What's the score with the classifieds am I liable to get ripped off?

I've used them before and had no problems but i went and collected myself as it was just down the road and paid in cash. 🙂

Stick with sellers/buyers that have a good posting record
give anyone that only posts in the classifieds a very wide berth
ask on here for a ref if you're worried

to put it in perspective though, I think they are generally very safe

Highly unlikely but doint sell hora some forks- in joke long story.
A very few isolated cases of scammers perhaps one per year.Many people only buy from people who post a bit on all forums or have a history on here.
Never had a problem on here.
i tend to avoid people who have only ever posted a FS as well just in case.
On the plus side I have posted things to people befor epayment and recieved things before I paid for them as well!.
Got some hard to find spare parts easily as well. Works but many think feedback would be a good idea
STW Towers get F ALL from classifieds and no one donates despite rules /them asking so I think they want to spend as little time on here as possible as it generates them no/little money.

Not very likely in my experience – the bad cases obviously get a lot of coverage on the forum but I've been buying and selling on here for years and never had any trouble at all.

Best thing to look out for is to click on the 'Member' link next to a poster name and see if the have any history on the site. Avoid people who have little posting history, or have just joined and posted items for sale straight away.

some would say don't buy off people who only post on the classifieds, but really you've got to weigh up the pros and cons, If spending a lot make sure you get a land line phone number and don't paypal gift.

first rule is…if you dont fully trust someone…pay with cash if close by, failing that, use paypal but mark as paying for goods..never as a gift.

as the others have said, click on the member bit near their name..have a look at their history…it isnt fool proof by any means but you should get an idea.

good luck

Id second all the above. I've had 2 issues with stuff not as described (presumably innocently) but both were resolved in a very "civil/gentleman-like" way.

but both were resolved in a very "civil/gentleman-like" way.

Swords or pistols?

I signed up on here to just post stuff on classifieds to empty the shed but then got drawn into the weird and wonderful chat forum. I'm usually on here. The bike bit over there is all about these weird "Dandyhorse" things. But as said above. Use your intuition too you can usually tell from conversations if someone is on the level and ask people if they've delt with members before.

i think it would be a good idea for us all to agree for it to be ok to be asked about on the forum.
i for one dont mind people asking if i am ok to buy off.

Ah but are you here to rip us off tho…………….. 😕

ton – them tyres turned up. Perfick!

bruneep – Member
Ah but are you here to rip us off tho……………..

always…………. 8)

Highly unlikely but doint sell hora some forks- in joke long story.

You mean I got ripped off on a wet, dark and windy night by a seller on here? Yes I still haven't forgotten that.

as Hora rightly points out, be careful of buying second hand bib shorts. what ever your reasoning may be, its wrong and can lead to blindness.

Been looking to buy a whyte 19 frame recently, got offered one on the classifieds the other day, the seller had bought it on classifieds 10 day previous, then added £70 onto the price… not quite being ripped off, but adding £70 on to the price of a frame you bought for £180 is a bit cheeky… But most the people on STW forum/classifieds are good guys…

MrNutt – don't be afraid. clubber does a bottom bracket blessing service that I'm sure could be extended to bib-knicker exorcisms if necessary

had the frame been tuned?

I once met a guy in a dark laybay near Rotheram to pick up a PC tower that I bought on here. Superb deal, still running great. 🙂

This one I take it?

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-whyte-19-frame-2

i have met various men in carparks…………..sometimes in the dark too.
and they always pay me in cash……….. 😉

Yep, that'll be the one…. ain't got a problem with someone making a few pounds, but £70 i think is taking it to far…. 😯

had some really great buys

had some really good sells

been sold a shitter once, but in the scheme of things I'm not bothered

Yep, that'll be the one…. ain't got a problem with someone making a few pounds, but £70 i think is taking it to far….

again. Someone who only really posts in the classifieds.

Now does anyone have an iPhone for sale?

The guy has some ps3 games for sale I'd quite like but he's put me off by just asking for iPhones all the time.

I bought a pair of shimano boots from scruffs on here yesterday. Paypalled him straight away and they arrived first thing this morning…

U cant get much better than that.

The classifieds are good sometimes, u just got to check the sellers history out..

had a frame, some wheels, a saint rotor, a mech, some shifters etc etc all good. Some come fast, some come slow.

