sunrace 5-speed freewheels no longer shiny (the horror)
 

just a heads-up on purchasing new sunrace 5-speeds from ebay sellers ...

they show a shiny silver-colored freewheel in their listing, but apparently sunrace no longer provides the shiny ones in a 5-speed. i bought one, thinking it was going to look like the photo, but it was brown and the largest cog was black with ugly writing on it. the seller (discountbicycle603) apologized, mailed me a postage paid return label and returned the cost. this is how it should work.

so i tried again with seller ichigear. i first sent a message asking about the color, and ichigear wrote that it was shiny like the photo, not dull. but the same exact thing happened. dull arrived in the mail. and now, ichigear will not send me a return label and is not returning my messages. i've never given bad feedback before, and i'm not sure what to do. it was only a $15 item.

my third attempt was a success. i found an amazon seller (team bicycle) with one shiny sunrace 5-speed left for $19. got it in the mail today, and it was pretty as advertised. it looks a whole lot better on the '74 pr10 i'm finishing than the brown/black ones with writing on them.

if you give him bad feedback, he will give you bad feedback. not worth it in the long run

Not sure what to say but Sunrace has discountinued the polished silver finish 5speeds. The current one are a rust proof brown tone. You can still get the 6 or 7's in shiney silver or chrome for extra. I have had this issue a couple of time where sellers are still using photo's from previous model version on parts. As for Ebay feadback it won't realy matter on his type large scale international seller. Sense they likely allready gave you automatic positve feedback upon payment it won't matter when it comes to you feedback. You can go through the long drawn out Ebay grievience procedures and likely get little satisfaction other than maybe a partial refund after a lot of effort.

As an eBay seller you can not leave negative feedback for a buyer

As for ebay feedback, I don't think the seller can give the buyer negative feedback anymore? Could be wrong.

If you paid via Paypal, file a complaint with them. Do return the item if asked to however.

Under there current sytem you can give limited negative feedback to buyers after the transaction has cleared, the iterm has been deliverid and they have left feedback. If you have not left previuos feedback and there is specific reason other than negative just negative feedack from buyer. Like they threatened negative feedback to extort a partial refund, used exccesive and defaming langauage in a complaint. Made statemens that could be easily considered racist or sexist. Basically it is nearly impossible for a seller to leave negative feedback on a buyer. But they can write a negative comment in the details which no one will likely read other the seller and it will not effect there Ebay rating.

If this is the item, he's using a photo of a 7 speed and stating that it's a 5 speed.
Sunrace M2A 5 Speed 14 28 Freewheel Black Zinc HG Shimano Index Compatible | eBay

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=395053

It seems to me that all you know is two ebay sellers are out of the shiny Sunrace freewheels. Perhaps you should check this guy out (unsure of the teeth count you are looking for). Sunrace Bicycle Freewheel Free Wheel 5 Speed 14 28 New | eBay this buyer is cheaper than amazon and at least his picture is of a 5 speed. Also out of 21,000 sales, only 3 negatives.

.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=395057

@Uncle Randy, my post states i had the same problem with two ebay sellers. they both used the same 7-speed photo. i did not recognize this the first time. but it worked out, as the seller sent me a return label and said my cost would be refunded.

so, with the second seller (ichigear), i noticed it was also a pic of a 7-speed. to avoid the same issue again, i asked what it looked like. the seller said it was "shiny" like the photo, so i purchased it. but it was brown and black.

ichigear will not return my messages.

yes, i should have maybe purchased that one. but before purchasing that one, i would have also sent a message asking about its color. this is not to say i would receive a shiny one, though, as ichigear has demonstrated.

fortunately, my third attempt (with amazon) was successful.

before my third attempt, i contacted a third ebay seller (kakko12), but did not receive a reply until i had already purchased from amazon. the reply read, "these sunrace [freewheels] are brown and blackish. they did a running change this year, so no more shiny ones."

so that was nice to hear -- a big ebay bicycle parts seller that actually knew the item.

Yes and that stock photo is about 3years out of a different model.

ebay gets a bad rap sometimes. i don't like it. it's a tremendous resource for me. i've only been building bikes for about four years now, and have purchased about 120 items from ebay. i've run into only about three problems in all that time before this one. two things i wanted to communicate here:

- beware the sunrace 5-speed material and appearance from ebay sellers, even after you ask about its appearance.

- beware seller:ichigear for anything.

Just good to know you are anyone can add them to there blocked list and not have to deal with them as a seller or buyer.

Ebay gets a bad rap because, as a seller, you no longer have much in the way of "rights".

A lot of changes over the years have made ebay more seller-unfriendly, especially when it comes to the ability to communicate issues with them.

In a lot of cases, they treat sellers like suckers.

i finally found a phone number for ichigear and will call them tomorrow.

i'd like to ask you guys a different ebay question, separate from this freewheel purchase problem: is there a simple ebay email address or phone number to use for customer support? one of my purchases (a winning auction) is not showing up in my recent purchases list, and i'd like to leave the seller positive feedback. i emailed him, and he doesn't know the answer.

as said before, i've only ever left postive feeback, and my three previous issues were all resolved between me and the seller.

Call (866) 540-3229. Opening a case in the resolution center will get the seller's attention. The last time I complained about a seller not reimbursing me for return shipping, the ebay CSR gave me a $10 coupon code.

Some sellers figure they can get away with fraud because it's ebay. Those are the ones who deserve negative feedback IMO. If you don't want to leave a negative or a neutral, don't leave any feedback.

Having one account for buying and one for selling is a good idea.

The right for a seller to leave retaliatory negative feedback was a very bad idea. I'm glad they changed it and I sell on ebay, too. If you get a negative from a buyer you can dispute it and get it dropped. I've never had to do that but I know someone who has.

Ebay wants buyers and sellers to communicate through ebay so they can monitor all their communications. You can always include your phone number in your listing as text or as a graphic.

Thanks for the info.
Freewheels with cogs in different colors are just plain bad design. Stupid and ugly.

^ yeah. now, i could probably get the white writing off the biggest (black) cog using acetone. that would help some. i mean, who wants to see "lock ring" or "fluid drive" in big ugly letters on his nice old peugeot? but why settle for a brown and black freewheel when a shiny one can be had that matches the other components?

i ain't a buildin' no camo'd-out bike fer huntin' varmints an' wutnuts.

Actually not with most the change in color usually indicates a power large jump between cogs kinda helpfull when picking freewheels not to use out of the bins at the bike coop.

He can't leave you bad feedback

What did Ichi have to say, Billy Chuck?

That does not strike me as a terribly good business model.

It seems to be working out fine for them. As a buyer I'm glad I have the protections ebay offers, though I do feel for small sellers who will sometimes get a jerk buyer.

the trick is getting these guys on the phone. i think they're going to send me a return label, but we'll see.

the first seller, discountbicycle603, sent me a nice message saying they've refunded the purchase and have lifted the listing due to the incorrect photo. very good service by them.