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Came across one today selling the various 99p nukeproof chainstay protectors for £18.50, that's near double RRP, Hope rotor spacer £5.75, who the hell is gonna pay that, those Alpine stars trucker caps that were going for three quid selling them at £21.50, plenty more inflated prices, eBay seller Four seasons cycles Abingdon a total rip off merchant.
What's the problem?
Every time there's a liquidation, some of the clearance stock bought at knockdown price will be bought with the clear objective of re-selling at a profit.
Same applies to special offers - some recent examples are Karcher pro-grade pressure washers and KitchenAid food mixers and blenders which were Farmfoods specials; limited availability at prices which were way under the market.
Unsurprisingly, some were immediately listed on ebay at prices which guaranteed a profit.
It happens all the time.
You may think it's unscrupulous or objectionable; it's business.
Naming and attempting to shame just because you don't approve isn't acceptable; seller is doing nothing wrong.
No one is making you buy the stuff at those inflated prices. If you don't like the price walk away.
Why get angry over something you do not have to buy? Go ride your bike or enjoy something else. It's just the world we live in dude.
One of the early Rapha archive sales, I saw a guy just dive into a box of gloves and come out with as many as he could carry. I think they were £5/pair or something.
Within 2 days they were on eBay at £40/pair.
Rapha got wise to that quite quickly and began putting limits on how much stock could be bought.
Naming and attempting to shame just because you don’t approve isn’t acceptable; seller is doing nothing wrong.
If the seller is doing nothing wrong then naming them isn’t a problem.
who the hell is gonna pay that
Whoever chooses to, or not. Who cares?
To be fair its exactly what CRCWiggle did when they bought the (Delayed by the Suez ship?) containers of Santa Cruz frames, forks, shocks and parts, in 2021, and flipped them cheap. I am sure some of their super cheap components were spot buys and not via normal distributors. Also see Planet-X and Giro helmets
I'll be selling some 5-10s for £50 soon 😛
No ones pointing a gun at your head to buy it.
Struggling to care on the small stuff.
E.g. isn't Banana Industries (currently seemingly selling the Ragley stock) part of Dave from Planet-X's empire?
A few usefull bits annoy me, but TBH I suspect some of the resellers might get their fingers burnt on the Vitus and Nukeproof bikes. The 2nd hand market is dead so trying to sell those 'as new' Vitus hardtails for >£450 might prove difficult.
But if someone wants to buy up a hundred Vitus linkage kits for a few quid each and sell them on eBay? Mehh, saves them cluttering up my spares bin uneceserilly.
Okay for one I'm not angry I just think they're cheeky bar stewards with questionable ethics, and there is something wrong with buying stuff to sell at double RRP when stock is no longer available anywhere, it's unscrupulous. Some guy bought up all the older Nukeproof mega gear hangers making them rare as hens teeth now but at least he's not doubling the price to £40 after spending 99p each on them.
Also
noeffsgiven
Free Member
Effs clearly given.
To be expected.
In fact I will go so far as to say calling out a shop for doing it is poor form.
Where they get their stuff from is irrelevant. Now they have it they become responsible for the product they sell, so after sales, warranty etc. Additionally they have all the overheads for posting individually - I note their whole shop shows free delivery. Well that isn't ever free is it?
Don't like the price, don't buy it.
The way I see it is they are taking a risk buying the stock, got to store the parts, list, ship, customer service, ebay fees etc etc. Someone could have just bought all the stock and hoarded it in their garage. At least there are parts available to buy.
rear mech hangers, will likely be available from all the after market suppliers..
check out the Hope tech buy and sell group, lots of brand new wheels for £180-200, i've started to laugh on them,
I wonder how sellers will navigate the tax implications of selling new items at a large markup. HMRC appear to be looking to manage this more carefully but I don't know how it works in practice.
zomg - naming the retailer isn't a problem but attempting to shame them for a common business practice is, in my view, unacceptable.
I'd quite like a pair of the Crank Brothers Mallet shoes (Uk12) if anybody bought some at £28 and wants to make a little profit 🙂
I went to Tesco and it turns out they've just bought a load of stuff and are trying to sell it for more money. Disgusting.
People hate profit they can see, but that's just how many businesses work. If they ask too much no-one will buy it.
