# What can I do about a seller that (apparently) scammed me?



## bikercosmos (Sep 5, 2022)

So back in April my wife and I bought her a prewar Elgin from Facebook marketplace. The seller seemed to specialize in antique and vintage bikes, so I trusted him. The listing stated it rode well and included everything pictured, which was a complete bike, besides the stem, which he said would be swapped out with another prewar stem. So when the bike arrived in the mail, I noticed it didn't have any stem or pedals at all. No big deal, I sent the seller a message about the stem and he said he would send one. A few weeks passed and he didn't send one, so I decided to drop it and just buy one from the Cabe. 

A few months passed and I've been working on restoring my bike and I haven't worked on my wife's much. Fast forward to now, and I've now noticed that when I put the chain on it's drooping, and comparing the sprocket to mine it's definitely too small, maybe a 24" instead of a 26". In addition to that, the seat is not the one pictured in the listing (I posted another thread about this a few weeks ago here.) It's a post-war seat instead of the long-spring Troxel from the listing, and it's missing the front spring.

So now I have to buy pedals, a sprocket/crank assembly, a seat, and had to buy a stem. All of which should have been included. Now that it's been 5 months is there anything I could do? From the previous exchange with the seller I doubt he's going to send me the proper parts. Normally I wouldn't worry about it, but we're not collectors or anything and these are our only bikes. Plus prewar parts don't seem to be cheap and we don't really have the money at the moment to get a bunch of new parts. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.


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## 1817cent (Sep 5, 2022)

Boy, i hate to see this.  I do think though, that 5 months later is too long.  Not sure if facebook has a resolution dept or not, but in the future check your purchases as soon as you get them and if something isnt right, take care of it asap.  Unfortunately i think you may be SOL with this purchase unless the seller is real cooperative.


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## HEMI426 (Sep 5, 2022)

If you found the Elgin on FB Marketplace bikes for sale, I would post a beware of that seller on FB Marketplace so he knows you know what he did. Maybe save his next buyer some trouble. Good Luck.


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## GTs58 (Sep 5, 2022)

Facebook is not the place to buy something that is not local IMO. Post the sellers name. These people may be removed by FB but they usually come back with a different ID.


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## piercer_99 (Sep 5, 2022)

the ladies sprocket is smaller than the mens on these.

The mens sprocket is a 26t, the ladies is a 22t,  your sprocket should look like this, on @TieDye 's bike, a Murray built Elgin.

*Sorry that is wrong, your bike should have the sweetheart style chain wheel.*

you either need to tension the chain, or your chain could be stretched, which considering the age of the machine is possible.  I had a chain on a bike that was stretched over an inch and a half.







The Westfield built Elgin's used a different front sprocket (chain wheel), like this on my bride's 41


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## Archie Sturmer (Sep 5, 2022)

Something one might do, is post the url to pictures of the bike. https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/is-this-an-elgin-seat-i-think-its-missing-a-piece.212307/


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## piercer_99 (Sep 5, 2022)

Regarding the saddle,  I have one you can have if you want it, and will pay for the shipping.

It needs to be cleaned up and recovered, it is rough, yet serviceable. It also needs the clamp.


















you could always toss a faux sheepskin cover on it for 14.00 from amazon.


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## oldfart36 (Sep 6, 2022)

There are trust worthy people running sale pages of FB. But FB "Market place" is another story. That's where things get real sticky when it comes to FB. Always at least check all purchases completely when they arrive, no matter who you buy it from!!!!!!


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## bikercosmos (Sep 6, 2022)

HEMI426 said:


> If you found the Elgin on FB Marketplace bikes for sale, I would post a beware of that seller on FB Marketplace so he knows you know what he did. Maybe save the next buyer from him some trouble. Good Luck.



Here's the seller in case any of you want to watch out for him. I don't want to say he's a bad guy or anything but just as a heads up https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001482685343&_rdr


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## bikercosmos (Sep 6, 2022)

piercer_99 said:


> the ladies sprocket is smaller than the mens on these.
> 
> The mens sprocket is a 26t, the ladies is a 22t,  your sprocket should look like this, on @TieDye 's bike, a Murray built Elgin.
> 
> ...



Oh that's good news! It is a sweetheart sprocket so it might be right after all. Do you happen to know of a guide where I can read up on how to add tension to a skip tooth chain?


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## bikercosmos (Sep 6, 2022)

piercer_99 said:


> Regarding the saddle,  I have one you can have if you want it, and will pay for the shipping.
> 
> It needs to be cleaned up and recovered, it is rough, yet serviceable. It also needs the clamp.
> 
> ...






piercer_99 said:


> Regarding the saddle,  I have one you can have if you want it, and will pay for the shipping.
> 
> It needs to be cleaned up and recovered, it is rough, yet serviceable. It also needs the clamp.
> 
> ...



I just sent you a PM. Thanks so much, that's super kind of you. I just replaced the leather on my bike seat so that would be fun to restore


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Sep 6, 2022)

bikercosmos said:


> Oh that's good news! It is a sweetheart sprocket so it might be right after all. Do you happen to know of a guide where I can read up on how to add tension to a skip tooth chain?
> 
> View attachment 1691740



If your bike has rear facing forks it would also have tension bolts. If it has drop outs you will need to remove links to increase tension if you are all the way back in the drop outs.


