eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
oldmanpop
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Joined: 8 Apr 2009, 8:23am

eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by oldmanpop »

Hi I've seen a bike I want on ebay. I contacted the seller for some info and all seems well. An hour after the initial contact I'm told he's pulling it off ebay because of silly offers. However he is still selling the bike and am l interested? I had another look on ebay before the ad was removed and one of the pics had his phone number on. As if saying contact me off ebay. How can I be sure it's not a rip off and a genuine sale? £1200 is a lot of money. I'm thinking walk away. Thanks
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cycleruk
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Location: Lancashire

Re: Thoughts on this please

Post by cycleruk »

Could be a way that he doesn't pay Ebay their commission.
Do the transaction at his house if you can and see if he has any receipts.
If he gives you an excuse why he can't do it at his house then walk away.
You'll never know if you don't try it.
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simonineaston
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Re: Thoughts on this please

Post by simonineaston »

I don't think that an attempt to move a sale out of the ebay orbit necessarily sets a red flag. It may simply be an attempt to avoid their charges. However, like any other sale, you need to have confidence in the seller and if you can't physically go to see the cycle, then you may be able to gain conficence by speaking to them on the phone.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
eileithyia
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Re: Thoughts on this please

Post by eileithyia »

cycleruk wrote: 28 Jun 2022, 2:02pm Could be a way that he doesn't pay Ebay their commission.
Do the transaction at his house if you can and see if he has any receipts.
If he gives you an excuse why he can't do it at his house then walk away.
^ This, avoiding seller fees and see the bike / hand over money in person.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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simonineaston
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Re: Thoughts on this please

Post by simonineaston »

Another way to move the intitiative back to you is to offer to pay cash on exchange. That way you can more easily pull out of the sale if you spot anything you don't like, when you go to collect the cycle. Make sure though that the seller understands you reserve the right not to proceed until you are satisfied that the cycle is right for you. The seller may refuse to proceed under those terms, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
gxaustin
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Joined: 23 Sep 2015, 12:07pm

Re: Thoughts on this please

Post by gxaustin »

Ebay charges are extortionate so I can understand his wanting to avoid them. On the other hand I bet stolen goods are sold via Ebay. In fact a friend traced his stolen bike to Ebay. He bought it back, went to the police with all the evidence and they did precisely nothing.
AndyK
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Joined: 17 Aug 2007, 2:08pm
Location: Mid Hampshire

Re: eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by AndyK »

oldmanpop wrote: 28 Jun 2022, 1:48pm Hi I've seen a bike I want on ebay. I contacted the seller for some info and all seems well. An hour after the initial contact I'm told he's pulling it off ebay because of silly offers. However he is still selling the bike and am l interested? I had another look on ebay before the ad was removed and one of the pics had his phone number on. As if saying contact me off ebay. How can I be sure it's not a rip off and a genuine sale? £1200 is a lot of money. I'm thinking walk away. Thanks
Flashing lights, sirens, recorded voices going "Red alert! Red alert!".

He's claiming he took it off eBay because of "silly offers" but you note that he'd already published his phone number on the eBay ad. How did he know in advance he'd get the silly offers?

Most "silly offers" on eBay tend to be people saying "I'll give you £xxx now if you take it off auction and sell direct to me." Yet that's exactly what he's doing.

Sorry but this has dodgy written all over it. At best he's an incompetent idiot who doesn't know how to run a eBay sale and is dishonest enough to try to deprive them of their fees.

Corrected for typo
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Thoughts on this please

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
eileithyia wrote: 28 Jun 2022, 2:09pm
cycleruk wrote: 28 Jun 2022, 2:02pm Could be a way that he doesn't pay Ebay their commission.
Do the transaction at his house if you can and see if he has any receipts.
If he gives you an excuse why he can't do it at his house then walk away.
^ This, avoiding seller fees and see the bike / hand over money in person.
Wihout ebay and paypal you have little more than zero protection from losing your money! ?
If it goes pear-shaped..............
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
oldmanpop
Posts: 15
Joined: 8 Apr 2009, 8:23am

Re: eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by oldmanpop »

Thanks peeps. I think I'll make it clear I'm viewing only with a possible purchase when I feel confident.
Thanks again
Jamesh
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Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by Jamesh »

Dodgy.... scam... run....
De Sisti
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Joined: 17 Jun 2007, 6:03pm

Re: eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by De Sisti »

oldmanpop wrote: 28 Jun 2022, 2:54pm Thanks peeps. I think I'll make it clear I'm viewing only with a possible purchase when I feel confident.
Thanks again
Keep us informed on how things turned out.
hemo
Posts: 1438
Joined: 16 Nov 2017, 5:40pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by hemo »

Often items ae pulled once a buy it now price has been accepted or a suitable bid offer has been made by contacting the seller, then in both circumstances usualy it is cash on collection transaction at the owners addresss. This way the seller can still avoid ebay fees by saying the transaction falied to materialise.
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simonineaston
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Re: eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by simonineaston »

saying the transaction falied to materialise.
A seller isn't under any obligation to explain why they withdraw a listing. There's a charge for a listing, and if the seller chooses to end the listing, for whatever reason, that's their business. They may have perfectly legitmate reasons to end a listing.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
hemo
Posts: 1438
Joined: 16 Nov 2017, 5:40pm
Location: West Sussex

Re: eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by hemo »

Not all lsitings have an up front charge, I have often been offered free listings.
LancsGirl
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Joined: 5 Jun 2021, 9:57pm

Re: eBay bike for sale pulled - Thoughts on this please

Post by LancsGirl »

I buy, and sell, a fair bit on eBay.

The only problems I have ever had have been with people wanting to do some - "let's bypass eBay" type thing. I don't think eBay fees are "extortionate". Online auctions have opened up a whole world of buying and selling which would otherwise be extremely cumbersome, costly, or just plain impossible. I've sold things I couldn't have got money for any other way, and bought things that I would never ever have been able to find, back in the days of classified ads and postcards in shop windows.

Anybody trying to use eBay to sell something, but then bypass their fees, is a charlatan I don't want to have any dealings with.

Play it straight. This seller clearly doesn't want to. If you carry on dealing with him/her there's a good chance you'll have trouble.
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