ebay - why?

londoncommuter

I don't need one immediately but could do with replacing my chainset at some point so I thought I'd have a look for any bargains on ebay. I haven't really used ebay much before so am finding it bizarre and interesting how much people pay for things. Quite often people are paying up to 90% of, and in some cases more than 100%, of what you could pay from an on-line retailer with no grief and a warranty.

It's great to recycle and I'm pleased people are buying from each other so surplus stuff doesn't end up in landfill but this is strange. These buyers must all be computer literate so I assume are capable of checking on-line shops first so why is this happening?

Has anybody else notice this or is it just isolated to the things I've been looking for (chainset, derailleurs etc)?

glasgowbhoy

Bidding fever!

nochekmate

Simple - because there are too many people that cannot be ars*d to even trawl the net and resort to eBay, thinking that prices will automatically be lower, which as a regular seller on there, I know is not always the case!

I've done quite well on some Ultegra triple chainsets

adwt2004

I don't use it as much for buying anymore. Some stuff is cheaper retail. I've resorted to using gumtree etc if I want a good used bike. I'll buy new bits on ebay if they are slightly cheaper but used items like bikes go too high now. People obviously want them more than I do..

nochekmate

adwt2004 wrote:

I don't use it as much for buying anymore. Some stuff is cheaper retail. I've resorted to using gumtree etc if I want a good used bike. I'll buy new bits on ebay if they are slightly cheaper but used items like bikes go too high now. People obviously want them more than I do..

There is still the odd bargain Buy It Now price bike if you are quick but those going the full auction distance usually fetch 'market price' or indeed more!

sloppyschleckonds

Hi - Is this still for sale? I'll pay the full asking price.

adwt2004

Check this one out!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Allez-16-Road-Bike-Extras-/170764781869?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item27c25fc92d

It's a bargain, buy now!

*And no I'm not the seller!

alihisgreat

I've noticed it too.. can take a while to find a bargain but they do come around quite frequently

eg. i won the bidding on a Boardman Team alloy, had only been test ridden once so basically new for £550 compared to the £1000 retail

and thats a decent bike with full 105, mavik aksiums etc.


i didn't actually end up getting the bike because the seller decided after the auction that he was no longer willing to post it :evil:



also missed out on a Fuji roubaix 1.0 for £350 with full 105, decent wheels (would have got rid of the frame though at that price)




it does seem stupid though -> you'd think everyone would be out to get a bargin.. and thus the general ebay price level would be a lot lower...

gmacz

Sometimes it is just easier.
Quick search and you have the results from all the sellers.
Beats going through google and finding that the retailers advertise the part as in stock and they have never sold the item. They just do it to get you on their website

londoncommuter

I agree you could spend a long time to find the absolute lowest price (they'll always be a Bosnian road wheel shop you'd never heard of until someone posts about it on here) but you'd expect people to have a quick look at Ribble, Merlin, CRC etc.

greeny12

One of my team-mates sells all his old bike bits on eBay and he's often staggered by the prices they fetch.

I never buy used off there, but I will buy new from one of the many big bike part discounters who sell tons of stuff and undercut all the usual online suspects, presumably because they're operating out of their garage!!

ugo.santalucia

londoncommuter wrote:

I don't need one immediately but could do with replacing my chainset at some point so I thought I'd have a look for any bargains on ebay. I haven't really used ebay much before so am finding it bizarre and interesting how much people pay for things. Quite often people are paying up to 90% of, and in some cases more than 100%, of what you could pay from an on-line retailer with no grief and a warranty.

It's great to recycle and I'm pleased people are buying from each other so surplus stuff doesn't end up in landfill but this is strange. These buyers must all be computer literate so I assume are capable of checking on-line shops first so why is this happening?

Has anybody else notice this or is it just isolated to the things I've been looking for (chainset, derailleurs etc)?

What you say is untrue and unrealistic... nobody is stupid. i have sold in excess of 100 used items on e-bay and only once got about 80% of the RRP.
Maybe you see people killing themselves to buy a Veloce chainset, but then looking more carefully, that's a 2009 one with Ultra torque bearings and not the rubbish 2011 Veloce chainset with Power torque system which you find in the shops... it is in fact a different item and very desirable as nobody has it in stock any longer.
Some items might appear cheaper from on-line retailers, but if you look closely, nobody has it in stock, and maybe it takes 2 months to have it, so better pay a bit more now and have it immediately, if it's urgent.

londoncommuter

ugo.santalucia - I didn't say people paid more than RRP, just that they routinely pay more than the discounted prices easily available on-line. Here's a recent example:

£54 "ex-display" from e-bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ex-Display-Sh ... 3f12671d69

£41 new with a warranty from Ribble:

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... HIMCHAR465

ugo.santalucia

londoncommuter wrote:

ugo.santalucia - I didn't say people paid more than RRP, just that they routinely pay more than the discounted prices easily available on-line. Here's a recent example:

£54 "ex-display" from e-bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ex-Display-Sh ... 3f12671d69

£41 new with a warranty from Ribble:

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... HIMCHAR465

There might be the odd case... they are both new though... chainsets sell well
and the reason is, do you need a warranty on an alloy chainset? I have never seen a chainset that had problems that can be solved by having a warranty

neeb

To be honest the truth is that these days you can often get better service from an established ebay seller (one with hundreds or thousands of sales who specialises in bike parts) than from the online shops. They have 99.99% positive feedback scores to protect and will usually despatch next day or even same day. You don't need to spend 10 minutes filling in forms and providing credit card details only to find that you are then charged exorbitant P&P you weren't previously informed about. As far as warranties go, my bike related purchases over the past 5 years or so are probably approaching triple figures but I've never used or needed a warranty for anything. If it's OK when it arrives it should continue to be OK until it wears out, or else if something does go wrong it's probably easier to fix it myself. About the only exception I can think of would be a frameset, where manufacturing faults might cause a problem that wasn't immediately apparent when you received it and the outlay makes a warranty a good thing to have. Most other bike stuff is simple enough that you can tell if something's wrong when you get it, and if it breaks it's probably your fault..

Also, there ARE real bargains to be had on ebay if you get lucky. I got a brand new Super Record Ti axle chainset from a bloke in the Ukraine for £300 a couple of months ago.