@homatron, essentially, sell more than 30 items or 1800 euros in a calendar year (from 1stjan2024) and the platform will send seller information to hmrc (from 1st Jan 2025). hence this year will be the first trial year of this process ebay have stated when you approach this limit funds may be placed on hold until you provide ebay your NI number. once self assessments are setup digitally from 2028 [?] it'll be much slicker.
tax allowance is technically £1000 income per year unless you are deemed to be trading
likely to mean more people will need to submit self assessments
But to put it a different way.
You walk into your lbs,
Have you got x?
Yes we have sir.
Excellent, you've saved my weekend riding. I really appreciate your service. Btw how much is it?
Twice RRP, sir.
Oh.
I wonder how many wouldn't see a problem in that?
Plenty regretting buying the 'cheap' XT Ebike 165mm cranks a few weeks back - loads on Ebay for what they paid for them.
Just wait until all the cheap Hope Wheelsets everyone bought start popping up on eBay.
Twice RRP, sir.
Oh.
I wonder how many wouldn’t see a problem in that?
Depends on whether it were on their shelf at twice rrp, or if they inflated the price because of how much it was needed (so save a weekend riding) at that time.
One is shop doing shop things, the other is fully taking advantage of a desperate buyer.
But to put it a different way.
You walk into your lbs,
Have you got x?
Yes we have sir.
Excellent, you’ve saved my weekend riding. I really appreciate your service. Btw how much is it?
Twice RRP, sir.
Oh.
I wonder how many wouldn’t see a problem in that?
Has this ever happened?
Basic supply and demand economics in a free(ish) market economy ; the RRP is meaningless. We're quite happy to pay half the RRP so once in a while it's a bit more. Some you win, some you lose.
Just wait until all the cheap Hope Wheelsets everyone bought start popping up on eBay.
They are already there. I'm just going out means that the other second hand wheelsets go cheap now
nealcFree Member
But to put it a different way.You walk into your lbs,
Have you got x?
Yes we have sir.
Excellent, you’ve saved my weekend riding. I really appreciate your service. Btw how much is it?
Twice RRP, sir.
Oh.
I wonder how many wouldn’t see a problem in that?
See also Motorway services, airport departure lounges, festivals/gigs/any large event etc etc the list is large. 🤷♂️
Supply and demand/captive market innit.
This is all an ultra-cunning stealth ad, right? 🙂
Meanwhile, I'm still sore at those unscrupulous barstewards who bought up Picasso paintings when they were cheap back in the 1930s and are now selling them off for millions...
The problem is we should all care, just like ticket touts buying up all the tickets to resell for profit these people all potentially stopped someone from buying and using the item as expected. This kind of profiteering only harms which ever industry it occurs in. Note I don't have an issue with arbitrage but this isn't that
I've no issues with bulkbuy eBay business selling on stock, the prices will be over inflated as they have to take on the stock, store and be prepared for a slow sell.
FB marketplace being flooded with 5-10's when the 'sale' stock @ Frazers is still available pisses me off a little.
Life's not fair.
That's what I keep reminding my kids. Same applies here.
I want there are people would take the same attitude if somebody went into their local Sainsbury's and bought up all of the meat, eggs, cheese, flour, etc. And stood outside selling it for twice the retail price....
Yes you could go to another supermarket but imagine if a gang of people did exactly the same thing at all of the supermarkets that you could visit to get to. Not adding any value to the process. Just taking a profit..
There is a very fine line between the capitalism and this
Thing is Sainsbury's will refill the stock, making that investment worthless. CRC won't be.
All the remaining CRC/wiggle stock could be sold by the administrator to one buyer who could do the same thing and stick it all on eBay. The buyer just takes on the element of risk and reward as well as selling fees and increases prices accordingly.
I want there are people would take the same attitude if somebody went into their local Sainsbury’s and bought up all of the meat, eggs, cheese, flour, etc. And stood outside selling it for twice the retail price….
I would primarily be concerned for their sanity tbh... it sounds like a poor business model.
Bit of a silly example; supermarkets would immediately apply quantity limits and there are legal/licensing requirements to be considered.
Do you have any more realistic hypotheticals?
What point are you trying to make?
Agree with op.
Happy they're named and shamed.
Will avoid them if possible in future.
As bad as ticket touts.
Bare in mind that hope space is free postage, that puts it at the same level price wise as 99% of shops on the internet 🙄
I want there are people would take the same attitude if somebody went into their local Sainsbury’s and bought up all of the meat, eggs, cheese, flour, etc. And stood outside selling it for twice the retail price….
