Buying a Bike from EBAY

Ok I've just seen a bike I really really want but don't have the first clue on what to do on ebay I've put it on my check list to keep an eye on it but thats all.
So as I'am soooo new at buying from ebay could you guys give me some tips please
Now I know I can get a 100 point bike check plus I think it's called a status check if thats what it is called that lets me see if it's been crashed, finance on it etc.


Please fire away and state the obvious

Definitly go and have a look before you bid.

A friend recently bought a Vauxhall Frontera from Ebay for £1700. Car was in Edinburgh, he's in Norfolk. They met half way to exchange cash and money. Car looked fine, next morning he started it, but car wouldn't rev. Turns out it has fuel vacume injector seals thingy ma jiggy problem or something when first started? And will cost £450 at Vauxhall to put right. He's gutted. Its put him and me from buying from ebay unless you thourghly check what you're want before bidding.

Definatly go and look bfore you buy as the phoos could have been taken at anytime, saying that my mate has just got an old Honda 250 off ebay for peanuts and even being 20 years old is mint.

H

I have bought two cars from Ebay and have managed to get two bargains. Went to look at one of them first but risked it with the other one. At the end of the day if you do buy it and it`s not as it should be dont give the guy any money.

Well, I've sold a bike on eBay and bought a car from there too.

Firstly - if as you say, it's a bike you really really want - then write your highest bid down on a bit of paper and stick it to your screen! Don't let youself get caught up in the eBay fever and stick to your original goals.

That said - check out the seller, then check out the ad, but do both with a positive attitude rather than a cynical one - otherwise you'll just end up getting grumpy, depressed and suspicious.

If you can get to see the bike then do - and if it's what you want make an offer there and then, it can't hurt.

If you can't get to see it, and you still like what you see in the ad, then bid to a just under your maximum and then watch the auction in it's closing stages. Then if it looks like you'll lose it then within the last 15-30 seconds (depending on your typing speed and internet connection) bid up to the remaining amount of your funds.
Keeping a bit in reserve on an auction like this can make the difference between winning and losing because someone has sniped you with a couple of quid extra.

Take a copy of the ad with you and thoroughly check the bike over before paying. If you find it isn't exactly as advertised then you can either begin to barter the price or walk away.
This is why I say view the listing with a positive attitude as if the advert is missing vital information then according to eBay's own rules you are free to walk away.

The bike I sold was my damaged Ninja. It was only cosmetic stuff and I had picked it up cheap through work to do up as a track bike... then my 'Blade came along.
I must have listed about 15 photos of the slightest little scratch - the guy who won hadn't seen it before hand and said it was a lot better in the flesh than he'd thought. Gave me an extra £50 - so there are nice people out there y'know.

The Mini I bought was a must have emergency buy - knee fecked and needed the cheapest automatic I could get. It was up in Middlesborough so I didn't have a chance to get to see it first - but knew what I had to spend and that was it.
Won it for £550 quid, got a lift up there from a friend (who also followed me back) and found I'd a real bargain as it looked better than it had in the photos.
18months later and I have still to have any problem with it. Great little car and an absolute lifeline.

Bought two bikes on ebay, sold one. All went OK - I was happy with the bikes I bought and the guy who bought from me was happy.

As has been stated, I would never buy a bike I hadn't seen (with the exception of someone from the forum I guess), especially from ebay.

At the end of the day ebay is just a place to advertise your bike like any other place. Buyer beware rules apply just the same.

Well I say really really want more like something I would like to have not going togo crazy, the only problem is the guy lives in wrexham and me in london
does everyone bid at the last second as it's been on 2 days with no bids with 5 left togo

I bought my SV on eBay and I echo what others have said about viewing the bike, if you can't view then email the seller and ask for a phone number, you can often spot the ones who are hiding faults when you ask a few pointed questions on the phone. The other thing that swung it for me was all the documentation that came with it, the kind of people that keep all the service receipts, manuals and invoices are (generally) the kind that take a lot of care over their bike.

Oh and double check with the vendor that's it's a genuine black and not a resprayed candy blue

Have bought a car and a couple of bikes from ebay and helped other people buy bikes from ebay too, its like buying privately really. You get an HPI check done to check the background of the bike. Does the ad have lots of detail and pics? Does it have full documentation?

My usual thing on ebay is to put a bid on if there isn't one on there at all and keep an eye on it until the last 10 minutes or so, at which point I usually put my maxium bid I'm prepared to pay and watch it like a hawk with fingers crossed.

If you want, PM me the link and I'll have a look and see if I can spot any dodgyness.

Originally Posted by Kate

Have bought a car and a couple of bikes from ebay

PM me the link and I'll have a look and see if I can spot any dodgyness.

dont do it,she will out-bid you @the last minute