Is Dave at Kudos having a laugh?

[shemozzle999]

Too good to be true? free delivery

NEW Kudos Cycles KING Alloy Frame Electric Mountain E Bike | eBay

 

[oigoi]

Uh Oh some have fallen off the back of a lorry..........

 

[RobF]

Uh Oh some have fallen off the back of a lorry..........

A Chinese lorry by the look of the seller.

 

[GaRRy]

A Chinese lorry by the look of the seller.

At a guess the manufactuer still has some bikes to off load that Dave doesnt want due to new models ?.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

When you pot a product on Ebay with no reserve and a realistic starting price, the market will tell you how much they think it's worth.

 

[eddieo]

I thought these generic Chinese bikes and the name the property of kudos UK? or more likely, it might be just kudos Dave unloading unwanted stock. But as from a new seller, with no history suspicious, maybe ordered a container or two to many........

As for eBay finding the right value/price level...it's easily manipulated in an upward direction to draw in the gullible

Edit: just noticed they are from china with free postage. 5th /12th May estimated delivery. Subject to duty and VAT....can't imagine Dave being happy with this...

 

[Jeremy]

The seller joined ebay yesterday and has no feedback, so I'd very strongly suspect a scam.

Stay well clear, would be my advice.

Looking further, it seems he's also offering an HPC ebike, with a photo that looks like it's nicked from the HPC website. Pretty much confirms in my mind that this is a scammer.

The Kudos King photo has also been copied from the Kudos website.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes, Sorry. I just noticed it's located in China. I hope the factory isn't doing a dirty on Kudos. There's also a King Carbon listed by another seller, although it doesn't mention the Kudos name.
new CARBON FIBER KARMA38 ELECTRIC 26" BIKE BICYCLE -250W MOTOR,36V BATTERY/18" | eBay

 

[Geebee]

My reaction as well Jeremy.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I doubt very much that it's a scam because you have a level of protection from Paypal; However, I wouldn't expect the bike to be exactly as described (probably cheaper battery). There's been many Kudos clones appearing on Ebay because Kudos bikes are based on Generic Chinese bikes. This is the first time I've seen one with the Kudos name on it, but I suspect that the bike would arrive without Kudos decals on it.

 

[Jeremy]

I doubt very much that it's a scam because you have a level of protection from Paypal; However, I wouldn't expect the bike to be exactly as described (probably cheaper battery). There's been many Kudos clones appearing on Ebay because Kudos bikes are based on Generic Chinese bikes. This is the first time I've seen one with the Kudos name on it, but I suspect that the bike would arrive without Kudos decals on it.

The way this ebay scam works has been documented elsewhere. In essence the seller makes the deal and promises delivery, but then makes excuses as to why delivery is going to take a long time. Some fall for it, and by the time they realise that the thing isn't going to arrive they are too late to start a Paypal dispute. The seller then disappears and springs up under a new alias.

The giveaway here is the HPC ebike he's selling. There was a debate on ES about whether these were "made in the USA" as claimed by HPC, and the consensus was that they were at least assembled in the USA, albeit from parts sourced in the Far East. Unless this seller is sourcing parts from all the same vendors and then assembling ebikes identical to the HPC models, then it's a scam.

The fact that the scammer is using photos taken from the Kudos and HPC websites is also a bit of a giveaway.

 

[eddieo]

and using someone lses name/reputation in this imstance kudos Dave's. Still think its chinese factory trying to unload stock they probably expected to send here anyway?

 

[Jeremy]

and using someone lses name/reputation in this imstance kudos Dave's. Still think its chinese factory trying to unload stock they probably expected to send here anyway?

Except the HPC ebike he's also listing isn't assembled in China, but in the USA, albeit from parts sourced from various locations in China and Taiwan. I don't know about Kudos, but do know with a fair degree of certainty that the HPC bikes aren't actually assembled in China.

 

[103Alex1]

As for eBay finding the right value/price level...it's easily manipulated in an upward direction to draw in the gullible

It does happen - and quite a lot with bikes. Always look at the bid histories during the auction - some sellers set up bogus profiles to make it look like an item is in demand and stimulate bidding. They effectively bid against you to encourage a price hike. If all fails they claim a timewaster tried to buy the item and relist it. Sometimes that's true but other times the "timewaster" is one of their own profiles or ones set up by a mate.

