numerous calls ribble say there is nothing they can do. Im going to have to raise this with my cc as non delivered items and see if i can get my money back that way. (i can guarantee i will never use them again)

In fact the only shop i have ever had success with is pbk, when i ordered some bottles & cages and some tyres.

Now im totally confused as to where i should try next, i don’t want my credit card being used to purchase flights to New York again and i would like the possibility of the items actually turning up.

(oh i have tried a couple of local lbs but their range isn’t fantastic and what they do have is 25% more than online, i don’t mind spending a little extra but within reason)

keef66

I don't want your lottery numbers!

I buy frequently from Wiggle, Parkers, PBK, Ribble and CRC. On all but one occasion I got exactly what I ordered very quickly. CRC once sent the wrong crud guard, but the swap for the correct one was swift and painless

Rich Hcp

I use Wiggle, CRC and others, never had a problem.

If they do Paypal, I use that as I don't have to enter any CC details, not that I've had any fraud problems.

You've been very unlucky

maddog 2

you may be hit by a falling tree tonight.....

I've used Wiggle, CRC and Merlin hundreds of times (each) and never had a problem.

Others I sometimes use are Dotbike and SJS.

Rutland and Evans have only been so-so though.

stokey1964

Absolutecycles on ebay are also very good

Pokerface

Avoid Rutland Cycling like the plague. Despite them often have the lowest prices, they rarely have the item in stock.

keef66

Oh, I forgot Spa Cycles; also v. good.

jarrvo

haha well i do seem to have a constant battle with companies & organisations not doing what they are supposed to! and dont even get me started on banks!!

thanks for the suggestions, with regards to paypal do they offer similar levels of cover against fraud & missing/lost/damaged items that you get with a credit card?

Im currently after some new shoes, pedals, bibs, jersey and possibly a helmet so its a few pounds worth.

RowCycle

+1 for Wiggle

Spent plenty there in the past, no problems as yet.

Pokerface

jarrvo wrote:

with regards to paypal do they offer similar levels of cover against fraud & missing/lost/damaged items that you get with a credit card?

It's much harder for someone to perpetrate fraud via paypal, as they would need your login and password to get access to your account.

However, if you send someone money and they fail to send you the goods, if you act quickly enough, paypal will essentially freeze their account (and their funds) until the issue is resolved.

Paypal isn't perfect, but it's pretty good at covering your butt if anything goes wrong. And that goes for items that show up damaged/go lost/not as described, etc.

cougie

I've ordered twice from Rutland and never had a problem. They do take about a week to get it to you - so that's worse than wiggle, but I haven't had any haribos off wiggle for ages now - so I'm looking elsewhere ! ;-)

ajb72

Rutland have been fine for me - ordered a few tins of GT85 last week and they were here in 2 days. Also love Wiggle at the mo - I had to email about a damaged item in my last order, had an email the very next morning and a replacement item 2 days later - perfect.

As per previous replies, Paypal does add an extra layer of protection and I often look for retailers offering it these days.

giant_man

cougie wrote:

I've ordered twice from Rutland and never had a problem. They do take about a week to get it to you - so that's worse than wiggle, but I haven't had any haribos off wiggle for ages now - so I'm looking elsewhere ! ;-)

That's because they've never got anything in stock! Their web site is nonsense imo.

plowmar

Wiggle no problems.

CTC card problem but was at a time when a lot of others were also. Taken it as an internal prob. now sorted.

Good advice re PayPal although I am not enamoured by them - but no specific reason just an internal.

navrig

CRC, Ribble, Evans, Pro-bike, Amazon, Start Fitness.

No problems with any of them.

FSR_XC

The best service I've had on line has been PBK and Planet X.

Always rapid delivery and great service.

jarrvo

i may be tempted to try wiggle again then if they are close enough on price, but if my details suddenly fall into the wrong hands i wont be a happy bunny

Ive just disputed my ribble order with my credit card company so hopefully i will get my money refunded somehow, i just cant believe how unwilling they are to help.

dcj

things go missing in letter post and when that happens it is standard practice for a business to leave a few days or even longer to see if they eventually turn up. it should be in their terms and conditions.

in my case the items did arrive after further 2 weeks and they were the wrong parts anyway due to a picking error from wiggle

normally anything from wiggle is 2 days max for me.

plus i got card fraud.

however, i can't tell which company had their security compromised because i used wiggle, PBK, ribble and shinybikes all within a few days.

i'd prefer to use my local dealers for big ticket items but they are not specialist enough, so i have to leave them to cater for their main market and just use them for consumables.

miggillicuddy

CRC dealt really badly with the card fraud saga they had around Easter this year. I've tried to avoid them since, and will only be using paypal when I need to use them.

