eBay bike buyers - what's on their mind?

[Mudskipper]

I've been watching a few nc23's and nc29's on eBay to get a feel for the market ( hoping to buy one when I pass my test.)

The bike in the link has had a relative bidding frenzy compared to similar bikes recently with original bodywork. I'm sceptical of repainted sportsbikes, as surely they've almost certainly been pranged? This bike has only a few months MOT, and they guy can't even find the cert at the moment.

Low mileage, fair enough, but nontheless I don't think it's worth as much as it's going for. He may be being honest about the care it's had, but at the end of the day you're taking his word for it, and he's hardly going to say he thrashed the nuts off it and left in outside all winter, is he?

My questions are:

a) Am I wrong? and

b) Do buyers of this kind of bike favour flashy new paintwork, and the sellers spiel about 'labour of love' etc, over long MOT's and original bodywork?

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Honda-CBR-400-NC23-29-Fast-Reliable-Headturner-L-K_W0QQitemZ320062100252QQihZ011QQcategoryZ9806QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

ps, Apologies if the seller is a BCF member and is genuine!!!
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CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[Pete.]

Custom painted bikes are rarely worth what stock colour ones are, when you're looking at this type of thing. The bodywork looks clean but the single solid colour (that colour anyway) doesn't suit it well and the wheels are too bright. Dunno what the engine covers are done with but they look horrible and the forks look well salt-rashed too. It would only have cost a tenner to change the grubby numberplate too if it were such a "labour of love".

In my opinion the bidding has already passed what that bike is worth. I wouldn't buy that.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Blau Zedong]

That paintjob says "cheap blowover" to me I'm afraid. Would always prefer a bike with original paint, even if it was tatty. In some cases people spray bikes due to age, but 99% of the time it's because the bike has spent time upside down. He was just lucky a mate had a couple of litres of metallic burgundy paint going begging. I bet if you saw the bike in the flesh it has fibreglass panels and / or signs of plastic welding.

Horrible
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[Mudskipper]

Glad it's not just me then!

Good for me though, as hopefully I'll have less competition for the bikes with original bodywork, as everyone else will be dazzled by the likes of these!!

Good stuff.
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CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[Annabella]

The engine covers look original, they were gold from new so probably haven't been touched.

The colour is awful and having a solid colour on that sized bike just makes it look even smaller.

To be honest, if I were the seller I would have already got the replacement MOT certificate, or had the bike re-MOT'd rather than say that I had lost it.
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Avast! Pirates ahoy!
I did Cadwell!
www.bikepics.com/members/bella

[Annabella]

The engine covers look original, they were gold from new so probably haven't been touched.

The colour is awful and having a solid colour on that sized bike just makes it look even smaller.

To be honest, if I were the seller I would have already got the replacement MOT certificate, or had the bike re-MOT'd rather than say that I had lost it.
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Avast! Pirates ahoy!
I did Cadwell!
www.bikepics.com/members/bella

[irving]

>>

[Keir]

i did it with my fazer (see write up in my sig) - no regrets. Just ask questions and if you turn up to a wrong 'un walk away. yeah you may get neg feedback but why be held to ransom cos of some muppet who tries to rip you off with a shoddy bike.
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Current : '08 Yamaha FZ1s
Previous: '99 Honda CBR 600FX, 03 ZX636 B1H, 99 Fazer 600 (red), 02 GSX-R 600 K2, 00 SV650s (red), 2008 ZX10R, 97 Bandit 1200N, 04 ZX6RR K1H, 04 GSX-R 1000, 98 Fazer 600 (gold), 05 Madness 110 Pit bike, 04 CR125R, 00 SV650s (black), 06 KTM 625 SMC, 99 SRAD 600 track bike, 03 SV650, 98 Bandit 1200N, Bandit 600SY, 03 GSX-R 600 K3, 01 GSX-R 600, 01 Fazer 600 (black), VFR 400 NC30 x3, 78 Honda Dream, 00 Speedfight 50

[Villers]

I agree, ebay is ridiculous for bikes. You try and be as honest as you can as a seller but you cant trust anyone else. A while back I was selling an RS125 worth about 1700 odd quid. I had poeple bidding 15 quid and then never coming back - whats that about.

As for the non standard spray job, you will only be able to find out the truth if you have a good look at it, and as always - if in doubt walk away.

