Internet parts seller - www.oldbikebarn.com - Buyer Beware!

[administrator]

From Ray Clepper...

Beware of this place...I placed an order over 3 months ago...everything seemed fine...it showed up 2 weeks later...even though I paid for express....so they fixed that...gave me money back...well...when the order arrived it was missing something..so I quicky called them up..let them know...they said they would look into it and send me the part....about a week goes by...I call...someone says that it's already been shipped(no tracking number to give)...and should be there soon...week..nothing...so I start calling back.....not so easy to get ahold of them anymore...no one answers....or it goes to a voicemail...that is never returned...or the mailbox is full...so I'm getting disturbed..then August rolls by..and they changed the phone message...they're on vacation and special summer hours..I keep calling..emailing..everything...nothing...mailbox is permanently full...I've been trying multiple times a day for over 2 weeks straight..I can't get through...if you call early it says the summer hours thing..call during thier hours..and mailbox is full.

I don't know what's going on here...but this is a serious BUYER BEWARE...

and to top it off...one time I did get to speak to someone early on..and the guy was useless...he said he didn't know anything about the shipment...then said he was one of the owners..and "this isn't my job"...and was totally uncooperative...he wouldn't look for my order...said it was probably on it's way....and said he would call me back when he figured something out...

this is my story..and I'm really pissed at them right now...

~ray clepper~

 

[administrator]

Another burned customer

Another burned customer

Hi Frank,
I was taken by them last year also for a set of fork seals. I went through the emails and phone to get a message from them that they had been scammed by UNSCRUPULOUS other dealers..... I found they had popped back into circulation this year and started after them again and was told they would make it right by Bear, the owner. I've since blasted all of their emails as I know it will never happen. They have a forum set up but don't want anyone to post there, especially if it's a shot at them. Another unsatisfied (and short $20) victim.
Bob Paul aka cabinover, beautiful downtown Fair Haven, VT. cabinover@hotmail.com

 

[administrator]

From Chicago 1000L...

Well guys, let me give you the quick run down.

About a month ago I ordered the following from oldbikebarn.com. I talked to Kevin on the phone. These are all parts for my 1979 GS 1000L.
A new 96 link 630 o-ring chain, 4 new K&N pods, an oil filter, front and rear wheel bearings, and rear brake pads. Grand total = $236 US

A week later I get an e-mail that states their credit card processing company will not release my funds. (my card has already been charged). They would like to refund the purchase and re-bill me using their new service. I say OK, refund my, but I do not give you authorization to re-charge until I see the refund on my statement. No biggie.

Another week goes by and a package arrives. Inside: 4 cheesy knock off pods, a 96-link roller chain (non o-ring), and wheel bearings. No oil filter and no brake pads. Also no invoice. I call them up to see what?s going on. I get Kevin on the phone again. He says, "oh, well we never charged you for the oil filter. I will have to add that and I will get the pads and oil filter out ASAP? I don't know anything about chains (although he knew enough to sell me one) I'll have Bear (the owner) call you to straighten that out.

Two more weeks go by and I still haven't seen the package. So yesterday (04/13/04) I call up and get Kevin again, man I'm lucky. I explain what?s going on again and he tells me to hold on. 5 minutes later he comes on and tells me that I will get an e-mail confirmation and tracking # tomorrow. I say, "so you never shipped out the pads and oil filter". "Well, no." So at this point I ask what I can do to return the order if things don't get taken care of. He plays dumb and then says "well we have a 25% restocking fee" At this time I hold myself back and end the call.

Here is my plan. If they were in the US I would file a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau). Unfortunately they are in Canada. So I will wait to get a hold of Bear and see if he will make the situation right. If he does, great. If not I will ask to return the parts without the restocking fee. Seeing as I received parts that I didn't order, I should not need to pay for their mistake. If/ when they give me the run around I will file a credit card fraud claim with MasterCard and they won't get their crappy parts back.

Sorry for the long post. I'm just steaming here in Chicago. If any Canadian readers read this, is there any equivalent in Canada to the US BBB?

