AeroTucker Posted November 7, 2018 Share Hi all, So I had an idea and I just wanted to run it by my fellow Hubbers to see your thoughts. Here it goes I am quite active on the marketplace, looking for nice little upgrades for my bike as well as selling off any items I don't use anymore. I've noticed that I tend to look for more local listings as the whole process of the sale is easier and the chance of getting scammed goes down significantly. I know that the Hub is a lot safer than other online sites with a rating system in place but there is always that element of doubt with unrated sellers, especially with a sport as expensive as cycling So I thought, there must be some sort of service that can protect us in the case of an inter-provincial sale.. Turns out there isn't much. I have heard of a "vault" on Gumtree that holds the money while the product is being shipped, but to my knowledge there isn't something like this on the Hub. Anyway so considering I am still a student and that my riding doesn't take up all my free time, I figured why not do the run around for people wanting to buy cycling related products in Cape Town. I would essentially meet up with the seller, check that the product is as described in the listing, accompany them to the postal service and just make sure that the item is posted to the buyer. I tend to get overexcited with new projects so I have already uploaded an advert in classifieds under - "entries and services" - "other". The fee would be mostly for petrol with a little bit added to help maintain my cheeky "I think my bike deserves an upgrade" lifestyle Let me know your thoughts or if you have any advice. Thanks a million robbybzgo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbybzgo Posted November 7, 2018 Share I personally think it could be a great idea.The problem would be...what you would charge for your service? If you get the runaround from a fraudster or end up wasting a lot of your timethe prospective client might not want to pay for your hard work if it came to nought. As I live in Durban and it would seem that most sales originate in the Cape or GautengI often forgo a good purchase due to hassle factor of not being able to suss out the goods. Your idea has merit but might suffer if the goods are low priced and the charge for your service might not make the transaction feasible. Good luck with your idea and I might give you a shout if any good items come up for sale in the Cape. AeroTucker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloukrans Posted November 7, 2018 Share You asked advice. Concentrate on your studies. fanievb, kvdp, Prince Albert Cycles and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORNE Posted November 7, 2018 Share cool idea...would be great to have someone in GP like this too, I wish alot of times i can buy stuff there but im not willing to take the risk. But being from there originally...I get that it might not always be feasible. GP dwarfs cape town ITO distances traveled.On another note...Then you also get 'lucky' ppl like me who have done numerous good sales on here and never been blessed with a positive feedback rating . I always feel bad to ask...It is sortoff expected if you ask me. Edited November 7, 2018 by morneS555 AeroTucker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegan Warrior Posted November 7, 2018 Share Seems like a sound concept, especially for the higher priced items. Perhaps if your idea gains traction and admin is on board you could get some sort of certification to give you AeroTucker a little more credibility in your endeavor. Then more people would know about and use your service. It does sound promising as I think we would all like to hear a few less scam stories and see more postitive reviews. Let’s see what the other members think. All the best! MBMtbGirl and AeroTucker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeroTucker Posted November 7, 2018 Share I personally think it could be a great idea.The problem would be...what you would charge for your service? If you get the runaround from a fraudster or end up wasting a lot of your timethe prospective client might not want to pay for your hard work if it came to nought. As I live in Durban and it would seem that most sales originate in the Cape or GautengI often forgo a good purchase due to hassle factor of not being able to suss out the goods. Your idea has merit but might suffer if the goods are low priced and the charge for your service might not make the transaction feasible. Good luck with your idea and I might give you a shout if any good items come up for sale in the Cape. Thanks for the advice, you've made some very good points in saying it wouldn't be feasible for the lower priced items and that I might get sent on a wild goose chase to no avail. For the lower priced items, I think it would only be feasible if the item for sale in Cape Town was significantly cheaper than it would be in your respective city. With regards to running around to know avail, I think there is always a chance of being scammed so I'd rather the outcome be me going to a Postnet and no one shows up as apposed to someone being scammed out of thousands of rand. Hopefully enough other people use the service to cover the costs of if this does indeed happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Posted November 7, 2018 Share plenty effort with little/no reward? Why not ask seller to go to local bike shop and have someone there check it out? (If a seller doesn't want to take it in to a dealer then that may be your first warning sign). I understand there may be a LBS which doesn't want to help or doesn't have the time, but I often have those requests where people bring parts or bikes to me to check first. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes I can rather recommend new sale which benefits shop and customer- scenarios vary considerably. Used purchases are always a risk. The buyer knows this, but the price is the deciding factor. if it too good to be true then it usually is. If sales contacts are what we need then perhaps a database can be created of people willing to help in the case of validating product and authenticity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted November 7, 2018 Share I think it's a great idea, I woud pay for it. Probably not for small items, but for things with a 5k+ value I definitely would. That said, it will all come down to your pricing... Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket-Boy Posted November 7, 2018 Share https://www.paywithshepherd.com/ fanievb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the nerd Posted November 7, 2018 Share https://www.paywithshepherd.com/ No longer exists... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me rida my bicycle Posted November 7, 2018 Share It's a good idea as Grease Monkey said for more expensive items like 5k +. But as for me I always say there's 2 people I trust the one is me and the other is not you. Nothing personal but when it comes to bikes and parts I want to see it myself because lots of time there's things you can't see on even the most detailed photos and people's idea of condition differs by night and day sometimes. I have seen stuff said to be like new that looked like it was dragged home and other people who said it's well used to be in excellent condition.You also leaving yourself open to the fire squad in the case of condition. But ja this is just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCD Posted November 8, 2018 Share Unfortunate truth: at the hub your trustworthiness is directly related to your post count. With your 5 posts you won't get far. So rather do what Bloukrans said, and in your spare time ride your bike!! Ah, since I don't star with many posts either you don't need to listen...... good luck anyway MORNE 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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