Avoid ebayer kev_1969 from Ripon.

Hello all. Some may have seen the post where this bike was discussed but wanted to warn everyone about this dodgy seller.

I got a Orange Prestige from him via best offer and arranged to pick it up the next day. I was met by his pleasant wife who wheeled the bike out and let me have a look at it before I took it away. All seemed OK on initial look, it was a mix up of old parts that had obviously been well used but it was described as such.

I got home and whilst putting the rear wheel back on I noticed a suspicious mark towards the bottom of the seat tube. Upon closer inspection I started to think it was a crack. I had things to do so put it away for the night and contacted the seller to thank his wife but also to let him know I think I had found the damage and would further inspect the next day. I got a response saying he had cleaned it prior to sale and had not seen a crack. I responded that I would have a better look the next day.

So, as I said I would I had a better look, scrapped a little paint off and sure enough it had rusted through from the inside. Most likely water down the seat tube left for years and with it being Prestige tubes it wouldn't have taken much to eat through. I had the bike on the work stand and could now also see behind the chain rings that the crack went right round the tube. I took pictures and sent them to 'kev'. I had not up to this point mentioned anything about a resolution, just that the frame was toast.

His response to this was to accuse me of damaging the frame (Even though the pics clearly showed it to have rusted through!), to have had the chance to check at his house, to have taken the bike to bits (I removed the wheels to fit it in the car) and said that he knows what he's doing with bikes so would have noticed.

I replied saying I was surprised at his response and questioning him on how he thought I had damaged it and to ask what exactly did he think I had time to do to it bearing in mind I emailed him within a couple of hours of picking it up. From that point I heard nothing.

My initial thought was to take it back to his house and throw it through his window. I could have contacted ebay and got the money back but that would mean having to go out of my way to return it and possibly have a row with the p***k and to be honest I can get my money back splitting it so I decided to settle for negative feedback and to warn you lot.

Rant over.

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The shitweasel knew alright what he was selling, especially if he'd cleaned and checked over it before hand. I'd still put a complaint into eBay and and get the money back plus the costs of shipping.

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Bought a complete Bear Valley SE some time ago from a similar pleb near Oxford. Almost immaculate low mileage bike, no perceptable wear in any bearings, excellent rims, all original spec, perfect paint. Didn't bother riding it as all looked fine and i was going to strip and clean everything anyway before using. Paid and took it home. Upon arriving home i thought i'd just ride it for a couple of minutes but didn't even make it off the driveway before a rear derailleur jockey fell out. Turns out the cage backing was upside down with loose screws and the XT mech (correct type) was seriously worn - like utterly useless for a rebuild. Obviously the guy swapped out the mint mech for a scrap one so he could sell it seperately. I just laughed to myself what a small time jerk he must be and felt thankful i don't need to shaft people like that to get by. I immediately bought an excellent replacement XT mech on ebay for less than 20 quid (but not from that tw*t!).

Thanks for the heads up although i'm not in the market for buying a bike for myself atm i'll still bear this warning in mind for the future ..

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groovyblueshed":22lafq8l said:

The shitweasel knew alright what he was selling, especially if he'd cleaned and checked over it before hand. I'd still put a complaint into eBay and and get the money back plus the costs of shipping.

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Must admit I have wondered if his immediate accusation and denial followed by silence were the actions of a guilty mind.

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I think any reasonable genuine person would be prepared to negotiate some sort of resolution if a fundamental problem was discovered after sales.

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He didn't know what he was selling.
He didn't even know it was an Orange, let alone a Prestige.
It was offered on Facebook sales as a red bike, I spotted it and informed Alison (who put it on Facebook).

They didn't want a lot of money for it and it went on eBay for less than I said the frame and forks may be worth.

That is all I know.

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Yeah, it's not a great worry to me as I will get my money back splitting I was just surprised and pee'd off with his response hence the warning to others.

Had he simply said sorry I would have probably just said no worries but there was no need to get all shirty.

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Fair points. And just best avoided then.

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You would not have got your money back from eBay,as I found out the hard way.

My lad used my eBay account to buy a Specialized Diverge recently,which I volunteered to collect for him.When we got it it seemed ok but as usual was not as described,i.e. needed basic maintenance and a new chain.We ordered parts online which took a week but once up and running it still creaked under pressure so I started fitting a new bottom bracket.The moment I took the crankset off I spotted a crack in the frame previously hidden by the rings which I reported to the buyer,who was not interested.I asked eBay to organize a refund which they refused to do saying that as I had collected the frame I had the opportunity to inspect the frame and reject it on the spot.

I cancelled my decade old eBay account immediately,quite simply there is no protection from dodgy sellers.