Thanks for any advice,
-Tom

 

[administrator]

From wiredgeorge

I bought some carb kits from these folks last year. They didn't ship my stuff and the phones were disconnected, the web site disappeared and I thought I was stuck. Late last year, when their web site reappeared, I spoke with "Bear" the owner. He said he would send my parts and did. He blamed his woes on his "competitors" sending viruses to his computer and screwing it up. I am also friends with his "competitors" and it turns out he was buying from them (retail) and reselling after he got the stuff shipped to him. He still owed the "competitor" he owed and this was one of the parties he blamed for blowing his computer up. He named two places and both are very well thought of and many GS members have bought from both places, I am sure. I had two other Z1/Z900 Worldwide Owners Communities friends have very similar issues with oldbikebarn.com and one got his part after sending written notices to the RCMP! Since oldbikebarn.com was kicked off ebay last year, they have reappeared under a totally different ebay name. I was not aware of this until I bought a used part and it turned out to be them... Last, there is a frequent ebay seller using this web site: http://www.oldhondaman.com/ that seems to be related to the oldbikebarn business. Cheers! Buyer beware!

_________________
wiredgeorge
VN1500A10 VN1500L2 KZ900A4
Vulcan Riders and Owners Club #2420
CMA 74623
Venturer #147 / Chaplain
Z1/Z900 Worldwide Owners Community
KZRider
Mico TX

 

[administrator]

From Lynn Berkheimer...

I was also taken by these folks, through eBay. I won a pair of shocks and sent the payment via money order. After a long wait, I emailed to inquire about shipment status; I got some excuse about them running behind in their shipments due to computer/company problems. I sent a few more emails; may have had another meaningless answer or two, but never got the shocks. This was in the timeframe that they got kicked off eBay; I never got to leave my feedback, which of course would have been negative.

Interestingly enough, a month or two later, I started receiving sales/advertising emails from them. I sent an email reminding them that they still owed me a set of shocks, and would not even consider ordering anything from them until I received the shock absorbers or a refund. I never got a response, but I also don't get any other emails from them any more.

Lynn Berkheimer

"lberkhei"

 

[administrator]

I recently received this email from Mike at OldBikeBarn.com

As an employee of oldbikebarn i'd like to make some admendments to your deadbeat section.

#1 Oldbikebarn has never sold directly on ebay. Oldbikebarn sell parts to several resellers who sell as they please on various sources. Occasionally we ship directly to our resellers clients as a favour or as a value added service. Oldhondaman as listed in our of the posts is 1 such reseller.

#2 Oldbikebarn.com is a domain, and the current ownership is not associated with previous transaction made prior to March 11th 2004. Blaming a .com for previous ownership is like blaming a pizza parlour for some bad milk bought at the convenience store that was their prior to it.

#3 As an employee in the customer service dept of old bike barn, i know that there are some issues that we can improve on, and we strive to make good everything that we can, whether current or past issues. I also know that we now have a few vision focus and a new level of doing things, that was never previously able to be handled from a family run operation.

#4 In closing, I would like to extend a settlement of all outstanding issues to any GS resources members, or otherwise, who feel that they have been done wrong. I cannot undo any previous wrong doings, but I can offer an olive branch to attempt to mend wounds.

Thank You,

Mike
OldBikeBarn.com
mike@oldbikebarn.com

Here is my reply

Hello Mike,

While it is gracious that you would like to clear things up, until I have received word from the people that weren't treated properly that things have been settled, OldBikebarn.com will remain listed in the Deadbeat section.

I have included my comments to your 4 points below.

On Fri, 2004-09-17 at 13:54, redhotmotorcycle@hotmail.com wrote:
Hello fperreault,
>
> The following is an email sent to you by redhot via your account on TheGSResources.com. If this message is spam, contains abusive or other comments you find offensive please contact the webmaster of the board at the following address:
>
> admin@thegsresources.com
>
> Include this full email (particularly the headers). Please note that the reply address to this email has been set to that of redhot.
>
> Message sent to you follows
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> As an employee of oldbikebarn i'd like to make some admendments to your deadbeat section.
>
> #1 Oldbikebarn has never sold directly on ebay. Oldbikebarn sell parts to several resellers who sell as they please on various sources. Occasionally we ship directly to our resellers clients as a favour or as a value added service. Oldhondaman as listed in our of the posts is 1 such reseller.
> This is in a direct contradiction to people that have written to me stating specifically that they purchased from OldBikeBarn on E-Bay. I'm sorry but I tend to put more weight on the people who have written to me to complain about OldBikeBarn, given past history.

