It seems a minority have either had issues with the ‘royal mail’ or are trying to make money from innocent people…..

I do realise this a very small minority, but, please MODS, can some sort of ratings thing be put in place??

(ps, I sell little & buy little, but would be well annoyed if I got scammed)

Thankyou

Name the person. Yes, really name the person.

Let the person explains whatever is accused of him on the forum but if you are wrong then also be prepared to apologise etc.

The best thing to do is to pay for recorded signed for postage so able to track the parcel. No excuse for the seller to come up with porkies.

the people who use the forum purely for selling?

The best thing to do is to pay for recorded signed for postage so able to track the parcel. No excuse for the seller to come up with porkies.

Or even just get “proof of postage” slip when you drop it off at the post office – it’s free. (They still do that, don’t they?)

Ban “Paypal Gift” requests!
If you’re selling something then expect to be charged for the transaction taking place – after all they are processing all the payments on your behalf!
That way the seller HAS to use recorded delivery if they want protection and also the buyer can’t fake not receiving it either.
Ends scamming.

I would like to think a decent seller would insist on some sort of recorded & insured delivery, after all it is the selers responsibility to ensure the goods reach the seller in good condition.
Cheers.

you mean reach the buyer?

That reminds me, has RealMan refunded that money yet?

if they dont have a recognisable login with at least some kind of back history and reputation worth protecting (i.e. post on either of the main forums) then I wont sell to or buy from them.

Of course the RealMan incident is evidence of an exception to that rule, but it’s served me well enough for 10 years….

I always send 1st class recorded. Only buy from those with a history on here unless they can provide proof of who they are. Otherwise I walk from a sale.

Had no issues on here buying or selling. Had 1 issue on SDH when buyer claimed it was as described dispite sending him a detailed description of said item and a gazzillion pics. Refunded him and he never sent the item back 🙄

B

that lloks goood ! thank you !

Hello non-human.

Its not rocket science.

don’t use paypal gift unless you know the person.

Don’t buy from or sell to people without a history on the forum

Leave the result of the transaction as a post on their thread.

allways run a search on their threads for bad feedback

Allways send recorded and insured.

( I will breach the rules for under £20 / somone I know and trust)

Its not rocket science.

Amen. You are buying from someone that you’ve never met.

TJ’s right on the rest. Its what I always do.

I’m now going to go outside and shoot myself.

sorry hora.

Thanks TJ 🙂

Anecdotal:
I’ve bought several (4-5) items from here, all misdescribed rubbish with bits missing that the sellers knew about.

I’ve bought car bits for years and years from all over the world and never had a problem, maybe I’m unlucky, I hope so, fellow MTB riders in real life seem decent, perhaps some feedback would help.

James

I have bought quite a few things from ebay recently that have been shit, it’s just a complete nuisance and I for one could do without the hassle.

I agreed to buy a headset from someone on here, when I said that i wanted to pay via paypal not paypal gift and that I wanted a detailed description of the headset and it’s condition in the invoice, they then said they would send me photo’s.

After I said that I would judge the condition of the headset by evaluating it, they said that I wasn’t judging them and that they headset wasn’t for sale 😯

If you’re sending items via firstclass or second for that matter, remember that they only cover upto £46, so are not suitable for larger items.

if they dont have a recognisable login with at least some kind of back history and reputation worth protecting (i.e. post on either of the main forums) then I wont sell to or buy from them.

Isn’t this the point where we’ll start to see lots of fresh faces appear?
Surely the only solution is to use your common sense, no?

As TJ really, a few seconds looking at someone’s history (i.e. there is some and that it’s not all classifieds), and I wont buy anything without pictures. I send stuff recorded so I don’t run the risk of people claiming they’ve not received it. Then just make sure insurance covers the cost of the bits.

This has probably jinxed it now, but touch wood everything I’ve bought and sold has been fine.

RealMan had decent forum history. Just saying, like…

Caveat emptor

I have sold and bought plenty through the classifieds. I use paypal gift without any problem and no one has complained about any of my stuff that I have sold but then I always have a picture of the item too. Make the picture of the actual item a rule, it works over on Bikeradar without any problems.
I don’t send anything recorded under £10,up to £50 recorded and above that special delivery and all despatched within 4 days. If everything went recorded I would imagine a lot of the small items would never be put up for sale in the first place as I couldn’t be bothered and many others too to go to the post office, queue and pay for recorded for something that only worth a few quid. If the buyer wants to pay extra for small value items to recorded then that’s their cost.
If someone wants to use paypal gift it is up to them. If they are not happy then send payment plus fees for normal paypal and have the insurance which is a pain to claim on through my ebay experience. They can send money by transfer through their bank account if they don’t want to use paypal at all. Buying from someone who doesn’t post regular or provide pictures is asking for trouble.

Caveat emptor

How does that work when faced with misleading or simply incorrect descriptions? As in the, let me think, in the….. RealMan sale….. For example.

Classified sales need to be governed – either by the website itself or your own common sense.

