[bender]

http://www.usedbicyclebuyer.com

I clicked on an ad posted here on RBR for UsedBicycleBuyer.com. Has anyone dealt with these guys before, or the parent company Smash Direct? I have never heard of either, though they claim to have been doing business online for years.

"UBB is a division of SMASH Direct, which has been in business since 2001. We have bought literally millions of dollars worth of used equipment since then. We are members of the Better Business Bureau with a perfect zero complaint record. Upon receipt and inspection of your bicycle we will mail your payment promptly."

It even looks like instead of mailing the bike off and waiting for the check, I can take the bike I want to sell over to a local bike shop, which is one of "200+ Authorized Trade-In Centers" and trade it in.

What do you guys think? Ever heard anything about them?

 

[bender]

Well, first you fill in a bunch of bike specs on a form on their website and then they email you a quote "subject to final inspection." I've already done that and received their emailed quote and I was pretty happy with the number, it was higher than my local bike shop said they would give me on a trade in, and probably higher than the whole bike would get on eBay. The bike is a 1999 model but is in really good shape (I even sent them a picture), about 1,000 miles; and their offer was about half of the original cost when new. Maybe they are going to part it out, I don't know. They also say that if they inspect the bike and find a "condition discrepancy" and you don't accept the new offer, they will send it back to you at their expense.

I am just very skeptical of sending the bike off without receiving payment first, I mean it goes against everything you hear about doing business online. That's why I wanted to get some feedback from people who might have dealt with them before, maybe even sent a bike in before.