Yes you could go to another supermarket but imagine if a gang of people did exactly the same thing at all of the supermarkets that you could visit to get to. Not adding any value to the process. Just taking a profit..
What about if 5 or 6 people went round all the farms buying up the food, then selling it in their own shops for a profit?
Not only could they charge whatever they liked for the produce, they could mandate to the farmers and producers what they were prepared to pay in order to drive down the price paid to unaffordable levels.
99p nukeproof chainstay protectors for £18.50, that’s near double RRP, Hope rotor spacer £5.75, who the hell is gonna pay that, those Alpine stars trucker caps that were going for three quid selling them at £21.50, plenty more inflated prices
functionally similar items are available elsewhere from other retailers for you to purchase, there is no obligation to purchase from this ebayer. To my mind, not profiteering, merely taking their chance in the free market.
(paying tax on their income, a separate issue)
Profiteering in the bike industry is speccing an unobtainable and uncopyable wear or consumable part, and then charging a ridiculous amount as you know users have no choice.
Or if you had every 27.5 inch mtb tyre in the country, in your garage. then charging £500 a tyre, as you know the only alternative for the user is getting a new bike.
What if someone bought up all the righteous indignation on this thread then sold it on eBay at massively inflated prices along with a selection of contrived theoretical scenarios with not very much grounding in any sort of reality? I for one would be furious... 😉
Bunch of cry babies in here. How is what this shop doing any different than CRC? CRC probably able to manufacture those items for pennies and sell them on for good profit. This shop takes a risk in buying the stock. Makes it available for people to buy. Means you don't have to hold onto these parts yourself for something you might not even need anyway! Besides all the prices include shipping. On some websites you think you're getting a good price only for them to charge £5 for something that can get posted in a large letter making the price higher than what he is charging anyway! Not forgetting the 12%?? eBay fees and then the buyer is always right guarantee. Shipping supplies to actually post the item in. All adds up.
I bought an NS Bikes frame from CRC a few weeks back dirt cheap. There are used frames on pinkbike/ebay etc for far more than what I paid... Was going to build it up but realistically I don't think I'll ride it so send it back vs flog it for a decent potential profit on eBay... No brainer surely.
It's a lot better the Nukeproof/Vitus spares are available on eBay even if at inflated prices than in a skip, headed for landfill. One way, they're there if anyone ever needs them without having to buy it "just in case" and the other , they're gone forever and you're looking at getting that bit made as a one off at vastly more than it it costs off the eBay seller and probably at inferior quality because it's been reverse engineered from an old part. Either that or it's very expensive new fame time.
I doubt he's selling to those that have followed the Chiggle story. They'll have mostly invested already if needed. It'll be the unaware who are just happy they've found the part they're after.
I'd be interested to know when he starts to see a profit.
Selling on eBay is not what it once was anyway so that £20 will soon look like £10.
Do you not remember during the pandemic where people were profiteering on everything from graphics cards to flour to cement. I even heard of people buying up all the eggs to then sell on Facebook for more.
I only hope HMRC gets their cut. I don't have a problem with businesses making a profit at all. But I do have a problem with people jumping in to generate artificial shortages for profit adding no value to the product
I'm genuinely baffled by your issue here.
CRC are closing down, and we've all known about this for a while.
If there's something that only CRC had (a Nukeproof chainstay protector say) that you need then why didn't you buy it a month ago?
If you don't need it yet then you won't be able to buy it from CRC in a week or so's time when they're closed down whether they sold them all or not; so you should be pleased that a shop has bought some and they can sell one to you in the future when you do need it.
Hope rotor spacers are available at other retailers.
Hope rotor spacer £5.75, who the hell is gonna pay that
It appears plenty of people have as they have sold 11.
As a side quest I had a google for those spacers. SJS are selling them for £3.10 but then charge £3.50 shipping bringing the price up to £6.60. So a very competitive price after all.
Great to see there are still people out there with an entrepreneurial spirit.
OP - I do agree with you. I dont thibk it sits well with me due to some sense of not wanting to back people into a corner. Also personally i wouldn't sit well with me to buy multiple bargain bikes to sell on ebay rather than letting others have a good bargain bike. Seems the prices are tumbling down mind.
Comparisons with retail are not accurate too. But when has accuracy stopped a good pile on.
