where does buying and selling on here become trade?

Suppose it’s STW’s website so they can do what they want. There are always other websites that you can do that sort of thing on. I suppose most website forums are not paid for directly by the users so the whole concept of paying for forum use is a bit funny.

I’ve sold a fair bit of stuff on here over the years and always found STW’ers to be honest and quick with payment. However, a lot of the time I’m posting stuff here cheaper than I’d post it on ebay and I’d be a bit upset if someone was buying loads of stuff on here at knockdown prices then selling it on and making a profit. One or two items maybe, perhaps you’ve decided that what you’ve bought isn’t right for you or doesn’t fit, whatever but actually getting a second income off it and denying genuine users of a bargain/dream bit of kit etc is definitely unfair.

I’ve upgraded a bike and built up 2 frames using mostly parts from STW, so I’m a big fan / user. I like the vibe and everyone I’ve dealt with has been friendly, quick to pay and hassle free. When buying I do search on the sellers name to check there are no issues and they are more than just a buyer / seller.

I also have ebay searches running for clothing and parts that turn up from time to time, but I don’t tend to bother with other bike forums.

If I’m selling something on I consider myself doing OK if I get what I paid for it if it’s worth more than a few quid, otherwise I’m happy if I get a bit of beer money for it / someone can make use of something that otherwise I’d throw out.

Mark – I think you summarise the intent of the classifieds well in your post above. Best of luck with the wordsmithing.

Smurf

must admit I’m not a regular poster here but I am registered with a number of other bike forums (bikeradar, veloriders and my cycling club’s very active forum) where I post a bit, but under different aliases.

There was a fella on the old forum who went by the name of Laundry_Mike

Not sure if was a dealer/trader but he certainly shifted a hell of a lot of gear on here, ebay & other forums

I’ve bought and sold an enormous ammount of stuff on the classifieds. Not sure I’ve ever made a significant profit from something bought and then sold on the classifieds. I have had the oppertunity to test shed loads of gear without loosing any money though. That’s my goal with the classifieds, haggle a decent buy price, try it out if it’s good, keep it, if not sell it on with little or no loss.

I have no quarms with anyone buying a bike to split, sell and make a profit. If the seller cannot be bothered (almost everyone knows it’s worth more as bits) to do so and another has the time to out into it, why not? We get cheap bits, that would have gone with the bike and they get money for their time.

Laundry_mike was definitely laundering bike bits. I watched his ebay account for a while and watched him buy loads of stuff just to resell. Hope floaty rotors, Kona singlespeed frames etc….

I have no quarms with anyone buying a bike to split, sell and make a profit. If the seller cannot be bothered (almost everyone knows it’s worth more as bits) to do so and another has the time to out into it, why not?

there seems to be just that going on over on the classifieds at the moment, but the seller is very open about not being arsed to sell it all individually and aware that someone a bit more ‘time rich, money poor’ will do that at a financial profit to themselves.

But.

Anyone remember that stiffee (full bike) that went on old classifieds in about sept/oct? I remember thinking that it could have sold ten times over to the sort of riders on here at the price the guy was asking. Well it sold in about four minutes to a stw classified regular (the sort whose classifieds replies outnumber his bike/chat replies by about 15 to one) and appeared on ebay a couple of weeks later with the same build it was sold on the forum, except that it went for about £300 more. This person shifts rather a lot on ebay. I know ebay and paypal will have had about £40 of that profit but nevertheless…
Seller could have easliy had £150-200 more for his bike, or someone new to riding could have got a great bike for cheap to fan the flames of their riding, errr, habit. I think Mark’s thoughts above would suggest that he would like the classifieds to favour the latter of those 2 options.

what with the old forum being dead, and ebay only keeping detailed (item name and description) feedback records for 6 months, you will have to guess who it was. Though I am sure he is reading this thread with interest.

