buying off e-bay

[husky03]

Hello everyone
looking for your views on buying an sv off of e-bay-been looking at the dealers and some private sales-big difference in prices for compairable bikes -noticed that on e-bay you can get a good deal if the price is right but i would rather get some views from yourselves and see where the pros and cons are- worried about any problems occuring after bike is bought on e-bay and no come back,where as with the dealer can get some warranty?
got the cash waiting (about £2000 or there abouts) but not in a rush- its gonna be my first bike so want to make sure i get it right first time

look forward to your replies
husky

My top tip on this is that most bikes for sale on ebay are stated as being offered elsewhere, and auction may be withdrawn etc.

In this situation, give them a phone call & say "I've seen the bike advertised, could I arrange to come & see it in the flesh?" Obviously this might mean a bit of travel, but it means you get to actually poke around at the bike. I'd never buy anything like a car/bike/house without seeing it properly first.

If you do this, you can also look at the ebay listing just before you set off, and offer LOWER than that. It's up to the person selling if they want to undercut ebay & close the auction! A few people I know have saved big money by doing this!

there's a big feature in this month's RIDE magazine about the scams on Ebay. It's either RIDE or BIKE.

I've sold a car on Ebay but never bought a car or bike from there. I think I only would if I was getting an incredible bargain say 20% cheaper than somewhere where there was some comeback.

It is possible to back out of Ebay purchases but your "rating" will be knackered. Theoretically if there is any difference between the advertised condition of the bike and what you find when you get there (presuming you won the auction), you're legitimately allowed to walk away.

agree with grecian ref the condition if not as advertised, bang on mate

bought a Yam TW125 from eBay and it turned out to be being sold by Rainbow
Motorcycles in Rotheram (though I didn't know it at the time)

It had only done 150 miles and was 7 months old, saved 1100 aprox on a brand new bike so was well pleased

Never viewed it before winning the auction as I knew that if it was not as advertised (within reason) then I could walk away, anyway, turned out to be a totally genuine bike

Had the reg checked with experian just in case but the bike came back totally clean.

Hope this helps mate

why would you put a bike on ebay with no reserve if there was nowt wrong with it? my mate bought a car that was advertised as slight body damage so he won it £200 when he went to pick it up it had been rolled
but he only wanted the interior

just be carful...............if it is not as discribed csn u do anything??

I've bought both a car and a bike on ebay and also sold a car. Its pretty much like buying privately - if its different to the way its being advertised then you can walk away but once you've bought it you don't have a come back.

[Shellywoozle]

I have just bought my SV650s, I saw it on ebay with a reserve price.

I really liked the look so I emailed the buyer and made an offer, we in the end went half way in between. Obviously when I went to see it I took cash and my fella took it for a test ride first.

HPI check was done and the buyer offered me her address so I could go see it at her home, all was above board.

The bike was in great condition, all the paperwork was OK and the girl seemed really nice - deal done!

But beware not everyone is so lucky. Make sure you go to their address, don't make confact via just mobiles, get HPI check done at the very least before you go to look.

Shell

I've bought all 3 of my sv's off ebay.

Each time I do take a gamble. I head down on train (or van like last time) and jsut assume that they are telling the truth. I do of course, hpi check the bikes I am interested in and try and get as MUCH information from them as possible. I also try and knock £40 off the buy it now price by asking them to end the auction early so they will avoid the fees also. I usually ride the bikes back up home but if not possible, hire a van (sixt are preeeetty good when it comes to age)

At the end of the day...if a bike described as mint turns out to be a dog, jsut walk away. It's only feedback after all.

but dont u have to pay in advance?

Originally Posted by hovi5

but dont u have to pay in advance?

Pay in advance? For what? I can usually talk them down to accepting my verbal contract to take the bike. Sometimes I have seen people wanting a deposit but I have about 240 feedback, 99% positive and can offer them any proof to show I am not a con man with no intention to cough up.

I picked up a £400 diversion off ebay from London about 7-9 weeks ago. £17.50 down there. About £30 in fuel back up (to glasgow). And I'm delivering it to it's new buyer for £800.