I've not been a regular on here long but doesnt surprise me the attitude of folk and the replies you got. Won't be long until we some start finding yet more ways to tell us how wealthy they are.
It appears plenty of people have as they have sold 11.
As a side quest I had a google for those spacers. SJS are selling them for £3.10 but then charge £3.50 shipping bringing the price up to £6.60. So a very competitive price after all.
Lol, facts.
Facts?
Where do you think you are? A tory party meeting?
I’ve not been a regular on here long but doesnt surprise me the attitude of folk and the replies you got. Won’t be long until we some start finding yet more ways to tell us how wealthy they are.
That says more about the size of the chip on your shoulder than anything else
Retail arbitrage baby! Get on TikTok and learn all about it Gramps!
noeffsgiven
Came across one today selling the various 99p nukeproof chainstay protectors for £18.50, that’s near double RRP,.... total rip off merchant
Username doesn't check out.
@captaintomo we're both agreeing with you here, just with the usual levels of jaded sarcasm thrown in.
I see that now
Retail arbitrage baby! Get on TikTok and learn all about it Gramps!
God I hate that kid, cant remember his slogan but he points at his end.
This reminds me when I volunteered for a charity and ended up listing stuff for them on Amazon and eBay, but they'd price stuff like games on the prices on eBay or Amazon, but these were other charities selling the same donated items. It was an artificially inflated market cos all the charities were "accidentally" price setting! Who was going to pay £15-£20 for a boardgame you could buy new for not much more!
Well done that person. Taking a risk on making a few quid. Good business sense and doing us a service as otherwise they might end up in some skip.
Fail to see a problem, the same with tickets. If you want them at original price buy faster and don't buy from touts. After all it is only a concert or a game, not anything important.
Inspired by this thread I may have just over ordered something I did only one of, in anticipation of possible future resale value. I also ordered a relatively cheap item of clothing I don't particularly need, just in case I decide to chuck it on ebay as unused, still in it's packaging at a later date once Chiggle stock is all gone.
Cheers OP 😉
tomo - selective quoting is a bit dim; read my post again and the one it followed to help you understand the context.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm listing our excess stock on eBay and struggling to achieve anywhere near cost price for it. Do I get a prize? Cos I'm certainly not getting the cash. Please can I have a prize.
read my post again
I already have done
I see that now
Do you not remember during the pandemic where people were profiteering on everything from graphics cards to flour to cement.
Not to mention PPE.
But to put it a different way.
You walk into your lbs,
Have you got x?
Yes we have sir.
Excellent, you’ve saved my weekend riding. I really appreciate your service. Btw how much is it?
Twice RRP, sir.
Oh.
I wonder how many wouldn’t see a problem in that?
Has this ever happened?
In morzine one year it pissed it down for the first half of my holiday.
Any mud spike was well over RRP. I didn't buy one out of indignation.
I fell off at least 3 times each day.
In hindsight I should have just bought a pair at the inflated price. I would have had a much better holiday.
I'd buy the thing you want now, before the are all gone and you can't get them at all.
Non steal ad- got any hope hubbed, 29 front wheels you don't want- I'm interested 😉
risk vs reward, and some of this show you how much/little of something sells, I clicked onto Wiggle one morning at the end of November in the early days of Admin, and bought 60+ items of Ron Hill running clothing, multiple lines, various sizes, both genders, at 99p a item, I thought I got a bargain, the RRP was north of £1500, while I'm only £60 out of pocket, and one storage box of stuff waiting to sell, even at 70-50% of RRP I've sold 1 item in 4 months.
So who is actually buying any of this stuff in the first place, which I guess is part of the problem, too many brands, too many lines
bought 60+ items of Ron Hill running clothing, multiple lines, various sizes, both genders,
i worked with a guy who bought hundreds, if not thousands of water bottles very cheaply. It took him years to sell them on Facebook.
no idea if the money made a difference to him of if the odd fiver a year for effing ages just got absorbed into daily expenses.m, but they did sell.
A few years ago after a relative passed away we were left with a huge number of books which were all history books. We gave loads to charity. We sold some direct to a dealer because they the alt was hiring a van to move them. A car load got brought home and sold at prices mainly from £5 - £15. Given the hassle involved in listing, packing, posting, if I was short of cash now I would rather do an extra shift at work than buy stuff sell on eBay or Facebook.