Things Singletrack could do?
– to sell in the classifieds you have to have been a member of the forum AND posted regularly in it for x number of weeks/months. Only problem there is you might get someone join and post nothing but rubbish for their probation period before they jump on the classifieds and start selling.

Things we could do?
– only buy from someone who has a decent history. Its easily accessible via users’ profiles. Obviously this doesn’t always work but a long standing member is much less likely to go out and purposefully rip a fellow forum member off.
– get decent pictures of the actual item you’re buying and a description.
– if need be, request that the item is sent insured and recorded or whatever it is so you can track it, see who signed for it and if it disappears, the sender can claim for it.
– just generally exercise some common sense.

I tend to expect people to take a bit of a rose tinted view of stuff they sell on here.

They’re not necesarily deliberately misleading (although that has happened I know) but they give themsleves the benefit of the doubt far more than they ought to.

I always insist on sending out pics of stuff I sell and putting loads on the ads too.

If an item is clearly photographed and honestly described it gives the best outcome for buyer and seller, ime.

Sometimes on here I’ve seen something on the classifieds, had a look at the sellers history, then went back to buy it and it’s sold- can be very frustrating!! Buyer beware tho as stated but sometimes I want a bargain and want it now!!
Lol.
Think if I was buying something reasonably expensive, oh I don’t know, like a set of brakes for instance- I’d want to see good pictures of the actual item though!!

Caveat emptor

How does that work when faced with misleading or simply incorrect descriptions? As in the, let me think, in the….. RealMan sale….. For example.

Stercus accidit

I have sooo been mugged off

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/have-i-just-been-ripped-off

not so sure STW have to take up the reigns here.

I have sold/ purchased a lot off here and haven’t been stung once. wwaswas is an example of this. Good frame, as described, sent out promptly.

I got to my desk and the renthal stem I got a few days ago has just turned up, as described.

People have to protect themselves. As pointed out above, you are buying off people you have never met, but that means that has to be an element of trust.

It would be simple for people to comment on the end of a thread to say the kit turned up and its A ok.

Stercus accidit

😆

I thank you 🙂

Whether on eBay or STW I always post things Recorded Delivery. Its an extra 77p (that the buyer will usually pay) and can save a whole load of grief.

don simon – Member
How does that work when faced with misleading or simply incorrect descriptions? As in the, let me think, in the….. RealMan sale….. For example.

Don’t accept the ad at face value, query the description, ask for more photos (quality close-ups), agree to meet and inspect the goods first…

I’ve asked for all of the above, or been asked to provide this additional info myself, which any decent seller will be prepared to do.

Even still…stercus accidit 😀

stercus accidit

If tags still worked, I could see this becoming very popular…

I have both bought and sold on here without any problem.

I have mostly used Paypal gift and bank transfers & I trust Royal Mail so I don’t worry about sending things recorded, etc.

This goes for eBay too & the only problem I have had was some scrote in a tower block in London (who couldn’t spell) claiming a CD Walkman hadn’t arrived.

Read their history.

Know your products.

Get photos.

If it looks too good to be true…

many years of successful buying and selling on here and only once did anything go missing. It was a jacket which I was selling, around £30 I recall – I trusted the buyer when he advised it never showed, as he had good forum history. I refunded in full, although he was keen that as it wasn’t either of our ‘faults’ we send the money to charity, which we did. Good result.

zokes – Member

That reminds me, has RealMan refunded that money yet?

No, RealMan point blank refuses to accept anything was wrong with his advert or handling of it. Complete cock-end IMO in almost every aspect of the sale.

I should have been more vigilant in asking for pics and making sure they were as advertised but have had nothing but good experiences of the classifieds in the 8/9 years I’ve used the forum (other than a known douche who ripped me off 6/7 years ago) so fell into the security trap.

What to do next? Back to basics when buying – pics every time, stand up for yourself as a buyer and don’t pay more than you think its worth. Formal or informal, I think a feedback mechanism would be good.

The galling aspect is the sheer arrogance of the boy. He’s young and naiive so either he’ll learn, or if he carries on like this he’ll get massively dumped on at some point.

that’s a real shame jimmy – both for you and realman 🙁

Trouble is, both Realman and the guy who ripped off another forum user on Talk Photo (another STW type forum) wouldn’t have had poor feedback ratings. In the case of talk photo, they have a feedback system on the forum, and it didn’t stop some poor bloke getting burned for £1000 on a lens, from a well established forum user with good seller feedback.

I think if anything a feedback system makes it worse, as people drop their guard for people with good feedback, when there is a problem, they blame the buyer, as nothing can be wrong with them…look at the feedback from other buyers. 🙁

Jimmy, I feel for you mate, what he did sucks. I’ve been burned on s/h sales before and it hurts much more than the loss of money. Keep cool and move on.

Jimmy – I cant believe that.

Are you able to sell them on ebay, write off the loss and not take it personal like?

I’ve had nothing but positive experiences – buying and selling here. But I will be more careful after reading that £10-silence thread.

My gripe is with ebayers who sell obvious tat and when challenged say “Oh I never noticed” or “I bought it a month ago and never used it so didnt know it was fubar” and then refund the money in return for no neg feedback. Tossers!