Why every man and his dog shouldn't get into the e-bike game to make a quick buck!

[Mark Loveridge]

I've been meaning to write a blog about this for a long time, but never got round to it. I must be clear there are some great companies out there that go to China and sell with great support. My opinions are the ones who are about to buy a container, dump it and disappear!

Why every man and his dog shouldn’t go to China and buy a container of e-bikes or e-scooters « My electric road

 

[Eaglerider]

Agreed, the fallout from shoddy traders affects us all. But I guess the only real defense we have is "Caveat Emptor".
If there is no evidence of ongoing support structure, which is essential for any machinery based product, I wouldn't buy anything from them, at any discount.

However, some folk are suckers for a cheap deal!!

 

[Mark Loveridge]

Agreed, the fallout from shoddy traders affects us all. But I guess the only real defense we have is "Caveat Emptor".
If there is no evidence of ongoing support structure, which is essential for any machinery based product, I wouldn't buy anything from them, at any discount.

However, some folk are suckers for a cheap deal!!

Absolutely, a short sighted cheap deal!!

 

[eddieo]

Everyone has to start somewhere....I think some established names started a bit like this. Not all have the resources of Bosch/Panasonic and the like.

I personally would not go near an unbranded ebay bike. But time and time again I see people coming on here looking for guidance and advice, They then appear to ignore said advice, buy something I have only vaguely heard of, then come back a bit later on to share their surprise and disappointment etc....

 

[Mark Loveridge]

Everyone has to start somewhere....I think some established names started a bit like this. Not all have the resources of Bosch/Panasonic and the like (have not read blog yet)

I personally would not go near an unbranded ebay bike. But time and time again I see people coming on here looking for guidance and advice, Then appear to ignore said advice, buy something I have never heard of, then come back surprised a bit later on to share their disappointment etc....

Yep- everyone has to start somewhere and as they mean to go on. Many have. As long as there are long term goals and they plan to continue in the market. Its when there is no long term strategy and the focus is to buy cheap, sell cheap and then onto the next opportunity

 

[Scatty]

Then you get the ones that had the money blown it all & then cease trading, also leaving people in the s### .

 

[Mark Loveridge]

Then you get the ones that had the money blown it all & then cease trading, also leaving people in the s### .

Scatty, I hope that comment isn't aimed at UM?

In the UK we were very lean on spending with a very supportive team. In fact, we are still supporting customers now and also supporting Halfords customers (the distribution agreement ceased 6 months ago), and until we entered administration we were still sending parts at our cost FOC.

Since entering administration you won't find one customer that hasn't been tended to and put back on the road. Hopefully we will have some good news in the next couple of weeks.

In saying that I do take your point as a generalisation, but here in Cheltenham we were not responsible for the demise and have done all we can to look after dealers and customers whilst our hands are tied.

 

[indalo]

I personally would not go near an unbranded ebay bike. But time and time again I see people coming on here looking for guidance and advice, Then appear to ignore said advice, buy something I have never heard of, then come back surprised a bit later on to share their disappointment etc....

Yes, that's a very good point Ed and I've seen one or two examples of that quite recently. I'm a big fan of ebay and would have no hesitation in buying a bike from there but it does require a bit of homework first and then a judgement needs to be made about the seller. I bought my bike from a seller on ebay and have never regretted it for a moment.

As it happens, I've just been looking at ebay this morning and there's a few newly listed ebikes which might appeal to potential buyers who read these pages and take heed of the reviews and comments from members. I'm not referring to those unbranded bikes or ones with names I've never heard of; I'm talking about Wisper, Tonaro, Life Cycle and Gazelle. With Christmas coming up, there may be room for a bargain to be had with at least a couple of those but I'm making no recommendation with regard to any of those. If anyone wants a look, three of them are on p1 & one on p2 if "Newly listed" is selected.

In the case of the Gazelle, I know the seller has re-listed it at least twice as he can't sell it. Personally, it's too much money being asked but for a bit less, it's a nice bike for not a lot of money....little dealer network though. The Wisper could need a battery but anyone buying from other than a mainstream dealer should check the price and understand that any bike of two years or older may well need an expensive battery replacement.

Indalo

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Well. if you have the mechanical/electrical ability to sort things out, you can take the risk. For most of the cheapo Chinese bikes, the components are cheap catalogue items that can be sourced anywhere. From what I've seen and heard, most of the problems are due to poor assembly and soldering and can be fairly easily remedied if you know what you're doing. As an end customer, there are opportunities to be had if you can get these container bikes cheap enough knowing the risks. However, as Mark suggests, It's not a good idea to be a seller of these bikes because many of the customers won't have a clue and often neither do the sellers, so the seller is left with a heap of returned junk. I know one seller who got a load of very bent frames, but luckily he had a good relationship with the factory so was able to sort it out

Anybody got a container of cheap bikes for me to sort out?