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Perfecto’s bicycle classifieds link Strava accounts to every sale to protect buyers

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One of the ever present concerns of buying something online is the risk of fraud or buying stolen goods. Perfecto’s system, though, links a seller’s Strava account to their listing, letting your check out the person offering that dream bike and linking a real name and face to it. They also request each listing to have the serial number, which is checked against the Bike Index listing to see if it’s been reported stolen or missing. Combined, the two measures should offer a good measure of security and confidence. Of course, those two features are optional on the seller’s part, but there are other safeguards in place, too…

Find the bike you like and you can open a chat with the seller to learn more about the bike, ask questions and/or negotiate. Once you’ve decided to buy it, you make an offer and the seller (who can also link their Facebook account if they don’t use Strava) has four days to accept it. If they do, they mark it as sold and ship the bike. The buyer’s credit card is then charged and the funds held in escrow until delivery. The buyer has 14 days to mark it as received or file a complaint. Assuming all’s good (or 14 days have passed), funds are released to the seller, less a 6% commission. Perfecto claims that’s less than half what eBay would charge a seller, and the focus of the site is bicycles, so we’re betting the quality and quantity will both end up here. Like any other online exchange, it’s buyer beware, but we like the features put in place to protect both parties.

From there, options like being able to sort by price, proximity and frame material, etc., make it easy to narrow down the search.

Perfecto.bike

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duder
duder
7 years ago

And a convenient map to your bike for thrives…

nightfend
nightfend
7 years ago

What could possibly go wrong with linking to a location based account.

John
John
7 years ago

“…linking a real name and face to it…”

My Strava profile has neither.

Even with Strava privacy zones, it’s far too easy to map a name to public property tax rolls, esp. with GIS-based assessor mapping systems.

myke2241
myke2241
7 years ago
Reply to  John

thats only if your allowed to see all the users common public data. my guess is you can’t and the devs have take precautions to protect its users. it is a good idea though if don’t correctly.

Chad Rigglesby
Chad Rigglesby
7 years ago

“I’m only buying this bike if it can average 20mph”

TheKaiser
7 years ago

2015 Cipollini RB800 (small) for $8,500! In the upper right, is that a joke?

rob lawson
7 years ago

Hi this is Rob from perfecto.bike. It’s entirely up to the user to decide how much detail to share. We do encourage those listing bikes to connect to Strava – so buyers can see how far a bike has been ridden. Any location information is publicly available through Strava. We think this is a much better system than (say) Craigslist where you have no idea who you are buying from, how they got the bike, or what the bike’s history is. We’ve had no complaints of crime or other issues caused by the site – our users seem to enjoy the community and chat between riders.

Pricing – the prices are set by the lister – if you think they are too high, send them a message and make them an offer 🙂

Thanks for looking!

VM
VM
7 years ago
Reply to  rob lawson

I agree, Rob. I think it’s a great idea. Also, Strava’s privacy zones, while not perfect, already address some of the concerns mentioned above.

CC
CC
7 years ago
Reply to  rob lawson

Just a heads up that the Venge Vias that is on the home page is actually my bicycle that I am currently trying to sell on ebay. It seems as though someone has copied and pasted my ad and posted it on your site. That may be something for you to look into. The post was made by glenda abercrombie.

Rob
Rob
7 years ago
Reply to  CC

Hi CC. Please can you ping me on rob@perfecto.bike to discuss. That listing does suspicious, but I’d like to chat before we remove it. Note that all transactions go through some detailed security/identity checks before any funds are released to sellers (and the buyer has to confirm they have received the bike before the seller get their money).

Allan
Allan
7 years ago
Reply to  rob lawson

Well the problem I see (correct me if I’m wrong) is that this service (through users’ own photo uploads) provides crystal clear images of bikes, with prices, linked directly to an account that provides an exact location (or close enough if privacy settings are on) of said bike. Of course it’s up to every person whether or not they want to use this service, and provide pictures of, and the value of, and locations of, their bikes. But I personally would never do this. I use Strava, and I know even with privacy settings activated, it’s not too difficult to track down my exact location. I just think it would be pretty foolish to provide essentially a shopping list for thieves to pick and choose what bikes they may want to try and steal at a known location…that’s just me though. I understand the concept from a potential buyer’s situation, but the risks outweigh any benefit to sellers, IMO.

pTymnWolfe
pTymnWolfe
7 years ago
Reply to  Allan

You’re absolutely correct. It’s common in many cities for thieves using Strava to steal from riders garages for the past two years at least. It’s amazing how many people turn Stava on/off in their driveway. Gives anyone with a Strava account your exact location and your preferred times to leave the house. Thieves are great at capitalizing on stupidity.

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