Complaint Review: My Scooters and ATVs

This was a brand new motorcyle/bike on eBay listed as an Enduro Hawk 250cc. The item was not as described, I was charged additional unlisted fees, it came unassembled and it's also damaged. The seller purposefully omits details from the listing to get more sales and then blamed for me for not knowing how to assemble a motorcycle!

The bike was listed at $1499 with an immediate $500 PayPal, then supposed to be invoiced the remaining $999. However, after the $500 payment, the seller added $200 on top of the remaining $999 for a total of $1198. He said the additional fees were tax and title; tax because he's in the same state as me and title because the bike has to be titled. Of course, neither of those fees were listed in the item description and stated that "you should have known that".

So I told him to cancel the purchase as with most things, I had a budget and had been searching for a good deal on this bike for months. Adding $200 was a 12.5% increase and I knew I could get it elsewhere for that cost and even a bit cheaper.

Of course he did not want to cancel the purchase. He threatened to charge me $50 if we canceled, which is not appropriate, given the reason. He said it was to "cover his eBay fees". Thing is, when you cancel an eBay transaction, the seller is not charged anything. I used to work for eBay and also used to be an eBay seller so I know this. Eventually I agreed to split the $200 charge with him because I really wanted a bike to ride and I was tired of waiting. I did not agree one bit with how it was handled.

Upon delivery, the container had definitely been a bit damaged but I could not tell if anything inside was damaged. I did tell the seller this.

I couldn't tell if anything was damaged because of a much bigger problem; the bike was NOT assembled and I did not have the skills to assemble it. I told the seller that I had been expecting a ready-to-ride bike, as pictured in the listing. There is no mention in the description of required assembly and we're talking about significant assembly too. Plus, there were no assembly instructions! The seller pointed me to a 13 minute YouTube video which was not sufficient for me to think I could safely assemble a motor vehicle like this. I was not willing to risk my personal safety making guesses; again, this did not appear to be a simple assembly.

Eventually, I paid somebody $300 to put the bike together; it took him over 6 hours and included many things I would never have figured out, including filling a battery with battery acid that was shipped unlabeled in a small plastic container (serious safety concern).

Once assembled, we discovered that the rear wheel was indeed damaged; the bike is unstable and not ride-able. I have now purchased a new tire and tube which has cost me an additional $120. Yet, finding someone to install this has also proved difficult and time consuming. I am still looking and it is now almost 2 months after buying this bike which is effectively useless to me so far.

Throughout all of this, the seller has refused to update the description on his other listings to note the potential cost increases and more importantly, required assembly. I cannot understand why he would not do so if, as he claims, I'm the only person who has ever had these problems. It seems very unfair to put people without mechanical experience in this situation and it's been nothing but time and energy on my part as opposed to a smooth, positive transaction. It's also ended up costing me so much more than the "cheap prices" he claims his customers love. I wish I had just paid $1800 at a reputable place that would have delivered it to me assembled and ready to go. It's already cost me far more when my time and angst is figured in.

This guy is a real piece of work; instead of being up-front and honest about things to gain repeat business, he leaves out important factors that could drive away a handful of sales. All he cares about is the bottom line and it's his loss in the long run. I need another bike once I have this one running and I have a friend who wants a couple of them. You better believe that this seller will not get any of our business so instead of having 4-5 bike sales, he has this 1 which I am disputing in every way possible.

Stay away from him; save yourself. And stay away from eBay too; they refused to honor their guarantee, citing technicalities in how they've worded the document. I'm ashamed to have once been an employee there.