shipping method?

[Boumm]

Hi, I'd liek to know how you guys works when you buy things (and have to ship them)? Also, how do paypal work? I'm looking for a bike but I'm not really safe in sending my money and then waiting for the bike.

THx

[bouncingbabyboy]

I bought my bike one piece at a time from all over. I had no problems with BT, webcyclery or trialsin. They were all very helpful, got me product quickly and well packaged.

I paid with credit card over the phone for most stuff. I used paypal for a few things and something like it with BT that converts US dollars to Polish.

Here is my bike:
http://www.observedtrials.net/vb/showthread.php?t=22831

[decline]

i bought my bike off of a guy in cali and i live in oklahoma. it was threw paypal...totally secure. how it works is you set up and account that is in a direct link with you bank account ( or credit card i think). and you make a sale with someone they give you there user id for paypal which is hooked up to there bank account. you enter in how much money you want to transfer from your account to theres and it does so. it takes a little bit for the banks to process it. if you send the money and you never get what payed for pay pal refunds you and then bills them X number of dollars. if it isnt want was discribed you send it back and get your money back. make sure you talk to the person over more then just e-mail. i got my guys phonenumber and called him.
just make sure you do your homework...its the only thing i have ever bought online...and it was like 700 dollars so i was a little nervous. but it turned out to be alright.

i wouldnt send cash or cashiers checks to anyone unless you wouldnt miss th emoney if you got screwed...i have dont that for things up to like 30 dollars...cashiers check and turned out ok.

just keep in mind most people arnt out there to fuck you over. only a few. and this guy is prob just as scared of you screwing him over as you are of him.

[bouncingbabyboy]

Doing your homework is important, and it is tough because you can't just go ride every trials frame if you don't know people who ride trials. Spend some time looking at discusions on here before you throw down on a bike. There are a lot of brands and models. Don't throw down $1400 on the first bike you see. Think about bottom bracket hieght, wheel base and components before you jump into anything. Different bikes are better for different things. Think about what you want a bike to do and ask some questions.

[decline]

BBB is right. you can find deals i got an 05 python for half of what it is new. you can find deals. i seriously looked for prob 5 or 6 months...and that was after spending an addition 3 months just kinda exploring the website. if its your first bike dont buy anything new. and to be honest dont worry to much about the bb height and stuff too much...if your going mod dont worry about it at all. wb just kinda determins your height. look for good components tho. you can learn to ride one kinda of geo if you are new but it sux to have shitty parts. so do your homework on that type of stuff. i couldnt ride a trials bike before i started to i kinda went with what style of frame was most attractive to me. and that just happened to be the python.

[Boumm]

thx for the replies, im riding for almost 2 year so i know what I want. I've been looking for a used bike for like 6 month or more.

[FourFortyOne]

Paypal is good, it really favors the buyer. Its hard to get a scam pulled off if the buyer uses paypal. Basically, you can buy insurance, but you don't need to. If they don't send you anything, you can file a dispute and the buyer almost always wins. Unless they have documentation to prove they shipped it to you, you can easily just get your money back.

[Boumm]

Before i look more seriously for paypal, do you need to have an account? does it cost something? thx

[bouncingbabyboy]

It is free for the buyer.

[decline]

its free to the buyer for purchases of 1000 dollars over a months time. then after that 1000 there is a small fee i think....or maybe it was an arm and a leg..cant remember.

[carnagr]

It is free to receive up to $650 per month, and free to send, like decline said, $1000 a month I believe. After that you need to upgrade to a paid account, which in itself isn't very expensive, but with a paid account they take like 3% of all transfers.

[Boumm]

ok, how do you contact them, internet? is there like paypal local 'shop'?

[eturt9]

Unless they have documentation to prove they shipped it to you, you can easily just get your money back.

THe secret is getting the few dollars of insurance. Paypal is great, i have been screwed on it though.

The seller didn't offer insurance, i was a newb at the time to it. I payed paypal, the seller printed the paypal shipping receipt.... and that was it. Didn't send anything, they just kept saying the shipping was delayed. Everybody else got screwed on a $500 camera, but since the scammer lived close enough to me, I drove to their house and got my money back in person. I bet they weren't expecting that.

But paypal is still great when done correctly.