Wheel building question - problems with wheels supplied

m100 · Post by **m100** » 4 Feb 2009, 11:43pm

meic wrote:m100

Can you get spokes for a pair of 406 rims for £15? I have to have mine hand cut at 50p each. ie £36 a pair.
Or do you mean £15 per rim and there is no potential bargain in the offing.

The £15 was for one rim! Three cross spokes on an SA hub with a typical 406 rim (Sun CR18) are 174mm long. SJS do them in plain 14g stainless at 30p a piece, they aren't perfect - far from it but as far as I know all spokes you can buy today don't accurately fit the 3mm diameter holes in a modern SA hub.

Post by **Hemipode** » 5 Feb 2009, 11:12am

Check the dealers feedback - the star ratings are terrible ! :shock:

There are some really good dealers on Ebay - & some really bad ones. Draw your own conclusions - their star ratings say it all.
Be careful who you buy from - always look at a dealers feedback & star ratings & take them into consideration before you purchase from them.
I would open a dispute through Paypal. You will have to return the wheels to the dealer at your own cost before a refund will be issued (unless the dealer does the decent thing)
A decent trader would refund your initial purchase price + postage + return postage.
Make sure you use Recorded Delivery to prevent them claiming they never received the items back.
As others have said though, the price of the component parts may make it worthwhile getting a decent wheel builder to sort them out for you. Please reflect that in your feedback to warn others.
Good luck!

meic · Post by **meic** » 5 Feb 2009, 11:21am

I dont know how much you paid for them but m100's idea seems worth pursueing. Less hassle and do others a favour maybee.
Dont forget to blast the seller on feedback.

What is to stop someone like that refusing to sign for the recorded delivery?

Wildduck · Post by **Wildduck** » 5 Feb 2009, 11:28am

Unfortunately the rims are nasty steel ones.

The only good part are the hubs (which I could have purchased cheaper on their own).

Time for a PayPal dispute....

Post by **Hemipode** » 5 Feb 2009, 11:37am

Nothing to stop them refusing to sign Meic, but the wheels would then be returned to Wildduck & Paypal would then take the refusal into account.
Just checked the dealers ratings versus Ebays current averages & they are:-

Category...............................Dealers rating......Current Ebay average
Item as described..................4.5.......................4.73
Communication......................3.7.......................4.69
Dispatch time.........................3.5.......................4.63
Postage & packing charges...3.8.......................4.58

Not pretty reading

My personal sellers range is 4.7 - 4.9 , but before you ask, I don't sell bike parts ! :wink:

drjones · Post by **drjones** » 5 Feb 2009, 2:31pm

Ebay is a waste of time. What, save a few quid for a 10-fold chance of getting a pile of junk? Sounds more like a lottery to me.

Post by **Hemipode** » 5 Feb 2009, 3:18pm

On the whole I am in agreement with drjones. If you can buy new from a shop or online that is always my prefered option.
Ebay was originaly a concept to sell collectables. This is the area that I buy & sell in. Generally very few problems in this area as long as you stick to the decent dealers.

drjones · Post by **drjones** » 5 Feb 2009, 3:42pm

Ebay is for the mentally-ill.

meic · Post by **meic** » 5 Feb 2009, 4:04pm

As are chat rooms.
and we dont even make any money!

Post by **Hemipode** » 5 Feb 2009, 4:12pm

Why thankyou drjones !
I wonder about your qualifications to make such a sweeping statement :?:

Doesn't sound very professional or considered to me.
Should I (and anyone else on this forum who uses Ebay) take this statement as a personal insult :?:

meic · Post by **meic** » 5 Feb 2009, 4:16pm

No the target is Ebay users in general which I think is allowed, if somewhat perverse and disproportionate.

Not a personal insult, I think.

chrisw · Post by **chrisw** » 5 Feb 2009, 5:01pm

Ebay was the only thing that kept my last two cars on the road!!! Couldn't find some parts for love nor money, but there they were on ebay.
Also picked up some bargains for the bike on ebay as well, but you do need to be careful, some of the junk people push.
There was a guy not so long back flogging a Dawes Galaxy which he'd fitted with racing wheels, Deep rims and very few spokes. Totally unsuited for touring and he had set some ridiculosly high reserve.

drjones · Post by **drjones** » 5 Feb 2009, 6:02pm

Should I (and anyone else on this forum who uses Ebay) take this statement as a personal insult

That would largely depend upon whether or not you find mental illness insulting. I certainly don't.

Post by **Hemipode** » 5 Feb 2009, 8:12pm

drjones.
Mental illness is not offensive.
I worked at Princess Marina Hospital for several years. If you are in the medical profession you will know what this hospital does. It was a difficult enviroment to work in.
What I find insulting is the context in which you so flippantly use the term.
I think it is an immature and inaproppriate term to use.
My appologies to Wildduck for this unpleasant digression on their thread.

drjones · Post by **drjones** » 5 Feb 2009, 8:25pm

We obviously have different interpretations of the phrase.
That's language for you.