misterb

So while building my first fixie and ran across these on ebay... https://cgi.ebay.com/43mm-Deep-V-Aero...ht_9442wt_1269

Worst mistake ever... 1st complaint was that they were horribly packaged... No protection between the wheels whatsoever. Both wheels had a dent and scratch that probably occurred during shipping. The build quality of these are crap (I will post pics later). I wouldn't have paid $75.00 for these. On another note, the seller was responsive and the original shipment was received very quickly.

Then I decided to get a pair of Black Deep V's to have a red wheel in the back and black wheel up front. So I try again on Ebay. Found a pair, bought them and shipping took almost two weeks. I was happy to receive them but when I opened the box up, whaaalaaa, a nice pair of B43's in a completely different color than what I ordered. Wrong wheel, wrong color, and the only good thing is that these wheels are going for twice the amount I paid. Sold one so far and have the other on Ebay.

Both sellers had 99%+ feedback from over 1000 users each. For the seller of the red wheels, feedback from users were that the wheels were "great"... guess my standards are a little higher.

As of now, I went ahead and bought a Aerospoke rear from my LBS for $300 and am currently on the market for a Red B43 up front from somewhere local!

Live and learn but just though I'd put my experience up for any newbies like myself!

BurntPocketHole

so you went thru all that trouble and still ended up with MSW's though no brake?

misterb

@BurntPocketHole.... Waiting for my Front brake... and still considering if I'm gonna paint the Aerospoke red.

spcialzdspksman

How much longer is that fork compared to your stock one? There seems to be some excessive TT slope on that Langster...

LupinIII

it's on a hill. look at the slope between bottoms of tires

Tomo_Ishi

You ought to communicate with sellers (or buyers) and make certain it is the product you are bidding on (or selling) immediately after the bid. Ebay people aren't Amazon, it's a flee-market. And, people make mistakes; nothing new. ... I think those stuff sound like you are at fault.

(I recommend not posting negative reviews on Ebay, because, from what you tell me, sellers gonna have something to say to you, too. Accumulate negative reviews enough and you might get banned from some 37337 auction items in the future.)

jhaber

fwiw i got an awesome deals on my wheelset through ebay, way cheaper than anything I could get in canada, still true as the day I got them over a year + ago

misterb

It's a stock fork

misterb

So it was my mistake by them sending me Gold B43's and the auction was for Black Deep V's and the other seller not packaging their wheels in an acceptable manner causing me to get dented and scratched wheels? FYI... been an Ebay member for over 8 years and have sold and bought plenty. As I said before... READ before you reply next time...

misterb

I've gotten some awesome deals one ebay too... just not with wheels...

Snacklord

Fixed that for you.... that way you won't have to go thru the process of retracting your bid....



it obviously was not the buyers fault in this situation....

I've been on ebay for 11 years and usually have had great buying/selling experiences....
every so often a mistake is made, but we are all humans.... humans make mistakes....

even buying from reputable shops, you sometimes encounter human mistakes, etc....
poor packaging, the wrong item sent, etc.... live and learn....

gobby1095

Yeah it seems to me in the first situation that it wasent really ebays fault. Buying sketchy looking wheels with no name components does not sound like a good decision, especially for $160 with crappy tires/cog etc that will need replacing anyways.

You can definitely find good wheel deals on ebay, these have formula hubs, dt spokes, mavic rims, all proven components and "pro built" for only 130 shipped. And the buyer seems more professional.

TejanoTrackie 

OP - I don't know how much buying you have done on eBay, but there are some basic rules that I have used to good result:

1) Always look to non-eBay online stores first before getting anything Buy-It-Now on eBay. Ebay charges hefty fees to their sellers, and that is passed onto the buyer. Check Velomine, Ben's Vendio, World Class Cycles, Universal Cycles etc first before pulling the trigger on some unknown eBay seller. In rare cases, such as the recent blowout of Cane Creek track wheels, there are some good deals to be found, but these are exceptions.

2) Don't buy from a seller that requires that you pay return postage if the item is faulty or incorrect. A lot of eBay sellers are like this, which is why I mostly use reputable online stores, rather than eBay. Recently Ben's Vendio made a mistake in a shipment of wheels to me, and not only paid return shipping but arranged for pickup at my home so I didn't have to drop it off at UPS.

3) Use eBay the way it was meant to be used, not as another online retailer, but as a true auction site where you have a genuine opportunity to get a good deal on a product. I buy almost all my tubular tires in eBay auctions, and have never paid more than 50% of retail/store price for them.

Snacklord

I bought that exact same wheelset from that same seller at $139.95 shipped to my door....

Great quality, great packaging, and great price too..!!

wroomwroomoops

Those do seem like an excellent set of wheels. Good rims, good spokes, OK hubs - all in all, excellent value.

Tomo_Ishi

Darn you guys. Do you know how much a decent order built wheel set cost in Tokyo? ... Somewhere in 300 USD. ... Either way you got an awesome deal. Aerospokes go like 500-600 USD, too! I am totally jealous.

wroomwroomoops

Build your own.

Tomo_Ishi

I do. You know that.

lol that's the page I use it like a bible.

wmgreene85

I also bought those wheels early in my FG career. Everyone should note they are extremely dangerous because the wheels are not 700c!! They are sub-standard sized and dangerous because there is not enough wall for the tire to sit adequately. As I was riding the front wheel just fell off! After taking it to my LBS they measured it and long story short was able to get three fingers between the tire and rim when installing the tire and tube. Not good wheels. Utility over fashion.

robotphood

So how much did you pay for the B43s? I would be stoked if I paid half of what B43s were worth and got them on accident. Off to craigs to pocket the extra cash for a better wheelset.

misterb

I got the B43's for $129.00 w/ free shipping. I've sold one so far for $120 on Craigslist and have the other on Ebay now. True, that I did make out on this one but still don't have a "good" front wheel. Will definitely be getting the front on Craigslist or at my LBS.