Bar Shaker

I would rather eat my own eyes than use Paypal. I had my Paypal account hacked and although Paypal informed me they had picked up suspicious activity, it took nearly six months for them to sort it. That someone can hack something that has direct access to your bank is very scary... And because of the Paypal terms, your bank aren't interested. Why would they be, it's not their fault.

I have never had problems with Wiggle, CRC or Parker. Wiggle can be slow picking your order whereas CRC are lightning fast. Provided you know about Wiggles pace you can relax and enjoy the savings.

nferrar

Apart from CRC's much-publicised credit card hack I'm not aware of any issues with Ribble or Wiggle. Now they won't be 100% secure, no computer on a network is, but I'd put my money on it being your home PC that's the source of the credit card fraud you're experiencing - likely some key-stroke logging software or something. Personally I've ordered dozens of times from Wiggle and never had an issue.

noiseboyfeetman

I've used Wiggle, Absolute Cycles, High On Bikes, Planet X, Ribble, Rutland Cycles, JE James & Chain Reaction Cycles with no problem at all. Ones I prefer to use though are Wiggle, Absolute Cycles and High On Bikes. High On Bikes had excellent customer service when returning an item.

warrior4life

I had a few issues with Rutland, they sent me the wrong bottom bracket twice but they where fantastic trying to sort it and the guys i spoke to on the phone where awesome so i'd still shop with them.

keef66

Oh, and I got some free High 5 electrolyte tabs in with my last CRC order. Very timely as I've been sweating rather a lot recently!

zexel

I try and buy everything from HighOnBikes, I've been using them for years, 100% positive feedback (158,000 transactions).

I reluctantly go elsewhere if I have to. My CC was done after using CRC, but have used them since (reluctantly using paypal), they were £10 cheaper (on some A520 pedals) than Wiggle who seem to have lost their way with pricing somewhat.

andyoh

I 've used Evans, Wiggle, CRC, Winstanleys, JE James, High on Bikes, Fat Birds and PBK. PBK are incredibly good and I will always use them. All the others have been fine with me, otherwise I wouldn't continue to use them.

rolf_f

jarrvo wrote:

haha well i do seem to have a constant battle with companies & organisations not doing what they are supposed to! and dont even get me started on banks!!

Maybe you need to chill a bit more and it might all go a bit smoother! I've used most of the companies you've had problems with - and not had any problems. The common denominator to the problems is you!

Anyway, I've not yet heard anyone say anything negative about HighonBikes and they even have a proper shop. Try them.

JRooke

There's no doubt High On Bikes are as good as it gets, I think you could set their items on fire throw them off a cliff take a crap on them and say they arrived like that, and they wouldn't even batter an eye lid and instantly replace it.

I've used pretty much everyone mentioned above on line, its rare i get any problems, recently ordered a gilet from Evans as it was dirt cheap in the sale and matched my club kit, took 3 weeks to get here but they sent me a £10 voucher to apologise, gilet only cost 20 so can't really complain.

And for internet safety, the safest way is paypal by a country mile, their system of freezing out transactions and holding the dosh themselves is brutal and brilliant, it's unbelievably biased towards the buyer, which is quite fustrating if you use it for your business as I do but it gives people a true sense of stability and confidence in buying on the internet.

On another note if you get your paypal account hacked its because your a muppet and your password is awful, as there is only one way in and one way out.

skinnypunter

Jarrvo, did you use the same computer every time you ordered?

Sounds like a scan for spyware / keylogger is in order rather than the online shops all being dodgy.

nickwill

Have used all the shops mentioned apart from JE James (I know that is pretty worrying!) and have never had a problem with any of them .
Maybe I've just been lucky. Particular praise goes to Highon Bikes and Absolute Cycles for for their prices and rapid service.

emotionless_softcore

zexel wrote:

I try and buy everything from HighOnBikes, I've been using them for years, 100% positive feedback (158,000 transactions).

158,000 transactions?
You. Rich. Bαstard.

RE: the OP question. Either all online retailers have been exploited, or OP's PC/bank details have...

Hmm.. :idea: I'm calling Ockam's Laser..