So as I don't see it as free money due to the work involved I have no problems with anyone buying up stock getting sold off and selling it on. I appreciate being able to buy odds and ends on eBay which aren't available anywhere else.
So, you guys are all happy with ticketmaster and others who buy limited stock specifically to scalp legitimate buyers later
in honesty, there are plenty of things in the world that seem exponentially worse to me than someone selling bike bits on eBay - our own government, various wars, climate change and a shedload more - that I find it hard to summon up much indignation.
That’s not the same as being ‘happy with Ticketmaster’ or with western capitalism as a way of life, but I only have a limited stock of righteous fury and I tend to save it for bigger stuff. YMMV.
So, you guys are all happy with ticketmaster and others who buy limited stock specifically to scalp legitimate buyers later?
Meh, false equivalence' are easy to dream up when you are obviously a bit bitter about not ordering a few extra pairs of brake pads.
It's not really the same thing is it, most of the small items people are buying up will probably still be resold at or below normal market value.
The few manics trying to sell things for RRP will fail to flog said items and rethink it I'm sure.
Bah, someone got there before me - NS Bikes Surge Evo frame on ebay, brand new and boxed for £350 (a little over £100 from CRC a couple of months back).
Going to advertise mine for £250 🙂
"So, you guys are all happy with ticketmaster and others who buy limited stock specifically to scalp legitimate buyers later?"
Totally different. Ticket scalps profit from high demand for a limited one time event. Chiggle went bust because they couldn't sell enough stock at RRP.
So who is actually buying any of this stuff in the first place, which I guess is part of the problem, too many brands, too many lines
@dirtyrider The particular problem with Ronhill is its old school running kit brand from the days before park run, old school runners are still wearing the finishers t-shirt from the 2004 London Marathon and will only buy a replacement when something is worn out rather than being this years colour.
gig tickets and the like is totally different, back in noughties my brother knew a few people working at ticketmaster,
they all used to get interest free credit cards, and effectively buy the full front row, best tickets. then flog them on ebay. turning over £000s, that was an internal issue as much as a general tout issue..
personally i'd prefer all tickets to have a name and picture on, with a fixed fee £10-20 to amend the tickets,
chain reaction, wiggle, lots of lines which can be bought elsewhere, I've only missed out on items were i've waited as wanted a lower price, keep an eye on stock levels and buy asap.
I’m still sore at those unscrupulous barstewards who bought up Picasso paintings when they were cheap back in the 1930s and are now selling them off for millions…
To be fair, we aren't talking about Picassos stolen from Jews in the 1930s, or insulin, or flour in Gaza, where there's a tiny supply or people are gonna suffer without them. It's a bunch of little bike parts.
What if someone bought up all the righteous indignation on this thread
There'd be no point, there is an infinite supply...
Plenty of the Evans five tens ended up on ebay and FB too, rather than waste the £5 postage plus pay the returns postage people tried flogging them for a profit.
Bah, someone got there before me – NS Bikes Surge Evo frame on ebay, brand new and boxed for £350 (a little over £100 from CRC a couple of months back).
Actually two sellers on ebay selling the frames for £350 (definitely putting mine on for £250!). One of them has 6 for sale 🙂 Both sellers have a load of what looks like ex-CRC stock for a load more than what it was for sale at CRC for.
risk vs reward, and some of this show you how much/little of something sells, I clicked onto Wiggle one morning at the end of November in the early days of Admin, and bought 60+ items of Ron Hill running clothing, multiple lines, various sizes, both genders, at 99p a item, I thought I got a bargain, the RRP was north of £1500, while I’m only £60 out of pocket, and one storage box of stuff waiting to sell, even at 70-50% of RRP I’ve sold 1 item in 4 months.
So who is actually buying any of this stuff in the first place, which I guess is part of the problem, too many brands, too many lines
I guess the problem you're still going to face (at least until Chiggle finally finished their stock purge) is that as soon as soon as anyone finds a 'bargain' on eBay, they Google it just to check it actually is a good deal (at least I know I would) and the first hit is likely to be CRC or some other discounted outlet.
They're not going to bite for you're 50% off RRP offer while there's still stuff going silly cheap...
and
The particular problem with Ronhill is its old school running kit brand from the days before park run,
it's a bit of both, I assume the admin came in, looked through the sales of particular lines and there was zero sales and it got dumped at, well everything was 99p
but also, who is buying it in the first place, like the other quote says, and if no one is buying it, how does it still exist as a brand?