Hi,

I a selling a bike on ebay and had a message from someone who has not yet put a bid on the bike but wants to come round and view it.

Not had anyone request this before, is it fairly normal for ebay?

Should I be worried that someone will have the address and know that there is a bike there, or am I being a little bit paranoid?

Pretty standard for high prices items. Might also be looking to make you a cash offer. I normally fire a few emails forward and back before sending the address and committing to meet as it filters out the time wasters a bit. Obviously it still could be dodgy so you need to make a judgement but you can always agree to meet elsewhere

A quite often have viewings on things I sell.

I prefer it as it gives them a chance to see it properly and me a chance to explain the condition properly.

Also tends to end in a cash sale so I save of eBay fees.

^ that. I always put a phone no on listing specifically to encourage such viewing & cash behaviour.

Expect to split any fees saving for cash.

Could be genuine, but Id meet them somewhere other than my house. Explain that to them and if they understand, fine. If not then you have your answer.

No different to old school small ads, if someone wants to look before they decide to buy (perfectly reasonable) then they’re going to need to know where to meet you, whether that’s your house or $ELSEWHERE.

Just make the potential buyer aware that you need to get the bike from your off site, Fort Knox style, lockup guarded by dolphins with fricking lasers. Simples.

Wish i`d looked at a 2003 Trek Liquid I bought off Ebay in 2005, Paid what was a fair price , looked spot on on the pics as it came out of the shop, bike arrived stripped of all quality components , wheels forks and fitted out with crap, seller went underground addresses did not tally up and paypal gave me about 150 quid which was peanuts!!

get them to meet you at your place of work (so long as you dont work from home)…if they’re ok with this then i would geuss they’re a genuine buyer

I don’t allow it because you just end up with time wasters. Local pickup to me is that they ‘win’ the item, pay for the item and then come round and pick it up.

Had two people just this week who were apparently very interested in buying my guitar and wanted to arrange a time to come and pick up the guitar. They both went very quiet when I said I would give them my address after they had won/paid.

Have a chat with him on the phone to sus him out, then agree to meet at a neutral location if you have any doubts at all.

It’s almost certainly not a burglar looking to case your joint, but play it safe if you are worried.

Cheers all,

Will send him a reply about meeting at neutral ground 😀

Perhaps have some mates with you and make sure its somewhere busy.
Ideally park the car somewhere else (if you’re bringing the bike in the car) so they cant follow you from the car to your home.
So ideally park away from the meet site, walk the bike there, ideally turn up late, so they are there before you. Let them go and then wander back to the car via a scenic route.
Im probably paranoid, but at least you wont lead them to your home address, or even stop off at a mates on the way back.

most people i have dealt with have been fine, sold a roof rack he was more than happy to get a lower price and i took cash with no fees.

the end of the day all sale items must display a postcode so in theory toe rags could find your address no problem anyway.

I’ve bought & sold a lot of used bikes over the years. I like to think I take all practical steps to make sure anything I bug is legit, but the one thing that has me running for the hills is a seller suggesting meeting at some random location that isn’t his home.

I understand the need for caution & I’d recommend speaking over the phone first – you’ll get a better idea who you’re dealing with.

I always make sure all other bikes are out of sight too when I’m selling