Avoiding getting scammed

[brian_H]

Morning all

I have a full carbon road bike to sell for a friend after her brother died recently. Can anyone advise the best way to sell it. I am considering ebay, gumtree or a classified add somewhere....I am not considering marketplace due to all the scare stories. My only issue with ebay is if I put a decent reserve on it and it doesn't sell then I will be out of pocket for the listing, or worse, it sells for peanuts!

Also, if I do manage to sell it, is it best to go for paypal, bank transfer etc? I don't really want to take cash as there are obviously some dodgy notes about!

The bike is should be worth around £700 and is the only thing of value left in the estate so I am keen to get the family as much as I can for it.

Thanks

Brian

[Zarco]

Gumtree will be full of scammers and 'wots ur best price?' idiots.

Not sure how you can be scammed if you insist on cash in hand or money in your account before parting with it.

eBay do classifieds ads for vehicles now (not sure about push bikes tbh).

[JulianHJ]

For a £700 bike, I'd definitely get it on FB Marketplace - it's not that risky given the value; make it cash on collection or bank transfer and it should go fairly quickly. There are plenty of bike sales groups. I'd avoid PayPal as it can be reversed. The other option is BikeRadar or PinkBike classifieds.

[TCX]

Time trialling forum,costs £20 for advert
CTC or whatever it's called now has bikes for sale on web pages

[QJumper]

Personally I've never had any problems selling on eBay.

If I want a particular price I either price it a bit high as a "buy it now" sale, with the option for offfers or, if I want to do an auction, I make the starting bid the minimum I want. I don't bother with reserve prices.

Bear in mind Ebay take about 13%, but pay straight to your bank account, so no Paypal fees.

Also they've taken to delaying payment if you're a new seller or haven't sold for a while. Could be a couple of weeks. I usually get paid a day or so after delivery now.

[brian_H]

Thanks everyone.......I think I am going to go with ebay..............appreciate all the advice

[springfan62]

also Pinkbike, its free and less scammers there.

[Donbot]

I've found ebay to be fine for the cash on collection higher value stuff. It's the lower value stuff that seems to attract the idiots who think I will drop off a £20 item 100 miles away.

Just don't let them test ride it without the money in your hand and checking it's not fake.

[JQ]

brian_H said:

I am keen to get the family as much as I can for it.

Then don't sell it on eBay, with 12.8% selling fees it's a very expensive way to sell.

I've bought and sold lots of bikes on Facebook Marketplace without issue. Just make your advert clear, with lots of information and be clear it is cash on collection. Make sure you state that you will not post or deal with couriers, as that is where the scams come into play both on Facebook and eBay.

You are more likely to be scammed on eBay than Facebook if you're selling.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

The problem with Facebook is people will still ask for money off. Then no further communication if you agree and ignore things like collect only or in the case of motorbike panniers that I'm selling still ask if they'll fit their bike even though implicitly in the description I say NO other model.

I'd say take plenty of pics but what I've found recently everyone has suddenly turned into bargain basement price hunters. Alot more than previously.

[stargazer30]

I've sold a fair few bikes over the last year or so, most expensive was £2k. As much as I hate paying the sky high fees, ebay has been the most successful way to sell. For lower value stuff gumtree and FB marketplace are okay but you do get more idiots, time wasters and it takes longer.

Having said that as a seller on ebay you have little to no protection if you do get a rogue buyer who wants to rip you off and knows how to play the system.

PS the sale of the £2K bike was bonkers, the buyer did bank transfers and then couldn't collect it so I was sitting on £2K of his money for 3 months! In the end I had to drive it 150 miles down to him. Good job I'm honest!

[Julian Scott]

Echo the advice given above, I've sold several bikes on eBay from £200 kids bikes to a £4,000 carbon road bike. Never had an issue.