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## bikercosmos (Sep 6, 2022)

coasterbrakejunkie1969 said:


> If your bike has rear facing forks it would also have tension bolts. If it has drop outs you will need to remove links to increase tension if you are all the way back in the drop outs.



Are tension bolts the two small bolts that stick out of the back fork? If so it has those


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Sep 6, 2022)

bikercosmos said:


> Are tension bolts the two small bolts that stick out of the back fork? If so it has those



Yes they actually stick forward and apply pressure towards the back away from the crank. You will need to let them out to get the wheel in then screw them in to apply pressure.


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## GTs58 (Sep 6, 2022)

I know who that is. Selling bikes and parts is how he makes a living. Keep on him every day until you get your parts.


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## piercer_99 (Sep 6, 2022)

bikercosmos said:


> Are tension bolts the two small bolts that stick out of the back fork? If so it has those



similar to this, mind you this isn't on an Elgin.






On your Elgin, you will probably need these two wrenches, as they typically have a lock nut on it to set the tension.





That is what I use on mine.


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## bikercosmos (Sep 6, 2022)

Thanks for the pics @piercer_99. I tightened the tension bolts all the way and this is what it looks like now


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## WetDogGraphix (Sep 6, 2022)

bikercosmos said:


> Thanks for the pics @piercer_99. I tightened the tension bolts all the way and this is what it looks like now
> 
> View attachment 1691995



Chain needs to be shortened.......


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## bikercosmos (Sep 6, 2022)

Thought so. It seems like one link shorter would be perfect.

So does this look like the correct sprocket size for a women's 26" to you all? It's about 7.25" in diameter.


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## Freqman1 (Sep 6, 2022)

bikercosmos said:


> Thought so. It seems like one link shorter would be perfect.
> 
> So does this look like the correct sprocket size for a women's 26" to you all? It's about 7.25" in diameter.



Correct size. What make is the bike?


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## HEMI426 (Sep 6, 2022)

Shawn I think it's a prewar Elgin.


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## bikercosmos (Sep 6, 2022)

Freqman1 said:


> Correct size. What make is the bike?



It's a Murray-built Elgin


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## piercer_99 (Sep 6, 2022)

Chain should probably be 54" in length maximum on that girls bike.

Our 41 the chain is 53" plus the master link


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## ADKBIKES (Sep 9, 2022)

I leave people a bad review when they do something unethical


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## Xlobsterman (Sep 10, 2022)

bikercosmos said:


> So back in April my wife and I bought her a prewar Elgin from Facebook marketplace. The seller seemed to specialize in antique and vintage bikes, so I trusted him. The listing stated it rode well and included everything pictured, which was a complete bike, besides the stem, which he said would be swapped out with another prewar stem. So when the bike arrived in the mail, I noticed it didn't have any stem or pedals at all. No big deal, I sent the seller a message about the stem and he said he would send one. A few weeks passed and he didn't send one, so I decided to drop it and just buy one from the Cabe.
> 
> A few months passed and I've been working on restoring my bike and I haven't worked on my wife's much. Fast forward to now, and I've now noticed that when I put the chain on it's drooping, and comparing the sprocket to mine it's definitely too small, maybe a 24" instead of a 26". In addition to that, the seat is not the one pictured in the listing (I posted another thread about this a few weeks ago here.) It's a post-war seat instead of the long-spring Troxel from the listing, and it's missing the front spring.
> 
> So now I have to buy pedals, a sprocket/crank assembly, a seat, and had to buy a stem. All of which should have been included. Now that it's been 5 months is there anything I could do? From the previous exchange with the seller I doubt he's going to send me the proper parts. Normally I wouldn't worry about it, but we're not collectors or anything and these are our only bikes. Plus prewar parts don't seem to be cheap and we don't really have the money at the moment to get a bunch of new parts. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.



 LMAO


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## Dannuus (Sep 10, 2022)

bikercosmos said:


> Thanks for the pics @piercer_99. I tightened the tension bolts all the way and this is what it looks like now
> 
> View attachment 1691995



You are going to be hating life if your chain is stretched. A good one will cost quite a bit.


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## Freqman1 (Sep 10, 2022)

Dannuus said:


> You are going to be hating life if your chain is stretched. A good one will cost quite a bit.



Something decent shouldn’t be more than about $50 but I think you’ll be fine by removing a link or two. V/r Shawn


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## piercer_99 (Oct 3, 2022)

Any more on progress with this bike?


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## phantom (Oct 3, 2022)

If I knew I didn't get what I paid for and a seller was not responding or making it right I would be as annoying as possible. It isn't difficult these days to find out everything about anyone. Once I had a seller that was ignoring me and finally I called a neighbor and had them go give him a message that his phone, for some reason, was not working. I got a call about an hour later.

Have you ever started receiving a ton of junk mail, unsolicited insurance quotes, loans etc: and then all of a sudden it just stopped?


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## razinhellcustomz (Oct 9, 2022)

Dannuus said:


> You are going to be hating life if your chain is stretched. A good one will cost quite a bit.



I just bought one off flee bay a while back for $60.00 that is nos.. Good luck...


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