Some people set up those profiles just to get a 1st option on an item for "collect in person" and then don't follow through or try to bargain down the price when they go to collect. Seller is left either selling for less or having to re-list. Those sorts of buyers are not bothered by their rubbish ratings if reported as they close off the profile and start a new one.

Lots of counter-bidding by unrated purchasers (or ones with 1-2 *s) on e-bay always makes me very suspicious. If you see that happening, be very sure how much you are willing to bid up to and bow out. I've been watching all the above happen quite a bit with bikes recently. Bikes seem particularly prone to these bad practices, but it's the only place I know other than Gumtree with a steady stream of interesting 2nd hand bikes to look at. If anyone knows any other sites which are less problematic, let me know !

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Ebay is not the snake-pit that some would have you believe. I've bought 5 bikes, my van, car, boat, cooker, TV, PC, more than 20 expensive guitars, amps, etc, etc, totalling more tham 2000 items. I've never had a problem yet apart from a faulty drill that was refunded and some seeds never arrived for which I was also refunded.

There does seem to be something suspicious about these bikes. The two sellers must be linked because their listings are at the same time and similar items, same location and feedback rating. As I said before, I'm sure something will arrive, but probably won't be the same as what's described. The Carbon fibre bike is also available from a reputable dealer in USA on Ebay for over $3000 (which made the old Kudos King Carbon a bargain), and it looks like his photos have been copied:
Carbon Fiber KARMA38 Electric 26" Bike Bicycle 250W Motor 36V Battery 18" Frame | eBay
If nothing arrives, you're totally protected by Paypal provided that you follow their dispute procedures. If a bike does arrive, but isn't what you want, then you have the cost of sending it back to get a refund. When you add the cost of sending it back to the value you have compared with what you spent, most people would drop it and cut their losses. Maybe that's the scam. At the moment £300 for any electric bike could still be a good deal.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I traced the USA bikes to here:
Electric Bicycle: Karma38 | St-bicycle
As far as I can see, It's the Kudos King Carbon with added green flashes on the frame. I hope they know about the battery studs pulling out!

 

[Kudoscycles]

Hi Guys....I know nothing about this. We only have 8 Kudos King bikes left to last until our new performance range arrives and at £895.00 they are good value-2 went out today,so I have no reason to offload them cheaply.
My supplier in China is a big company they wouldn't bother with selling the odd bike on e-bay.
I suspect a scam,especially as the seller has no record but I cannot understand what he is trying to achieve.
My advice-proceed with care.
Hope that helps
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[Geebee]

Paypal will only give you your money back if they can recover it from the seller, so if the seller hits and runs you get nothing back.

One of their current scams is to sell hundreds of cheap items and get an excellent rating, then sell a lot of expensive item over a short time and run.

Ebay is not a hot bed of scams but there are quite a few popping up lately.

 

[Jeremy]

Paypal will only give you your money back if they can recover it from the seller, so if the seller hits and runs you get nothing back.

One of their current scams is to sell hundreds of cheap items and get an excellent rating, then sell a lot of expensive item over a short time and run.

Ebay is not a hot bed of scams but there are quite a few popping up lately.

I agree, the "hit-and-run" scam is one that Paypal and ebay can't seem to do much about. Paypal will usually transfer the money to the seller pretty quickly, and if the seller then does a runner there isn't much Paypal can do about it. The situation with Chinese scammers is even harder for Paypal, as I understand that there isn't often a great deal of help from the Chinese authorities when it comes to dealing with small-time scammers like this.

I agree, ebay isn't that full of scammers, but there are a fair few around. Usually, like this one, they stick out like a sore thumb, at least to anyone who knows a bit about the product they're offering. They rely on selling to punters who don't spot the scam and fall for the hype, of which, unfortunately, there are a fair few about.

 

[Kudoscycles]

I am sure its a scam,we are working on advising e-bay.
Dave
Kudoscycles