Whats up with these chinese ebikes currently - scam?

[Samd]

Seems to be lots of these with very low feedback sellers, photo all the same. They take Paypal so i suppose you'd get your money back in the end.

But they just seem too cheap - 300 bucks or less inc slow postage....
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2013-EBIKE-48V-1000W-Electric-Bicycle-20AH-Lithium-Battery-Suspension-SeatPost-/390597681729?pt=AU_PocketBikes&hash=item5af16fa241

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-EBIKE-48V-1000W-Electric-Bicycle-20AH-Lithium-Battery-Suspension-SeatPost-/161030007384?pt=AU_PocketBikes&hash=item257e22ea58

 

[wesnewell]

Sounds like someone screwed up a posting. Same ebike in USA posting.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-EBIKE-48V-1000W-Electric-Bicycle-20AH-Lithium-Battery-Suspension-SeatPost-/121102198805
$1690

 

[Sunder]

One seller has no feedback as a seller - and all feedback as a buyer basically within the same day.

The other seller has sold only a small number of fashion items.

I'd say hijacked accounts, or accounts set up specifically for this scam.

Most likely they'd send you an empty box so there's a tracking number. Probably delayed until near the cooling off period. Then the onus would be on you to prove that the tracking number didn't contain a bike. You wouldn't get your money back.

 

[d8veh]

There's genuine sellers of these bikes, where the prices are much higher, but there's a number of scamming Chinese sellers that copy other listings. They often have a short duration listing and very low feedback. Avoid these at all costs. They'll send you something, but it won't be the item listed. To get your money back from Paypal, you have to send it back, which costs more than what you paid. That's the scam.

 

[spinningmagnets]

Most likely they'd send you an empty box so there's a tracking number

You are right, with one caveat...it will be a box filled with packing and a couple bricks. This is a very old scam...

 

[dnmun]

i thought it was a phishing scam. they asked for my id and password when i wanted to hang it on my watch list. ebay would not ask that. i do not think they are ebay.

 

[Jason27]

I don't know about a scam but the Chinese are simply masters at tricking uninformed people. There have warehouses of old batteries mass produced in 2008-2009. They sit in a warehouse slowly draining. They are sold at big discounts. Then some thrifty and uninformed shopper on eBay buys a pack its basically dead or close to it. Then the Chinese companies ship the battery pack worldwide illegally by marking it as a "gift" to skirt customs and regulations. People who import packs have to be careful because if that thing combusts on a plane YOU might be held liable.

This forum and in the battery section you will read time after time of batteries and bms's failing. Without this forum ebikers like me wouldn't know the truth.

 

[Clobber]

You only have 45 days to lodge a problem with PayPal.

The scam is: they "send" you an item, and when you don't get it, they offer to "send" another one immediatly. By then, you've forgotten to lodge a dispute. Easy money.

It also pays to be aware that PayPal is pretty much a scam in itself, and you don't have anywhere near the protection that most people think they have.

I don't contact the seller anymore, if stuff doesn't arrive. I lodge a dispute at day 30 or day 40 if it's marked as slow delivery. Then if I never see it, I already have a dispute lodged.

Also, because eBay is so crappy, you can't leave feedback after the 45 days either, so a lot of sellers have OK feedback for the items that DO get sent and arrive, but the bad stuff is hardly ever made for the stuff that doesn't!

 

[friendly1uk]

ebay history shows this white bike and the green landrover folder appear from new sellers in batchs of 5 most weeks. Most reach the same sort of value(showing what the public think an electric bike is worth). The sellers never answer any mail, they just pull the money from there accounts and vanish. 6-8 weeks later buyers get refunded by paypal, and all records are removed from the completed items listings so you don't get to see the history of these 5 batch sellers.

Be careful, ebay buyer protection is only for the main site. External sites such as ebay motors (where 10% are listed) offer no buyer protection. By now, there should be a section on the main site for e-bike's as I had a chat with them about this and they responded favorably.