I’m looking to sell a bike on Ebay (or ST Classifieds). Just looking for advice on what buyer expectations are for shipping. I’ve never sold anything on Ebay, so I’m pretty new to it. I assume there will be communication with the buyer before I ship. Would I be ok with boxing it myself and shipping? I do my own wrenching and have shipped my own bikes in a cardboard bike box. I’d obviously pad everything really well. But wondering if most people expect more professional shipping.
People just care that it’s packed well. If the bike is going to be “professionally” boxed by a bike shop, it is usually listed in the auction (as a benefit). I’ve found bike shops around me charge anywhere from $40-$120 to box a bike (it’s wildly variable).
I’ve sold bikes here and eBay. My recommendation would be to have it professionally inspected and packed. Keep a written copy of the inspection for your records and put 1 in the bike box. Think of it as insurance. Oh and make sure you know the LBS you are going to use. The bike I sold on ST was “cleaned” and packed by the LBS closest to my work. They didn’t clean anything.
If you sell on eBay make sure communication is through the eBay messaging/email system and set realistic expectations in the add. ie: bike will be shipped within 3 days after auction ends.
Beyond the shipping expectations you may have a hard time selling a bike on ebay with a new account, perhaps it’s changed since I’ve kicked around there. As mentioned getting the bike professionally packed and include insurance may help protect you as a seller.
I’ve sold bikes here and eBay. My recommendation would be to have it professionally inspected and packed. Keep a written copy of the inspection for your records and put 1 in the bike box. Think of it as insurance. Oh and make sure you know the LBS you are going to use. The bike I sold on ST was “cleaned” and packed by the LBS closest to my work. They didn’t clean anything.
If you sell on eBay make sure communication is through the eBay messaging/email system and set realistic expectations in the add. ie: bike will be shipped within 3 days after auction ends.
I still love my CAAD9 BTW. Right after IMFL, I’m off this TT bike and back onto it.
New rules are going into effect and for PayPal - there will be a 180 day period for returns for an item “Not as described”
In short, you can sell your bike end of Nov, and in April the buyer, after using it for 5 months can say it “does not ride right” or “Makes strange noises” or “has wobbles” and not only will PayPal accept the claim, they will ding you, at least ebay will, for RETURN SHIPPING.
do you know when? seems like no matter what, the seller always gets screwed on eBay. i am guessing that will happen if you accept paypal on either eBay or the forum.
I wouldn’t ever sell something of real value on eBay. Might sell some wheels, but nothing more expensive than that. Had some bad experiences recently with people buying things marked as used with lots of detailed pics in the listing and listed as No Returns Accepted, and had them return them anyways. Absolutely nothing you can do because any complaint by them, no matter how well you describe, how many pics you provide, or anything, will result in a full refund to them. Plus consider that they take 10% off the top and then Paypal takes another 3% off the top (and not even 3% after the 10% has been taken off, but 3% of the total, even though they’re owned by the same people!).
I’ll use it for smaller things because you get a large audience, and I’ve had some good experiences too. Like, I was selling a Quarq on here and basically got lowballed constantly with offers like $550-600 and ended up putting it on eBay and getting almost $800 + shipping for it. No problems with that transaction, but be careful.
New rules are going into effect and for PayPal - there will be a 180 day period for returns for an item “Not as described”
In short, you can sell your bike end of Nov, and in April the buyer, after using it for 5 months can say it “does not ride right” or “Makes strange noises” or “has wobbles” and not only will PayPal accept the claim, they will ding you, at least ebay will, for RETURN SHIPPING.
And, eBay (at least until you have 10+ seller ratings) will hold the funds for up to 30 days before releasing them, unless you follow a byzantine shipping regulation policy.
Ebay certainly attracts a much larger list of potential buyers, however just be aware of their final value fees when selling higher priced items. I sell quite a bit on ebay and, as of late, will only list smaller items and parts, etc. Instead, I will use several of the bike forums to list compete bikes, framesets, etc and try to sell there first prior to listing on ebay. Also, do your research on the shipping costs. Buyers do not like to see high shipping costs when bidding on an item, however shipping on large items(bikes) has gone up substantially over the past couple of years. Most sellers (at least the ones I buy from) now offer free shipping to attract more business.
We have a couple of FB pages in our area dedicated to buying and selling bikes and equipment. We also have several Garage Sale FB pages that I’ve used lately with some success. Finding a local buyer is the easiest transaction you will have.
I was selling a Quarq on here and basically got lowballed constantly with offers like $550-600 and ended up putting it on eBay and getting almost $800 + shipping for it. No problems with that transaction, but be careful.
this has been my experience as well. lowballed on the forums then better luck on eBay.
PayPal policy goes into effect on Nov 18. Even if eBay does not implement it, a buyer who pays with PayPal can open a claim (i.e. they can open either through eBay or PayPal), so basically if you are going to get it done, get it done now.
EBay forcing sellers to pay return shipping is already occurring.
Also note. eBay just did a bait and switch with sellers as well. Used to be you were capped at $250 max final value fee, so if you sold a $6K bike, only cost you $250 for final value fee, and not $540. If you don’t have a store subscription, that cap is now $750, so sellers selling big ticket items like an occasional high end bike get hammered
I’ve had great experience selling items here. Ebay, as described above, is a pain. I have advertised locally and successfully sold more common items (wheels, road bikes) but more specialized items (tri bikes, high end wheels) sell better here, and you are generally dealing with a more reasonable customer. Shipping isn’t a big deal- it costs me anywhere from $50-75 typically to have it boxed and inspected, and another $50 to ship in the lower 48. (as stated, it varies widely, so take it somewhere you know if you can). So, you’re talking $100 to ship in general terms, and you’re not giving ebay 10%. Just my $.02.
i sell a lot of stuff on ebay, usually it goes ok. People outside the US often want to buy old bike crap, which can be problematic if there is an issue. Sometimes people buy a beat up old race bike for cheap then take their prize to the bikeshop and come back crying to me that it needs a new chain and cables. Sometimes parting the bike out is a better option, plus the shipping on just a frame is a lot less, you can get killed shipping a full bike with wheels.
If you do box the bike yourself, be sure to take the rear derailleur hanger off. I got a bike on eBay the seller didn’t do that and guess what? It snapped en route. An extra $20 to get a new one wasn’t the end of the world but it did delay me riding the new bike and it only takes about 10sec to do…
They automatically try to rope you into the “Global Shipping Program” thing, which is a huge scam. Be sure to turn that OFF, you can’t turn it off automatically for all auctions as far as I can tell. Before you know it, you’re shipping your bike to Senegal for the “free shipping” you advertised.
Right after IMFL, I’m off this TT bike and back onto it.