anybody have any idea whether zipp warranties will cover a zipp 404 bought “new” on eBay by one of those folks who is selling 10 sets of them, right out of the box, never ridden blah blah woof woof? the seller claims so–i am wondering if anyone has bought such a wheelset and gotten warranty coverage…
thanks–toad
I will soon find out. I got a 303 zipp rear that split after about 200 miles.
You should be able to call Zipp - their service is second to none. I am sure that they will stand behind their wheel, no matter who sold it to you, it is their wheel.
Don’t buy them unless you can personally talk to the seller by phone, know his location, phone no., what his business is, etc. AND you get complete info from him that he is a reputable source. Once you get his general ID, ask Zipp if they know who he is. Who knows, the 10 sets of new wheels may have ‘fallen off a truck’–i.e., stolen…
Also, several reputable online dealers sell Zipps for great prices. I personally have dealt with the bicycle doctor in IN and Branford Bike in CT (Branford is now not so cheap), but I think there are others as well. It is also possible that this e-bay seller is one of these several reputable online dealers.
Ever take mountain bikes out to Kenya? How do you like Davis? I graduated from UCD in 87, learned to fly out there in 91, and lived there on and off for quite a while (left for the last time in 96). Great riding if you don’t mind a little wind. Do you swim with the Davis Aquatic Masters?
hey greg,
thanks for the tips!
yeah, this wind is kicking my butt on a daily basis! folks keep telling me the wind is my friend, but i am not feeling that these days.
i love davis…i did my ph.d. here, and am doing a postdoctoral fellowship now…it is a great town, provided you are not a city person. i spend about 1/2 my time in africa, so it is a nice quiet place to come back to. i don’t swim with DAM…i tend to sink more than swim, so that part of my tri-ing needs some work.
i brought a mountain bike to kenya once…didn’t work out too well. the problem is that i got into “situations” (e.g. rolling into a herd of elephants with lots of young-uns) more often than when walking around, and it was spooky. when you walk, you hear stuff (usually) way before you get in the middle of it, and can take evasive action. not so with biking, and after a while, i realized that i was using up too many get-away-ok cards.
what are you up to in chicago? my dad’s entire family is from wilmette, so that region has a special place in my heart (and speaking of wind…)
toad
Caveat Emptor.
No warranty. No promises. No recourse. That is the E-bay risk.
Caveat Emptor: “Let the buyer beware” It says so right on the E-Bay site.
Yes, I also agree on this, they probably will stand by their wheels in any case.
Of course their service had to be good for us–out of just 4 spoked 404 wheels we bought, 2 rims had to be completely replaced (full wheel re-build due to multiple hairline rim cracks), and 2 other wheels had to be shipped back to them: one for major re-dishing (they originally built up the wheel on a wheel stand that was not calibrated right) and another because the hub bearings were loose (hub play caused by the lack of a tiny spacer). Also 3 out of the 4 wheels were not ultra true like I would expect from $500 wheels. I had to true 'em up myself.
Good service from Zipp, but initial QC not so good.
I guess it might be smart to plan on using that 1 year warranty.
I believe you have to buy them from an authorized dealer for the warranty to be any good.
----->Trent
You know zipp has a pretty good website and posts the text of their product warranty in the tech section: http://www.zipp.com/TechInfo/warranty/index.html
Excerpted:
Our warranty for all products is 1 year against manufacturer’s defects. Eligibility for warranty is determined at the factory by the Zipp Returns personnel. If a manufacturing problem is determined, a proof of purchase date will be requested from you and if you have returned the product within the first year, the policy is to repair or replace the product at no charge.
Michael