Hunting for a cheap MTB and everything that piques my interest on ebay seems to ring alarm bells.
Just found this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Giant-talon-/261385944491?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3cdbd0fdab

It’s the right money, the right size, around the right kind of spec and it’s local. 2 feedback and no other relevant items apart from a dress with photographs shot in a different house. Listing is only a 3 day so potentially less chance to get spotted and reported. I’m not sure – would anyone else take a punt?

Would rather buy off here but nothing right coming up!

Sold one and bought one, and all been legit.

Expensive electronics on the other hand….

Sold 4 bikes on ebay and 3 frames and bought a few back all been great usually from enthusiasts.

Looks fine to me but i’m a trusting soul!

That one looks alright. being sold with a decent lock and helmet. if he had stole it, the lock would be broken 😆

I wouldn’t.

But I got well bummed with a nicked bike and ended up £500 out of pocket. EBay and Paypal could have cared less.

It’s your gamble; is it worth it?

That one looks OK to me

I’ve bought & sold quite a few with no problems, although there seem to be more & more a-holes on eBay every day

Seems legit to me.

Don’t see many hooky bikes advertised with a lock and spare tubes.

I always ask the seller for proof of purchase or a reference from their LBS, if they refuse or make excuses then start to be suspicious.

But I got well bummed with a nicked bike and ended up £500 out of pocket. EBay and Paypal could have cared less.

Totally irrelevant grammatical irk #288:

Couldn’t have cared less!

looks ok, nice ad, good spelling, crisp photos.
I would

Seems ok to me, if it was a large frame I might be interested myself.

“Collection in person” – if you can collect it from the seller’s house, it’s likely to be legit. Looks fine to me – but “its the right money” doesn’t mean much unless nobody else bids.

Looks kosher to me.

I’ve a Cotic Soul, 17″, fox floats, xtr brakes, xt gears – if your interested…..will be going eBay or here once I get chance to take pics. £800 Ono 😉

I’ve got a specialised rockhopper with a 16 inch frame if that is more to your taste?
Add seems fine.

I always ask the seller for proof of purchase or a reference from their LBS, if they refuse or make excuses then start to be suspicious.

I’ve never bought a bike off ebay – but i’ve asked this question a couple of times, once for a bike once for something else and both times got an abusive reply along the lines of ‘are you calling me thieving scum…’

Can’t make my mind up on this one so will drop a message and see what comes back.

Sold 2 on ebay, both legit, Also sold one on here, and found the bugger split on ebay 2 weeks later.

I’ve sold around 6 bikes on Ebay and countless bits. What really bugs me is people who don’t give me feedback for my efforts in packing the item well and delivering fast – who bought my Global titanium stem?

The bike linked looks kosher to me.

Receipts or no deal.

Bought three off ebay. Two collected in person from enthusiasts, one packaged better than a new bike. There is always selection bias in the reporting of poor sellers. Most people are honest and well-meaning.

One of my stolen bikes appeared on ebay and the follwoing checklist should help:

* awful photos
* pitiful description
* incorrect spelling of bicycle model and manufacturer
* very short auction

Mine scored all four with a 1 day auction being the highlight. Police got it back and charged guy for recieving stolen goods. They have trawled through his ebay account and are contacting every “winner” of his 30 odd auctions for bicycles over the last 15 months and will be visiting all of them to check bike frame numbers against the stolen bike register.

Caveat emptor!

short listings are a favourite ,less chance of the owner seeing it .
receipts don’t mean a lot had the police in asking if we had sold a bike and someone had made a copy of one of our invoices,looked really good but we have never sold that brand.
facebook is the new place for them to sell,get a bike ,swap with someone 50 miles away and sell on a local buy/swap site ,little chance of seeing your bike again.it’s always easy to tell who is legit some are now very clued up and not daft,swop a few sensible items and change the look of the bike.sad thing now you can’t even look at a buyers history on e bay as it’s now not possible to see what they have bought /sold in the past.

Text the guy if you’re unsure and ask for the frame number so you can check it out.

https://www.bikeregister.com/