> #2 Oldbikebarn.com is a domain, and the current ownership is not associated with previous transaction made prior to March 11th 2004. Blaming a .com for previous ownership is like blaming a pizza parlour for some bad milk bought at the convenience store that was their prior to it.
> Maybe the current owners of the Oldbikebarn.com domain should have checked out the previous domain owners business practices before buying the domain itself. To expect Internet buyers to know who owns a domain and how the owner plans on running a business is expecting a bit much. Any Internet purchase is a leap of faith on the part of the buyer; i.e. let the buyer beware. All they have to go on whether a business is reputable or not is word of mouth or sites like ours that are willing to get the word out. Oldbikebarn has a history of not treating customers properly and I have heard nothing to the contrary as of yet. Note - one of the entries listed in the deadbeat article occurred in April 2004.

> #3 As an employee in the customer service dept of old bike barn, i know that there are some issues that we can improve on, and we strive to make good everything that we can, whether current or past issues. I also know that we now have a few vision focus and a new level of doing things, that was never previously able to be handled from a family run operation.
> This is great news to hear. If I receive positive feedback from GSResource buyers then I'll be sure to update the entry in the Deadbeat section.

> #4 In closing, I would like to extend a settlement of all outstanding issues to any GS resources members, or otherwise, who feel that they have been done wrong. I cannot undo any previous wrong doings, but I can offer an olive branch to attempt to mend wounds.
> I'm a bit confused on this statement. You want to settle outstanding issues yet you state that you can't undo previous wrongs. My question is, if people can't get the parts that they are owed or get a refund, then what is there to discuss?

> Thank You,
>
> Mike
> OldBikeBarn.com
> mike@oldbikebarn.com
>
>
--- Frank ---

As I stated, if an GSResource member buys something from OldBikeBarn.com and has a positive experience, please let me know. We would like to keep things updated if at all possible. We don't want to be persecuting anyone if they have decided to run their business properly. Thanks!

--- Frank ---

 

[administrator]

Recently Mike at OldBikeBarn contacted Lynn to let him know that they want to straighten out the situation. Here is what he wrote...

After the email from you with Mike's request to have us 'wronged' individuals contact him directly, I sent him an email (cc'd you, I think). I got a response from him on Monday, October 4, saying he would be shipping the shocks "today." Tuesday, October 12 (more than a week after Mike's email) I got an email from Frank Murphy of the Old Bike Barn, giving a UPS tracking number! I checked it right away; it was in the system, but showed only 'customer electronic notification' or something like that. Well, I just checked the tracking number again before responding to my PM notification, and surprise, the package was picked up on October 13, and is in transit and slated for delivery on October 18. I'll let you know when it actually arrives.

Interesting for a company that 'never sold on eBay,' huh?

And granted it's noteworthy that they would send the shocks after 2 years, but note the continuation of the slow shipment pattern - "I'll ship today" [Oct 4]; UPS contacted on Oct 12; picks up package Oct 13. I'm not looking the 'gift horse' in the mouth; just noting that the black horse is still black.

 

[administrator]

Lynn has finally received his shocks. Here is his note...

Update - the shocks arrived Monday, as scheduled. At this time I don't have anything else to add to my previous comments.

So the story is that after 2 years Lynn finally got the shocks he ordered. That's real good to hear that OldBikeBarn stepped up to the plate a cleared up the situation that the current owners had no part in. The bad part in all of this is that any promises of shipping dates that they make, still have to be taken with a grain of salt. That isn't good.

So I am modifying their standing here to indicate that instead of being listed as an out and out deadbeat, people ordering from them should use caution. I'll keep the threads here so that folks can see what has transpired in the past and what seems to be going on now.

As is true with all Internet transactions, Caveat emptor - may the buyer beware.

--- Frank ---

 

[administrator]

I received this note from Tyger

I recently ordered new wheel and swingarm bearings, and exhaust headpipe gaskets (the only place BTW where I have been able to find these latter items) via telephone from Old Bike Barn. The on-phone experience was cordial, maybe not "ultra-professional" (like just getting hustled through the process, which is the feeling I often get when dealing with Dennis Kirk or JC Whitney) but acceptably folksy. Probably more a reflection of the current manager's style. My parts were delivered in about 10 days, somewhat toward the outer edge of the promise, but still on time in my opinion. I will say that OBB's prices seem about 10% higher for parts where I could find equivalents, but the savings in shipping for being able to order multiple difficult-to-find items from a single place offset the cost difference. Others may not find a similar advantage warranting the price difference, but at least OBB doesn't qualify as a deadbeat in my estimation.

