Buying Bikes on eBay

Anyone bought a bike unseen from eBay? Scary I know but living in the wilds of Scotland, there just aren't enough around to meet my requirements!

Good experience? Bad??

Bought my 99 650 on eBay last October. Had been bidding on a few and then got a great deal - the guy even went to the post office and got me a new tax disc. Have another mate who did exactly the same and bought a bike unseen. The eBay guidelines say that if the item is not exactly as described, then you don't need to complete. I had no problems whatsover and just did the overall check and was off in about 30mins.

I'm sure people have had bad dealings but mine was completely pain free.

As with all eBay - make sure you check the feedback and rating as it says a lot.

I know a few lads that have bought bikes via ebay. I won't say on ebay because they didn't.

Most sellers on ebay advertise their contact number, and advertise the bike elsewhere. If you see one like this, maybe do as my mates do, call they & say "hi, I've seen your bike advertised, any chance I can come & look at it?" Don't tell them where you've seen it, and if you like it, maybe offer lower than the current ebay bid.

Usually works a treat, so long as you're offering something sensible and know what you're looking at mechanically.

I am in no way advocating the use of ebay listings to 'mine' information & bypass the processes. This is strictly against ebay T&C, apparently.

But you can usually save the cost of the train fair in the amount they'll accept for the bike, and providing it's insured, you only pay for a 1 way ticket.

Yep, bought my CBR600F from Ebay. Basically you go and look at the bike and if its not as advertised then you can walk away.

bought my SV 3 years ago on eBay.

£2000 + lot's of Mods already fitted, 15000K FSH

Was a nice Bargain

I bought my SV and the TT600 on Ebay, both unseen, though I did run HPI checks.

As stated above, if its not as advertised, or if the paperwork is suspicious or missing, walk.

Wow - all very positive. I was expecting a tirade of bad experiences! Thanks guys.

Next question - where's the cheapest place to get an HPI check done?

I think eBay itself offer this facility & it's around £6.

edit: Yes it's £6.99

My brother got his bike from ebay..... naked SV... he called the guy up to make a visit, a cash offer was made, guy accepted the offer and it was a little lower that the starting price...

cash is hard to say no to when it wafting in front of you

[Stu]

Bought all 4 of my bikes on eBay
1st was delivered to me, and i still had the option to say no.
2nd was couriered to me so was paid for unseen (Wouldn't recommend this)
3rd I met up with the guy closer to his house than mine, so could have walked away.
4th went to see - would have been a real pain not to ride away, but I suppose I could have walked away.

Sold 2 of them on eBay - no problems

Bought 2 cars on eBay and sold one of them.
Basically it's just like any other introduction medium like advertising. Even if you've committed to buying, you can still walk away if it's patently not as advertised.
I really like not having to haggle on price while still knowing your paying the lowest price over what someone else is theoretically willing to pay.
I have used the eBay HPI service. It is restrictive because you need the V5 details before you buy to take advantage of the guarantee, but when this was not available to me I got a full refund even after receiving the report.
Note if you know it's written off, the eBay report won't clarify if it's Cat D or worse - don't know if other HPI's are more forthcoming.