Purchased a used bike..

[94jp]

I bought a used "Surface 604 Oryx" bike advertising 20mi use with light scratches for $1400.

Considering the design and the market for ebikes, I thought I got a decent deal until I received the item.
The bike came with missing both skewers, right pedal won't fit (probably need to get it tuned), and most concerning with a Chinese aftermarket battery.
Besides many scratches everywhere on the bike, the crankset probably needs replacement as well.
Seller refuses to acknowledge all of the above remarks.

I've consulted with the seller, and I now have the right to return it at seller's expense.
However, it's a huge hassle to return the bike, so I am heartbroken, where I am not sure which is the right choice.
The bike shop (which didn't have long skewers that fit this bike) suggested that I way overpaid him, but I haven't found a used ebike with good looking frames listed around this price for a while (I found a really good looking one earlier for comparable, but was sold a month ago).

 

[MisterBritcom]

Return it. The cheap replacement battery makes me think it may be stolen.

 

[p0ppyman]

Sorry to hear about your situation. Hope it works out for you which ever way you go.

It's your decision but if I was in your situation and I could be guaranteed I would get a full refund if I shipped the bike back I would. Let us know how it works out.

 

[CodyDog]

Sorry for the situation. It's just wrong. I would return it. Don't buy used unseen.

 

[ebikemom]

I'm so sorry. It's such a drag that there are crummy and dishonest people out there.

Do you have a local bike shop near you? If so, they may have a bulletin board area where you can post what you are looking for, and you can meet sellers in front of the bike shop for a test ride, and if you like it, take the bike in and pay to have the bike checked before you buy it. Money well spent. Probably the bike shop techs will give an opinion before they even do an exam, for free, as well, regarding what they know about the brand, etc. in general, and what they just notice visually by looking at the bike. When I buy a used car, I've found that car shops will do a look-see for $75.00 in my area--must be cheaper for a bike, which is less complicated than a car.

 

[ymarty]

I would return it. I looked at used ones and in the end, bought a new one straight from the manufacturer that comes with a great warranty. My new bike arrives monday. so excited

 

[DaveMatthews]

I'm with all the return it peeps.
Life is too short to deal with jerks.

 

[Ann M.]

Those cheap replacement batteries with generic chinese 18650 cells can be a fire hazard and at a "claimed" 20 miles, the need for a replacement battery doesn't make sense. I also don't buy the lots of scratches with such low mileage. Perhaps the seller has misrepresented the true mileage too.

I don't know how you paid for the bike but using a credit card or PayPal or the equivalent will be good back up protection if this seller doesn't refund you. Most of those companies will fight on your behalf and keep pressure on a seller to provide proof as to why the seller shouldn't refund you. As a matter of fact, I recommend you contact the card or payment company now while you're working with the seller so that they are aware of the situation. Scan images of any documents and pictures connected with this bike and include them with your claim. If you bought the bike off Ebay or another similar site, start a claim with them if you haven't already. They are a good backup if this seller doesn't readily refund you or makes false claims. These overseeing sites have a rigorous system with clearly defined response times for the seller to respond. Sometimes it's slower than working directly with the credit card or payment system people; however, these broker type sites will remove a seller for unethical selling practices, so you could be saving someone else from making a buying choice based on deceptive advertising.

Keep track of any paperwork or emails from this person, including info on the return shipping. Take detailed pictures of the bike's condition as proof of how it appeared when you received it and record the bike's serial number. Be sure to request tracking and a signature when arranging the return to verify that this person receives the bike and doesn't try to claim that they didn't. Trying to resell this ebike puts you at risk of creating a similar set of misunderstandings with a buyer since you don't really know the history of this bike; you don't want that liability or bad karma

Before you go shopping for a used ebike again, please check out our new Guide for buying used electric bikes. Hope you get this resolved soon and be patient; that right used bike's out there waiting for you to find it.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Before sending it back, talk to the police. Something says "stolen" to me.

 

[94jp]

Thanks a lot everyone! I did not expect this many replies.
I've requested to return this item and seller approved (no return label yet).
The purchase was made through eBay using Paypal, and eBay representative said that the seller should not be able to get away with random claims (did not receive item back, item returned with broken parts, etc.).

I am also starting to have a suspicion that this bike may be stolen, and will try to contact the local police (unless better alternative).
The seller's using a different address for the return. Claims to know nothing about the bikes (when consulted on battery), then tells me he owns six bikes and is willing to sell another to me (after opening dispute). He's made several conflicting comments..

 

[ebikemom]

eBay is not responsible with stolen goods. My friend's bass flute was stolen from an airport. She found it on eBay, easily identified by distinguishing characteristics and the serial number. Even though she had filed a police report and sent the report to eBay, eBay did nothing, and her flute was sold. eBay would not help her, and her local police wouldn't do anything, either.

 

[J.R.]

@94jp

There is another concern here. If this was a private sale and not a business to consumer sale, the seller has broken several laws if he isn't an approved hazmat shipper. Even if it was an honest mistake, the fines are in the tens of thousands of dollars. If the battery was knowingly shipped without propper packaging, documents and declaration to the carrier, the fines are higher and can include jail time.

Please protect yourself in the return process. If this was a legal seller or reseller you aren't responsible to arrange any of the return. If this was a private sale, you'll need to take the proper precautions and legal steps to ship a hazmat battery. That aftermarket battery is a concern.

 

[Athena]

Sorry to hear that you received a dud. Small items are often shop lifted from stores and then sold on line. This also includes stereos, bikes, batteries, and numerous other items. Craig's list is now being watched by law enforcement as well as several other sites. In many cases the cash is sent and the product never arrives. Scams of buying your product ie car, motorcycle, boat are abundant on the web, where you send the item, and the check is bad. Often the buyer will send you more than you asked for, asking you to send the difference back. They then have your article which will be resold, plus additional cash. The reverse is now making the rounds, where you buy an item and it never comes.