That being said, I have yet to check for fit of the parts as ordered on my bike, thus the "Pending" in my subject. However, the parts numbers on the boxes match what I ordered and what my web research says they should be, so if the parts don't match my bike the error would probably be mine. OOTB, the items appear to be in good shape and originals, not refurbs or 20 year old leftovers. I'll follow up if the parts don't match or are bad quality, but for now you can put me down as a tentatively satisfied customer.

 

[administrator]

Here is a note from DaRedJack

I just wanted to drop a note regarding my dealings with this company.

When looking for parts for my bike, I searched and googled across Old Bike Barn. Did some looking around their site, etc. Anyway, I ended up ordering a Clutch Kit (friction plates) and two oil filters, knowing it would have cost way more at the local bike shop...


I had received confirmation of the order Feb 21, but while waiting for it to arrive, I had visited the GS Rescources Forum after a long absence, and noticed the postings regarding Old Bike Barn.

The info had me somewhat worried, but then my clutch arrived Feb 25th. ...but no oil filters. or an invoice stating the filters were on order.

I'd sent an email to OBB on the 25th stating the clutch had arrived without the filters. Reply from Kevin stated I could wait till they recieved the filters, or get a refund. I replied indicating I'll wait for the parts.

Received another email stating they should have stock of the filters March 1

Today (March 5) they arrived at my door.

Now, I can't speak for anybody else, but this transaction went fairly smoothly. I only had to ask about the filters once, and was updated within that day.

 

[administrator]

More good news, this time from jhw84!!

Good news about www.oldbikebarn.com.

On November 9, I ordered 4 Honda fuel valves from Old bike barn. Immediately afterwards, I received a confirmation email. On November 11, I received an invoice saying my order has shipped, complete with a tracking number, which worked! I tracked my order (via FedEx) for 3 days, and on November 14, the correct parts arrived safely at my door.

No complaints here! I would buy from them again.

Thanks,
John

 

[administrator]

An update from Blueandorangefish...

Recently ordered a pair of mirrors and a turn signal from them. I immediately received an e-mail and tracking info that worked properly. The box arrived within a week and all parts were in pristine condition.

 

[administrator]

I still get reports from folks saying that they are experiencing delays in receiving parts from Old Bike Barn and most times it is just due to "unexpected delays", that is if they do reply to information requests. At this point I would approach these folks with caution.

-- Frank --

 

[administrator]

This from Kudagra...

You can add this to the thread if you like.

On 8/21 I ordered 3 caliper kits for my bike from OBB well after closing time. Monday (8/24) my parts were packed and sent to USPS for shipping. I recieved an email that morning with a copy of my bill and another email telling me my package had shipped (along with a tracking number.

I tracked my package everyday till it was delivered on 8/27.

Opened the package and all parts were as described and new. The next cheaper company selling these kits was Z1. 22.50 compared to 16.50. Shipping was only $7 and I opted to pay .50 more for priority. I would suggest priority just to get the tracking number.

All in all I'd give them an A+ in my one and only experience. Good Price, quick shipping, good email contact.

 

[administrator]

An update from robaroni

FYI...I purchased a set of float jets and replacement clutch springs for my 78 GS1000. After two weeks with no parts and no response to emails regarding the order I places an order with Bike Bandit. I emailed to cancel the order with OBB. About 5 business days later I got the order from Bike bandit. Then a few days after that the OBB order arrived.

OBB offered no Customer service and no communication.

Rob

 

[administrator]

Here is the latest update from Ian Grant (49er)

Hi Frank

I have followed the many posts on bad experiences that our members have
had with OBB. I notice that over time, OBB have been improving their
game, but only marginally. I believe that the last post mentioned a good
experience.

My beef is that OBB have me on their mailing list. Each new email ( they
appear almost daily at present) has the provision to request a removal
of your name from their mailing list by clicking on the link provided.
On doing this, the link just hooks you up to a page of adverts. I have
tried to request removal via this method on 3 different
occasions(emails) now, but still get the same results, which quite
frankly is frustrating and insulting.

I realise this is not in the same realm as being burnt financially off
this business, but IMO, it does still reinforce the suspicions that OBB
are still not a reputable/trustworthy supply source.

Incidentally, I have never attempted to buy anything from OBB because of
the GSR alert in the Deadbeat section.

Regards
Ian Grant (49er)