Buying on ebay

123oclock

Has anyone here bought cycling gear on ebay?
I am a newbie cyclist and have the bare minimum of cycling shorts/shirts and was looking at ebay as an alternative to paying full cost for gear would this be a recommended way to go about buying? Thanks.

Ryaner

Unless you come across a great deal, http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ and http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ will sort everything.

And to get your started, FREE5-PPEM1 is a 5Euro off voucher with Wiggle on orders over 25.

ednwireland

bought my carbon fibre bottle cages from some dude in china, they look very nice on my new focus cayo, and they hold bottles evrything else pretty much from wiggle and chain reaction, got my first order from probikekit this week

Caroline_ie

I bought shoes, jerseys, socks, ourys, my timbuk2 bag, caps etc ... I use eBay when i am looking for something particular, that's not available on the like of Wiggle, CRC, PBK or my LBS. So far I have never had any problem with sizes or quality.

turbine?

Its a running joke with my friends that I'm addicted to ebay, but if you know what your looking for you can find some great deals there.
Recent purchases include:

Fuji Roubaix RC complete bike
Seatpost (cheapo no brand)
Easton EA50 Stem and Handlebar
Steel MTB Frame (for single speed build up to replace my old knackered one)
Fox body armour (more like Faux but i knew that when I ordered it, its really just the brand x stuff from CRC wih fox logos on it)

dont be afraid to look at the Hong Kong, Taiwan, or China ebay Shops either

biker_joe

yea me too ... I have bought some cranks, jagwire cables .... and other bits and pieces mainly little finishing pieces for bike building that the other online shops don't stock, I mainly buy from Ebay shops ....but have got a couple of items from individual sellers ....

Biker_Joe

FrankGrimes

I'm not really a fan of ebay at all a) because it's got quite little to do with its core business of proper auctions any more and b) because postage is generally a complete and utter rip off and it's a pain in d'arse browsing cos getting an accurate picture of the final price is pretty tedious.

I'd be unlikely to buy a bike off ebay unless it was an amazing deal and as most of the individual bike parts/gear that I buy are generally under €150 the likely savings over CRC/Wiggle/Probikekit are probably only a few quid and I value my time more than the value of the likely minimal savings which investing a lot of time searching on ebay might yield.

That said, when I hear of a great deal like those carbon bottle cages (€18 delivered for 2) on here or somewhere else, I'll go for it cos it's low risk and not time consuming.

2 Wheels Good

Bought a set of Profile tri bars last month, saved €95 compared to retail. Have bought pedals before and tempted by the carbon bottle cages. Other than that usually try to buy from a shop or from one of the online shops above

updadeise

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I'm not really a fan of ebay at all a) because it's got quite little to do with its core business of proper auctions any more and b) because postage is generally a complete and utter rip off and it's a pain in d'arse browsing cos getting an accurate picture of the final price is pretty tedious.

I'd be unlikely to buy a bike off ebay unless it was an amazing deal and as most of the individual bike parts/gear that I buy are generally under €150 the likely savings over CRC/Wiggle/Probikekit are probably only a few quid and I value my time more than the value of the likely minimal savings which investing a lot of time searching on ebay might yield.

That said, when I hear of a great deal like those carbon bottle cages (€18 delivered for 2) on here or somewhere else, I'll go for it cos it's low risk and not time consuming.

Hi,
I would have to agree with Frank as a newby ebay is like a big sweet shop unless you know exactly what your looking for alot of your bidding will be some what blind. After dealing with Wiggle and Probikekit exclusively for the last month the free shipping is the little carrott bringing me back...also websites are extremely user friendly for a newby.

updadeise

at1withmyself

I use ebay all the time as it usually works out at least 10 - 15% cheaper then most online shops. I've bought and sold everything from bikes/frames/wheels to smaller items like grip tape and bottle cages and have always found the service to be fantastic.

Some tips:

• Always make sure to buy from a reputable seller
• When ordering make sure your aware of import fees (if required)
• If neccessary email the seller for extra pics/exact price, if there genuine they won't mind
• If buying multiple items email the seller for extra discount, I usually end up getting an extra few euro off
• Start small to get used of the system

gman2k

at1withmyself wrote: »

I use ebay all the time as it usually works out at least 10 - 15% cheaper then most online shops. I've bought and sold everything from bikes/frames/wheels to smaller items like grip tape and bottle cages and have always found the service to be fantastic.

Some tips:

• Always make sure to buy from a reputable seller
• When ordering make sure your aware of import fees (if required)
• If neccessary email the seller for extra pics/exact price, if there genuine they won't mind
• If buying multiple items email the seller for extra discount, I usually end up getting an extra few euro off
• Start small to get used of the system

And learn how to snipe - I only buy by sniping, have got some unreal bargains!

Burgerman55

generally 20% cheaper
its not rocket science

FrankGrimes

Good to know there's savings to be had on ebay so. Would be handy if some of you that have gotten good deals can post the link to the seller if you'd recommend them.

Junior

Last three bikes that have been gotten between myself and my dad have been gotten from e of the bay. I bought my Trek Madone 5.2 Frame on it, it was brand new unused, just stripped and groupset was sold off. We've bought groupsets, bars, wheels, everything and anything from it.

The key to ebay is to know your product, what the price your willing to pay, just keep all that in mind. As for the bidding there's two ways to go, either put in your maximum bid early and see how it fairs or wait till the last few seconds and stick in a few bids and see..