Much much better than e bay where I have been sold badly described shite

Been looking to buy a whyte 19 frame recently, got offered one on the classifieds the other day, the seller had bought it on classifieds 10 day previous, then added £70 onto the price… not quite being ripped off, but adding £70 on to the price of a frame you bought for £180 is a bit cheeky… But most the people on STW forum/classifieds are good guys…

I don't understand? Its a sellers property to sell at any price that they want. Would you price something cheaply? Oh, then again most of your posts are FS or WTD. 😆 😉

Indeed, sell for whatever price you want… price something cheaply? no, but price fairly… As to my posts, you maybe need to concern yourself to some of the p!sh you post…

Hora,
The sale in question is – at least – borderline with the rules

"The ‘spirit’ of our forum is one where users can turn their old, surplus or unwanted kit into extra cash to enable them to buy new bits to help them get out and continue riding. The Classified Forum is not a place where users can trade parts bought elsewhere and then sold at a profit. If we suspect that a user is exploiting our forum to earn additional income or solely for the purposes of making a profit then we are very likely to consider that as ‘Trade’ activity and we’ll ask you to stop. We will look at each instance reported to us or spotted by us on a case by case basis and then we will act at our discretion."

£180 for a Whyte frame seems fair to me. Thats a fair price and priced fairly. If the subsequent-seller displayed a pattern, then thats different.

As to my posts, you maybe need to concern yourself to some of the p!sh you post

Careful, you are in danger of bumping up your non-sale posts. 🙄

Ha Ha Ha… boy your so funny…. I can post more, reply to more, but then i might turn into a Hora…. Now that would be bad…

indeed £180 is fair, but the point you've missed is, he bought it for £180 then tried to shift it to me for £250 10 days later…

hora it was a playful dig I actually forgot about those forks poor taste on my part sorry.
not abad idea ie being asked about on forum as the thread could be left to dangle so to speak and would be informal feedback. Lots of posters on here know each other in the real world.
I once met Ton and tried to steal his bike but could not quite reach the pedals 😳

Then don't buy. Stop being a schmuck. Did you buy it for £250? No. So he could in theory make a profit but hasn't whoopee-doo.

Junkyard- no probs! I keep forgetting about them….then remembering the cold feeling in my stomach when I got them home and realised I'd been had. 🙁

Ha, what a Gibbon.

.then remembering the cold feeling in my stomach when I got them home and realised I'd been had.

Yes, you turned up in person, had the opportunity to inspect them, presumably did so and quite happily handed over the cash. Then got home and finally got around to looking at them properly and decided you didn't like them.

It's not hard to see how you could have avoided being "had", is it?

If you didn't get sucked into the 'reposting every day for three weeks' and had one classifieds thread that went on and on instead, then you could also leave feedback for peple on theirs which could be easily searched for in posting history. Someone very kindly did that for me on southerndownhill once (I've been a member for 2 or 3 years but probably only put three or four posts a year on it outside the classifieds).

SDH classifieds work better than here because the classifieds bit is split, but especially because you can edit your posts and thread titles any time. If you reduce something you can change the heading to "Reduced to £40" and update the blurb in the actual post, etc etc rather than bumping your thread or starting a new one. Also the moderators prune them for 'bumps' and stuff that's been on more than a couple of months.

I have started to add posts at the end of some of the dealings I have had on the Classified recently. Just adding 'sold – many thanks' or 'item received' etc.
It doesn't take much and who knows might help somebody out.
Don't think I've had any horror stories to date. Sometimes items you buy appear worse when you receive them or in a case this week some forks looked better in the flesh than the photos !

I've had to re-register on here as I haven't been for a while but luckily I've still many to buy and sell quite a lot in the couple of weeks I've been back. However, I have been spending far too long on the forum but then having a bad back laying on the floor most of the day what else can I do ? 😕

Yes, you turned up in person, had the opportunity to inspect them, presumably did so and quite happily handed over the cash. Then got home and finally got around to looking at them properly and decided you didn't like them.

It's not hard to see how you could have avoided being "had", is it I asked loads of questions. received the pics (I'll comeback to this later). Anyway, met the sellers missus who was really nervous (obviously its an empty football stadium carpark on a cold wet and windy night) so she would be nervous. Something did catch my eye but I assumed it was 'water'. If it had been a bloke there I'd have checked them more however I went on someones word about the condition and I felt slightly uneasy for his partner being there.
Tracking back and looking at the pics every shot had the damage just out of shot of the camera. There was a large graze up the lowers which was visible from one corner/angle of a shot- with hindsight this looked like the forks had slid down a low wall and the stanchion scratches matched the slid/scratch line from the lowers upwards. Probably as the bike fell the lip of the lowers allowing the fall to be harder caused the deeper damage.

The stanchions were deeply marked and the scratches were in line with the lower-damage.

Seller said 'you could have done this or it could have happened in the boot' (Boot was empty and felt/soft-lined). In the end he agreed to reduce the price to 'make me go away'.

I offered and paid a good price for good condition forks. If I'd have known the scratches were there I'd have knocked £100 off (but to be honest I'd have thanked the seller and said 'err no').