Ebay advice

beckster

beckster

beckster

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Joined
28 Jan 2006
Posts
367
Hi, just sold a bike on ebay and the guy has since come back to me (after leaving positive feedback) that there is a crack in the frame. He collected the bike and paid cash. He says it is possible to prove this crack was there before he bought it and that he wants me to hand over £100 to share costs in fixing it. He has sent me some photos of the crack and to me it just looks like a surface blemish, although I know nothing about bikes. The pictures were pretty low quality and the flash made it hard to see the extent of the crack so I asked for better pictures. I did post the pictures of the crack he provided on a bike forum and I am awaiting from feedback from them.

He has said that he will take some more pictures tonight and email me them. He has said he wants an answer by tomorrow lunch time, despite me going away to visit friends this weekend. I have asked to see some sort of invoice for the repair work to see how the repair will actually cost but was pretty much told no - either hand over the money for the repair or provide him a full refund.

I was wondering where I stand with this whole thing? Can ebay take the money out of my paypal account seeing as he paid cash? Furthermore, what else can ebay do considering he has already left feedback? I have 100% feedback and don't want this to effect my ebay account at all. I am an honest guy and I honestly did not see a crack before selling the bike. My dad, brother and Halfords also didn't see any 3cm crack. I have tried to be as helpful to the guy as possible and said I would try and share the costs of the repair (providing the cost was reasonable).

Thanks for the help.
 
I don't think Paypal can take money out of your account seeing as he didn't use that to pay.

If he won't show you proof of how much it cost to repair, don't pay.

Did you have photos of the bike showing the place the crack is?
 
You are not a retailer or a shop - And the bike was second hand?

The bike was really sold as seen then (especially if he came to collect it himself) Therefore, there should be no come back to you.

It's a bit like buying a second hand car... and 2 days later it doesn't start or the gearbox starts to leak... Unless you bought it from a proper Garage or it was covered by a warranty - It's the new owner's problem.
 
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I don't want to give too many details on an open forum. The bike is expensive enough to cause me trouble if I have to refund the amount. The "crack" is on the top inside edge of the swingarm and is apparently difficult to spot.

I did state:

* My knowledge of bikes was very poor
* There are no cracks in the frame but there are scuffs and scratches (even from the photos he sent me it still looks like a scratch more then a crack!)

Ebay huh!
 
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If he collected it then I'd say he had adequate chance to inspect it then. If he didn't raise an objection at the time, then I'd say he bought it as he saw it and that's that.
 
If you've described it as not having cracks in the frame and it was there when you sold it then he'll file an "item not received or significantly not as described" dispute with you which would lead to a strike against your ebay name (doesn't do anything and isn't visible to sellers but get something like 3 in a year and you'll be banned from ebay) or they could ban your account straight off.

I don't really know how he could prove it was there when he bought it, and if he came to collect it it shows he saw the bike and was happy with it otherwise he would have never taken it.

Paypal won't take the money from you as you didn't use paypal for the payment method.



Fortunately for you you shouldn't have to re-emberse him the money for it, if you'd posted it then i'd say you would but the fact of the matter is he was happy with it and took it off you, came back a short while later and said its broken... which i can't see how he could say it was you and not him trying some monster downhilling on it on the way home.
 
That's the thing. He even asked me when he picked it up, "Is there any tracks around here I can go have a play on before I get the train home?". Is there any way someone could guarantee that the crack was there before I sold it? The rear swingarm (where the crack is) is carbon.
 
beckster said:
He says it is possible to prove this crack was there before he bought it
Click to expand...

So get him to prove it then.

I wouldn't of thought that a crack in a bike frame is repairable as it would still be the weakest point. I reakon he's just trying it on...
 
To be honset, I'd ask him to prove that there was crack there when he picked the bike up, and if he can't then tell him to stick it! Sound's like he's out to pull a fast one really!
 
sold as seen he saw it he was happy with it so its hes tough luck realy

he paid cash so cant make a paypal claim or any thing

As far as i know ebay cant do any thing either nor will the police

I would just tell him it was sold as seen you do not post in your listing that you give refunds and its not your problem


good luck with this
 
Samtheman1k said:
So get him to prove it then.

I wouldn't of thought that a crack in a bike frame is repairable as it would still be the weakest point. I reakon he's just trying it on...
Click to expand...


Theres too ways that i can think off

No.1 P38 (car body filler)
No.2 Weld the crack then grid it back

and how can anyone prove something was there when they bought some thing

tell the guy it was not there when you owned it :D
 
The_Raven said:
and how can anyone prove something was there when they bought some thing
Click to expand...

only 1 way i can think of is oxidation of the insides of the crack, this whould only happen after relativlly long exposiure
 
beckster said:
* There are no cracks in the frame but there are scuffs and scratches (even from the photos he sent me it still looks like a scratch more then a crack!)
Click to expand...

Can you post the pics he sent you here? Maight help with some people with more knowlege?
 
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He kicked up a bit of a fuss when I asked for more photos. He said he doesn't have a digital camera nor does anyone he knows so he has to use his phone.
 
looks like there might be a crack in the first pic but i cant be sure unless i see the full pic
 
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If he picked it up himself and paid in cash then he pretty much accepted at that point that it was fine... Unless he CAN prove that the crack was there beforehand, I suggest you ask him how he intends to prove it as both you and him when he came to pick it up were blisfully unaware of this crack.

Sounds to me like he's trying it on... Again if he CAN prove it was there before you sold it somehow then obviously I would suggest fronting some of the repair cost, but not much of it... I mean cmon, he came and picked it up personally and did not find a problem with it. The buyer cannot expect you to go over every milimeter of the item with a microscope to see if its ok.

And just to confirm; ebay, nor paypal can take any money from you in any way.
 
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