to never buy from police auction site again

[springydaffs]

I bid for a bike for ds on a police auction site. The problems with the bike were listed as 'Tyres / front wheel / front suspension require attention - seat is ripped - General maintenance required'. I got it for £36. During the bidding I began to feel a bit uncomfortable that someone was pushing up the bidding... somebody from the site?

I picked up the bike - looked fine to me; the back tyre was flat. It has been pumped up and there is nothing wrong with it (ie it hasn't gone flat again) and I wonder if it was purposefully let down so I couldn't ride it when I picked it up - and obvious faults would have been apparent. I put it in the car and drove 200 miles with it, dropped it off at a bike shop in ds's uni town.

The bike is rubbish. ds has taken it to two bike shops who both say the cost of repairs is in the region of £200+ as there are fundamental problems with it (the front wheel, front suspension, tyres are fine though!). The bike would only be worth £150 brand new.

I have spoken to the police site and they don't want to know - the guy was aggressive and nasty. £36 isn't much but I feel I've been blatantly ripped off. The police site say they aren't bike experts and just put the bikes up on the site as is. I say that if that is the case they shouldn't list problems with the bike.

I thought that as it is a police site they would be kosher, honest. am I an idiot to think that?

Man alive I can't believe what a hard time you're getting here!

Empathy fgs!

I feel for you OP. I am still smarting after an incident in a fairground in Vienna on my honeymoon. It was 5 years ago!

We live and learn, as my dad says.

Well yes, I'm a bit of a stickler for not signing stuff unless I know what it's for (hence going back). However, if I were to stick to this one to the letter, plus all the other things I'm a stickler about, I wouldn't get a lot done. It was one of those instances where I thought 'now come on springy, the car is loaded outside, all ready to take ds to uni, you've got a long drive ahead, is this really the time to be making a fuss about signing something ordinary?' So I signed, went to the car, started the engine, turned it off, went back to ask what I'd signed for. I didn't get a conclusive reply.

then job done aquafunf

Several months ago I went to an auction at a reputable international auction house and took a punt on buying a watch that was described as in need of repairs. I very naively figured it couldn't be more than a couple of hundred quid. And I was wrong, because it is obscure and swiss and fixing the bloody thing is going to cost me £600.

I guess I could have taken a watch expert with me, but was pressed for time, and just dove in.

And now I don't have the bargain I thought I did.

Sob.

But really if you don't have your wits around you at an auction, you have no place in taking part, gadzooks.

Pinot I heart you.

I'm sorry to hear about your honeymoon rip-off Sardine. I know, things like that do smart. I'm not smarting about this too much, more enraged/indignant. There are other things I smart about though, so I'm with you on the smarting..

I was so delighted when I got that bike for ds, really on a high. It looked great, we were off on the m'way, taking ds to his fab uni blah blah. Like you on your honeymoon Sardine I was on a high, all was well with the world. We was done.

springy -what makes you think the person bidding against you wasn't genuine?

Update: I have contacted the PTB and the response is that:

• there is no reason I shouldn't trust the site because it's kosher
• the description of faults is a guide only and it was my fault that I interpreted 'general maintenance' as indicating minor faults - the site had not used the word 'minor'
• the staff aren't bike experts and provide a visual description for guidance only
• re: The site does not reveal who Bumblebee are or their contact details: this is a matter for the company that oversee the auction site, not the police.
• The terms and conditions are clear however, if I feel they are illegal than I could refer the matter to Trading Standards.
• The staff deal with Bumblebee customers on a regular basis and receive very few complaints and are sorry that on this occasion that you were not satisfied with either the purchase made or the service offered by them. However, the terms and conditions regarding that and all purchases on the Bumblebee Auction site are clear and the 'quality' or 'working condition of items is not determined'.
• The Constabulary sell thousands of pounds worth of property every year via the Bumblebee Auction site and after a small payment is made to the company administering the sale, all proceeds go to local charities within the Force area.
• I'm afraid I don't think I can assist you further.

So that's that then. I repeat the sentiments of my thread title. it does annoy me when people use the 'millions of people use the service and nobody else has a problem' argument

Hi everyone, I am very disappointed.
I use to trust people but after I use this kind of auction web site I change my mind.
The 90% of gold is not gold, the white metal il 99.99% silver plus I bought a Rolex (fake) for more then £ 800.
Take me half second to understand hat the watch was a shit fake.
I have the impression that bumbulee auction is very big supermarket and they know very well what they are selling from
You don`t need to be an expert to recognise a fake rolex.
My was a cheep metal colour gold and was so easy to understand the quality.
If you want buy something no spend more then 20-30 pound.
They are very cleaver.
When they have fake product or very cheep quality staff they use to put very small size picture.
Is like impossible to recognize it
Therefore, now you know that you must be careful
Regards
Maurizio Sanna

Cheers Maurizio.

I'm selling a very decent mountain bike for £40. It's in great condition. Check gumtree OP then you can view before you buy. Yanbu though, but buyer beware.

This may have been said but how did you pay?
If it was PayPal or credit card would they take your case on
Is it like eBay, can you leave feedback

Zombie thread.

This is a zombie thread.

1. bike sounded crap to begin with
2. what do you expect for £36? Isn't that really, really cheap and the price of a shit bike?
3. caveat emptor

ZOMBIE

ZOMBIE THREAD!

Fucksakes- this thread is from 2011. That bike will be rusting in a shed.

Do NOT bump old threads. It's fucking annoying.

zombie alert. Thread over six years old.

General maintenance required

General maintenance on a bike can be any number of things. I would be wary buying a bike I couldn't inspect thoroughly beforehand because it could well need the following, assuming the frame is sound:

New brake cables
New brake blocks
Gears replacing
Entire new chainset
New wheels
New tyres
New bottom bracket

Two or three of those together plus labour would easily be 200 quid but still fall under "general maintenance". Retailers can sell bikes for less than you can get them repaired because they can buy components en masse cheaply.

Sorry, OP. They were not inaccurate in their description. If a bike has been poorly repaired for years then general maintenance can add up to 150-200. You might find a bike shop who would take the frame off your hands for a few quid.

Oh great, I type all that up and don't check the date.