Im not one for criticising every respray though, I nearly bought a set of camel honda fairings before my bike was even in an accident!! PLus the bike mags are quick to say 'respray means its been in a crash so should be avoided' yet RiDE did a report on why resprays are bad then also an article on how to buy a crash repairable bike within 15 pages of each other. Its up to you what you are willing to put up with and the overriding factor is prob going to be cost
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RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille > SV1000S > Street Triple 765 RS

[bunglehaze]

In all honesty on a bike of that reg I would not think it a bad idea to respray it - in fact I have my ZZR due for a respray in spring just to remove some of the 13 years of tattyness. I think I have read a fair amount about respraying and its seems a popular misconception that respray's devalue a bike on the grounds it has probably been scratched as long as the bike itself is a nice example.

Mine might be a 13yr old bike but come spring its getting a full tidy just so I can be proud to ride it around with newer models, nothing wrong with that in my eyes and I certainly wont be asking for less money when selling time comes because its a different colour (well in fact not all that different)

cheers

leigh
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[Blau Zedong]

[V2]

Bidder Bid Amount Date of bid Bidding Details

Bidder 2 £1,420.00 20-Dec-06 08:05:11 GMT View


Bidder 1 £1,400.00 17-Dec-06 15:07:49 GMT View


Bidder 2 £1,400.00 18-Dec-06 21:33:28 GMT View


Bidder 2 £1,350.00 18-Dec-06 21:33:17 GMT View


Bidder 2 £1,300.00 17-Dec-06 22:44:51 GMT View


Bidder 1 £1,250.00 16-Dec-06 16:20:12 GMT View


Bidder 2 £1,250.00 17-Dec-06 22:44:39 GMT View


Bidder 1 £1,000.00 16-Dec-06 16:17:31 GMT View


That looks well suss to me as well!

[Colin G]

any auctions over £100 now automatic hides the bidders usernames to protect identity, only the seller can see all names. Hence the reason its got 'bidder 1, bidder 2, etc'.
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Speed doesn't kill. The sudden stopping does.
Current Bike: Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird
Previous Bikes: 1989 Honda Vision(Sold), 1983 Honda H100 (Sold), 2000 Kymco Stryker 125 (Sold), 1991 Suzuki GS500E (Blown Up), 1994 Suzuki GS500E (Blown Up), 1993 Kawasaki ZZR600 E1 (written off), 1999 Suzuki GSXR750 SRAD (Sold), 2003 Aprilia RSV1000 Mille (Sold)

[shonajoy]

People get caught up in the auction madness though - I've sold a good few things for twice their value!

I bought my bike off ebay, and got a good deal - I didn't see it first, I think it depends what you are buying though, the bikes that are more popular obviously there ar loads of them about, mine is ten years old so not so many.

[Mudskipper]

gixxer500 - (I think) what brewer is saying is that perhaps bidder 2 could be a schill bidder? I've seen it happen on bikes before.

Must admit, although introduced by eBay for genuine reasons, the 'Bidder 1/2/3 etc' thing is FECKING annoying!!
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CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[Mudskipper]

[krebsy]

A friend of mine runs an E-bay business. the reason why things go for over the odds on the site is simple. People don't necessarily like to get a bargain. They like to "win" by out-bidding others. many times he has sold stuff for over the odds because people believe that "as it's on E-Bay it's going to be cheaper" and then get caught up in the bidding frenzy..

K.
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[Marci]

Overpriced, but meh - I actually quite like how it looks... just wants some stickers on it... but I would say that.... it looks identical to my Mito more or less (see link in sig).
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[V2]

ahhh thats cleared things up a bit, so now, as a buyer you cant see if you are against a genuine bidder or not, (i was thinking of the possibility of someones mate always bidding on his/her auctions) i always used to check the 'other items for sale' to see if the same names cropped up, Well done ebay!!!

[Aikman666]

[Duckyboos]

I reckon I got lucky then... I chose to 'Buy It Now' and even paid him a hundred bucks to hold it for me a week or so, and when I went to hand over the hard cash he said he wouldn't hold me to Ebay rules, if I didn't like it he'd give me my hundred quid back. It was in perfect nick tho, immaculately clean - he prolly knew he'd sell it again with no problems.