Gumtree Buying Advice

stephenballantyne

Hi,

I'm looking for a cheapish steel-framed tourer for commuting and weekend trips and have turned to the usual suspects eBay and Gumtree for some potential bargains. I'm pretty comfortable buying on eBay, which at least has a little buyer protection, but I've found some really nice looking bikes on Gumtree. Having never bought anything through the site before, I wondered if anyone had any advice on how to a) Not get ripped off, b) Not get something that's stolen or c) Not get mugged?

In particular, is there anything that would signal a dodgy seller (any particular questions to ask to get a feel for this)?

I've come across one seller that has a number of nice looking bikes, should I be more or less concerned if they have lots for sale rather than a single item?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Cheers,
Steve

nochekmate

Cash on collection is king on Gumtree for me - too many scams for bikes that are of interest. Often look on there but rarely buy anything - bought some Mavic Kysrium SSC SL wheels off there some time ago (cash on collection).

Too many offers of UKASH type deals. People slate eBay but IMO Gumtree takes it to a whole new level - that's not to say that there is not the occasional genuine sale/bargain on there.

mouth

Vague descriptions and history always raises a flag for me. When I was toying with the idea of a new mtb a few weeks ago I thought used may be the way forward and hit ebay and gumtree. The funniest one I saw was a Specialized Cannondale when the picture was obviously of a Giant (frame at least). The description (if it could be called that) was terrible -littered with spelling mistakes and seeming mis-truths such as the bike being nearly-new from Halfords. Last time I looked they didn't stock any of those three brands.

General security - Be wary of anyone who offers to deliver. They'd know exactly where to steal a nice new bike from.

Email contact is best. My mate rang a number in the classifieds once only to eventually realise it was a disguised premium rate number and it cost him about 20 quid for the privilege.

Cash is all you'll get from Gumtree, but be wary of carrying a lot to a potential sale. If the seller is genuine, he won't mind while you go to the cash point etc to collect the money.

jp1970

I replied to a few dodgy ads... the last few have been ukash scams.... it is kinda fun when they ask for your postal address to deliver the bike to .. I have supplied David Cameron's home address (10 Downing Street)...a few emails later the 'advertiser' finally realised i;m not taking the bate.
It also work asking for pics of the bike with the seller.... this normally stops them in their tracks.!!!

stephenballantyne

Thanks. Might be worth adding that the bikes I've found don't have an awful lot of detail - I have emailed asking for lots more. Any chance you folks could take a look at these links and give me your opinion (don't worry, I won't hold you to them)?

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/vintage-peugeot-mens-green-road-racing-touring-track-bike/89047905#gallery-item-full-1

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/vintage-peugeot-gray-mens-road-touring-racing-bike/89048494#gallery-item-full-1

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/vintage-kalkhoff-race-racing-touring-road-bike/88186337#gallery-item-full-2

Cheers

Crankbrother

Gumtree is fine for local buys ... Just apply common sense, ask for manuals for wheels, forks etc.

I've sold a few odds and sods on Gumtree and if there was smomething specific I had to buy secondhand then I would ...

gmacz

Bike in one hand and cash in the other hand.
Gumtree buying advice.

Anonymous

Those links all seem to have the same guy selling them (or at least the same contact number)

stephenballantyne

coriordan wrote:

Those links all seem to have the same guy selling them (or at least the same contact number)

Yeah, that's what I was referring to in the first post. The seller has a few bikes and responded quickly to my email, even with info of other bikes they have. But they never sign off with their name and have said that the bikes are up north, but the one that I'm interested in can be brought down (even though I've asked to go round and view them all first).

Not sure. They are so perfect for me (assuming they run OK) and I don't want to miss out because I'm being too suspicious.

Thanks all.

MrSpeedy

I gave up on gumtree after about a month of looking in London, every person I got was either a thief or was looking to mug me.

One guy was selling a 56cm bike, couldn't remember the name he put for himself in the ad, the bike was apparently his wife's and to buy it I had to meet him somewhere (he wouldn't tell me where yet) and I had to take ID from my work place to prove what my job was. Passport or driving licence not good enough, he needed my job (to prove I'm not police, I guess) then if he trusted me he'd take me to the bike!

I had about 10 like that and those were the ones not obviously fake from the ad.

some tips:
Google the mobile number. Most of the time they'll be selling 3 or 4 bikes all under different names.
Bikes are all different types and sizes.
Scumbags don't normally have a Reply To button.
Unless it's written on the frame they have no idea what size it is, no details about upgrades, components etc..
Photo often from Evans website or nicked from Google images.
Bad grammar, all in lower or upper case, even their name.

After a while you can spot them a mile off. For what it's worth your guy looks genuine.

In_the_big_ring

I've heard some horror stories with Gumtree. Personally I wouldn't buy off there as lots of scammers and if the bike turns out to be stolen you'll have no recourse to the seller, at least with eBay, if you pay through PayPal you're covered by their guarantee.

ooermissus

I looked in East London once and almost all bikes were stolen, although the prices were good if you want to ride someone else's bike.

yaya

Sell has a bunch of Vintage bike in Central London, South East London and also in Liverpool.

Same mobile number appears in a few bike ads on BritYa as well: http://liverpool.britya.com/forsale-a-sporting-a-a83173044206-a-Vintage-Raleigh-Ladies-Road-Race-Hybrid-Town-Bike-

Might be a genuine and honest way of doing business but I'd be careful

milese

I saw one that was local to me at a good price, with a stock photo.

Emailed them with a few questions, asking for more pics and to come and look.

Questions were ignored - but they came out with loads of reasons why I couldnt go and look at it, they were working away, they are a single women and dont want to give their address, but luckily they have the bike packaged up and already with a courier so while they are advertising as only being 5 miles from me, they want to deliver it via a courier.

Was quite obviously a scam from the start, I just hope everyone realises.

A guy I know had his bike nicked, and later found it on gumtree in the same city, told the police and they got it back. Some thieves are so stupid - I imagined that they'd at least send them to the other end of the country or break them....

The police told him that gumtree is the crooks outlet of choice.