 

[jhoblo]

Craigslist scammers are why I ride an e-bike rather than a decent cheap car, which is almost impossible to find nowadays unless you know the seller well.
Don’t buy an e-bike or batteries on Craigslist.

 

[Surface604rider]

Sorry to hear you weren't satisfied with the Oryx bike, I hope you find a nice bike you like. It was my joy to hear from the seller again and get a 2nd chance to buy this bike. I was able to see and test ride the bike before buying it for $1100. I thought it was a pretty nice deal and bike, super smooth and quick. The gears needed some adjusting by my local bike shop for $15. The battery actually looks OEM as most batteries come from China and I sourced the manufacturer in China on Alibaba offering new batteries for $139 plus shipping. I've gotten about 16+ miles out of a charge using it lightly with still some power left. I am surprised it still holds a charge being over 2 years old possibly. Would be nice to have a larger battery but it motivates me to exercise more especially on longer rides. I bought another new no name carbon ebike on ebay for more and it is pretty nice but heavier and slower than the Oryx, although much larger battery and has front suspension, smooth ride smoother gears. I still like the Oryx better so I'll sell the ebay bike. I also bought a custom made hot rodded ebike on Craigslist, drove 1 hour each way to see and ride it first, love that bike. I'm surprised with all the negativity in this thread. I've been buying/selling online over 20 years. The amount of money saved buying used items and not paying sales extortion tax is like having another salary. Thanks to ebay and Craigslist to keep that possible for so long.

 

[94jp]

As odd as it appears, @Surface604rider does write very alike to the seller...


I do hope that you did not purchase from this seller; however, if you have, perhaps I can finally receive a refund.

The eBay representative told me that the refund was issued, but canceled about 1-2 weeks after. I am still awaiting on the refund.. for some reason, I am unable to open claims on Paypal as it states the refund was already issued (eBay recognized I never received the funds). Filing claims with my credit card company will be my last exercise.

I am not regretting on bike returns. I am regretting that I had purchased this bike from the seller. The bike was seriously beat up (have pics), and the blurry pics on eBay concealed them well. My local bike shop said bike will not last long until I'll have to replace beat up parts. I have contacted Surface 604. They do not ship with this battery, instead it's a Samsung battery.

But thanks for the encouragement... Once the money's received, I'll go and purchase an e-bike, perhaps a new one.

 

[John from Connecticut]

As odd as it appears, @Surface604rider does write very alike to the seller...


I do hope that you did not purchase from this seller; however, if you have, perhaps I can finally receive a refund.

View attachment 25351
The eBay representative told me that the refund was issued, but canceled about 1-2 weeks after. I am still awaiting on the refund.. for some reason, I am unable to open claims on Paypal as it states the refund was already issued (eBay recognized I never received the funds). Filing claims with my credit card company will be my last exercise.

I am not regretting on bike returns. I am regretting that I had purchased this bike from the seller. The bike was seriously beat up (have pics), and the blurry pics on eBay concealed them well. My local bike shop said bike will not last long until I'll have to replace beat up parts. I have contacted Surface 604. They do not ship with this battery, instead it's a Samsung battery.

But thanks for the encouragement... Once the money's received, I'll go and purchase an e-bike, perhaps a new one.

If you can file a claim with your credit card I would do so as soon as you finish reading this. You are not going to get your money
back from the seller. You wrote..." the refund was issued, but canceled about 1-2 weeks after" This has all the 'marks' of a scam. I hope I'm wrong, but....

 

[94jp]

Thanks for concerns!

eBay told me today that refund should be re-issued and I should receive them within 3 - 4 days (otherwise contact again). In addition, my CC company said that I can file claims whenever, and there's no time limit. Hopefully the case resolves well.

 

[Asher]

eBay is not responsible with stolen goods. My friend's bass flute was stolen from an airport. She found it on eBay, easily identified by distinguishing characteristics and the serial number. Even though she had filed a police report and sent the report to eBay, eBay did nothing, and her flute was sold. eBay would not help her, and her local police wouldn't do anything, either.

I'm convinced eBay is one of the most unethical major websites around. There's so much stuff on the website that is clearly fraudulent and yet nothing is done. For instance, listings for micro SD cards that don't even exist in the claimed capacity. It's like me selling a working time machine.

 

[John from Connecticut]

Thanks for concerns!

eBay told me today that refund should be re-issued and I should receive them within 3 - 4 days (otherwise contact again). In addition, my CC company said that I can file claims whenever, and there's no time limit. Hopefully the case resolves well.

You wrote..."eBay told me today that refund should be re-issued and I should receive them within 3 - 4 days (otherwise contact again) " eBay is a third party to this deal. They get their info from PayPal. You should be dealing with PP. If the funds were 'withdrawn' initially after 1-2 weeks that's a huge red flag regarding the Seller. Contact PayPal and find out what is going on. Contact their fraud division. They take fraud very seriously. I know from personal experience.

You also wrote.... "I am still awaiting on the refund.. for some reason, I am unable to open claims on Paypal as it states the refund was already issued (eBay recognized I never received the funds)." What I'm getting from this as far as PP is concerned your refund went through..done deal. If the money was refunded you would have immediately received an email stating so and the $$$ would have shown up in your PP account or bank. Again contact PP Fraud.

P.S. I just went through refunding an eBay buyer his purchase price ( he changed his mind) so I'm familiar with eBay / PayPal process.


As for disputing the purchase with no time limit as your CC told you. Nearly all CCs have a 60 day time limit. I have never
heard of a CC with no time limit, but your card could be the first.