Hi all, I'm a newbie and am currently looking to upgrade some components. I've seen some listings on ebay for brand new groupsets at WAY below retail. The sellers have perfect feedback ratings and the photos of the components make them appear to be totally legit, but I just don't see how they can be selling them so cheap. Any experience with this? Thanks.

i've bought individual pieces, all without problems

cheap groupsets might be oem packs, or older series, or stock picked up from auction, 'grey' imports etc.

not specific to groupsets, but distributor -> retailer pricing is typically far lower than rrp, 40-60%, even less if there's a promo running, if someone bulk buys at these rates and is willing to sell at low margin they'll easily undercut typical prices

That may be true of Tiagra level but sure as hell is not the case on Dura Ace level.

Thanks for the above reply, sungod. Makes sense about the low margin, especially if the seller is just operating from home or a small warehouse. Specifically, I saw complete 2013 SRAM Red groups for roughly $800 less than regular retail. A big savings that would lessen the blow of upgrading, but something about it feels sketchy.

It's quite simple.

Bike manufacturer orders 5000 groupsets, uses 3000 for production & sells remainder on. That deal would be set up in advance of the delivery of parts, so the surplus goods barely stop before being passed on.

Recipient of the 2000 groups pays below regular wholesale for the groups, so can sell for a big discount off retail without taking a big hit on their profit.

Looks like a winning formula all round, everyone's happy. They're making money & you get a deal. Until you need the warranty.............

Then you're stuffed, because the ebay guy can't service the warranty, because the buck stops with him. Sram, Campag, Shimano won't deal with him because they know that they sold those parts to the manufacturer, who sold them on the quiet. No chain of supply, no warranty trail.

I'd just be a little nervous about getting something made of carbon (like a stem or bars) at a crazy low price. Knockoffs/fakes/previously crashed parts might snap at the wrong time like a really fast descent and kill you.

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My Cervelo R5

I personally buy a fair bit from EBay. Lots of great experiences, and the odd bad experience.
I have purchased carbon items, and they have arrived in very good, professionally packaged parcels. Items have been no worse than they would be from my LBS. But always a lot cheaper/ no warranty/ but still genuine items.
About 2% are bad transactions. These have been anything from slow shipping, perfect item but poor packaging, to not arriving at all.
Overall the good for me have well and truly outweighed the bad.

Austke

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2013 Giant TCR Advanced SL 0, 6.92kg
2013 Giant Defy Composite 2 M, 8.5kg - Wife's
Azzurro Torino 8.55g
Fuji 650 10.8kg
Miele Lupa Triple Tandem 38,89kg

Yes. Frequently. Be prepared to return items sold "As new" with mount/wear marks on them. Zero warranty. EBay works under the premise that the seller can scam you any which way so long as when you complain they offer you a full refund when u send back the product. This only works 1-2 weeks after sale.

I shop almost exclusively on ebay (for a lot of stuff, not just bike stuff), and my general thought is that the risk is worth the savings. Mind you, I don't do the "Buy It Now" deals as I tend to see those as being somewhat discounted, but not enough to justify the lack of warranty, support, etc. On the other hand, used, but in good condition items up for auction (as in bid it up) have allowed me to build up bikes that would otherwise be well out of my price range. Ask a lot of questions and carefully inspect items to make sure everything is up to snuff.

As far as warranty, some of the sellers offering new groupsets claim they come with "full manufacturer warranty". Not true?

You're unlikely to know for sure. Campagnolo/Shimano/SRAM all have original owner/retail purchaser clauses in their warranties. If the ebay sellers are getting the components from the method ultimobici described (and ultimately, you'll have no idea how they're getting it), you're buying it two steps down the supply chain instead of just one from a retailer.

I buy lots of things on eBay and sell some too. I've also bought a lot of stuff from the UK web stores (Ribble currently seems cheapest but I've also used Wiggle and Probikekit). How much warranty do you have with bike parts? I've ridden about 200,000 km in the last 15 years and I can count the problems that could be claimed as warranty on one hand. Most problems I've heard about are with shifters, maybe rear derailleurs a bit. Since Ribble's prices are about half retail here, I can pay for a lot of new replacement parts if things break. On the other hand, I feel bad about not buying from my LBS so make sure I buy lots there too and send my friends and acquaintances to them as well.

I do not feel bad about buying on-line stores, ebay, craigslist, this forum.
Right, the warranty expires right before it breaks.

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I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

I've been buying components off ebay quite a lot. Think it's ok if you use reputable sellers. Last year the indexing on a DA STI wore out, and I had it replaced under warranty flawlessly. The seller had to send it to the Shimano distributor, and got back a new one.

That said, if things are under, like, 80% MSRP (for the newest product series), make sure you're not scammed easily.

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Bikes: Raceur, Beateur

I also buy a lot from ebay. I have never had a problem, and the components have always been fine.
But I do exercise a little caution: look at how many sales the seller has made in addition to their ratings. Are they an authorized seller ? ...or if the component is cheap enough sometimes I don't care.
Easton gave me a full refund on an EC90 crank I had bought from an ebay seller, after it debonded from the crank arm, with no problem