I think a fair bit of trust has been lost because of "opportunistic" buying and selling from some people. I will very rarely buy from here now so it’s hardly business sense.

there seems to be just that going on over on the classifieds at the moment, but the seller is very open about not being arsed to sell it all individually and aware that someone a bit more ‘time rich, money poor’ will do that at a financial profit to themselves.

But it is totally genuine though, & I will be giving a cut to STW should it come off.

I wish somebody could show me how to make a profit with bike bits! I was a bit of a swapper, spending the last 3 years I have been a member changing my bike every 3 months just to try something new. I seem to follow the buy at 10% less than the sellers asking/sell for 33% less than paid 3 months later philosophy! I have seen the odd person from here buy from me and sell on at a profit, but it is kind of my own fault. So…anybody want to swap a new shape enduro for my horst 5 spot? (damn, how did that slip out?)

Trouble is, there’s 2 sorts of user on classifieds – with a big grey area inbetween

Best example I can give (since it involves nobody on here) is this:
Girl at work had a baby a while ago. She doesn’t seem to have that much spare cash though she’s NOT poor. I gave her quite a lot of kid stuff that mine had just about grown out of. She saw it in advance & took what she wanted. Then at least half of that went straight to ebay. She’s not going to be offered any more. I’d rather have given it to a charity/nursery or to someone who actually wanted it, rather than make a profit from it.

I can’t see how you can get annoyed at people who resell stuff you sell cheap or give away. When you sell it or give it away it is no longer your property, you have given up your rights to it, and therefore you shouldn’t comment on what happens to it later. If you are really bothered about what happens to it either take the time to sell it for a better price or don’t give it away. Imagine if Turner rang you up and said "errr, we don’t want you selling your 5 spot that cheap, it devalues our brand". I’m sure you would quickly tell them you get lost.

Sure, if STW police the classifieds how they see fit that’s ok, they pay for it and can write the rules. But if people are within the rules they set you can’t, and dare I say shouldn’t, complain. I think STW’s view on how they would like the classifieds to work is admirable, but I can’t see it ever being like that with the size it is now.

No-ones going to sell me anything now. 🙁

he he he… news just in.

1) The internet is a marvellous thing.

2)One rather ‘prolific’ buyer/seller (I was watching a frame he has for sale) has just changed his Ebay user ID (which was almost identical to his stw one). Why ever would you want to do that?

*waves*

Surely the STW classifieds market decides the price, just like any other?

In my view, sellers should charge what they feel is reasonable – if they don’t get a buyer then it’s a strong indication that the price is too high.

Everyone likes a ‘deal’ but ultimately sellers should be able to set whatever price they like regardless of how they acquired the item in the first place. Not many people buy houses expecting to sell them for less – well they didn’t used to!

Aside from being ripped off by Will_jc recently, I have bought a lot of mostly good gear at generally reasonable prices via the forum and made some good contacts doing it.

Aside from being ripped off by Will_jc recently, I have bought a lot of mostly good gear at generally reasonable prices via the forum and made some good contacts doing it.

..and you would continue to do so, except for people who watch/RSS the classifieds and jump in before you ever see it. Only to flog it on another forum or ebay a couple of weeks later at a profit. This is what this thread is about.

Dekerfer –

Surely the STW classifieds market decides the price, just like any other?

It should but this isn’t always the case – some buyers jump on sellers and reserve it for them so they can have first refusal – sellers fault for accepting to do this in good faith that the buyer in genuinely interested in a bike for them rather than making a profit.

I believe (and I have no proof that this is the case) that this gives the buyer time to establish if they can make a profit off their purchase while other "real" buyers are frozen out.

Moral of the story is don’t let people have first refusal.

Rob Atkin – Its the spirit of the thing – by selling it on STW you are selling it onto someone who will value it and enjoy using it.

If I want to make a profit then I would sell it straight onto ebay.

If I gave something away (FoC or cheaply) because I felt someone needed something or would benefit from it I would be upset if I found they’d taken advantage of my good nature to make a quick quid.

If they used it, found they didn’t like it and then sold it a few months later then no problem.