unshiny bike :-(

I read this post after having already clicked pay!!!! So I called shinybikes and spoke to a rather flustered fella who sounded like he was in over his head, my heart sunk and I thought ok that's that then!! However he was very helpful, he said the item was in stock (27.2mm seat pin) and that it had been shipped and i should have it by Monday (Today) and,,,,,,, it arrived 10 mins ago and was as required. But after reading all the above, I won't be going through them again, even though the chap I spoke to seemed genuine.

I've bought a few parts from Shiny Bikes and had mixed experiences. First couple of items back in 2011 were delivered on time, one I had to return and got my refund without problems.

Recently I ordered a BB tool and another part. These were delivered on time, but the BB tool was a completely different model. So I emailed, and nothing. Meanwhile I bought the right one from a different online shop. Then a few days later I phoned, an apologetic chap said to return the BB tool for a refund, so I did that. But then the refund didn't include my cost of postage for returning the wrong item! I will never use Shiny Bikes again.

Go with an established online shop, where the people know what they're doing. I've never had problems like these with Wiggle, Ribble, CRC, HighOnBikes, Winstanley, AlwaysRiding, Merlin, Hargroves, SJS, CycleSportsUK, Planet-X, JE James, SigmaSport, Canyon, Bike24, Evans, Slane or loads of others. And if they have ever sent the wrong thing, they go out of their way to sort it.

Just had a similar experience.
I used to use Shiny Bikes a few years ago for tyres and tubes and never had an issue.
This time I ordered a 105 groupset from them, not because they were cheapest but because I wanted the 52/36 chaiset option and they seemed to be the only ones who had it in stock.
What a mistake that was!!! The problem with them is as already mentioned above, they do not state if an item is out of stock so it appears that it is in stock.
So I paid and I waited. After week or so I emailed them to ask where it was.
No reply. So I gave it another week and then called them up.
I was told that it must have been a mix up and that they had the item in stock and would send it out today. I asked if they would email to confirm dispatch and was told they would.
No email.
To give the benefit of the doubt I left it another week and then called again.
I was told it was out of stock but should be in later this week and would be dispatched as soon as it came in.
Once again I gave them the benefit of the doubt but a week later still nothing.
I called again and asked for a refund, they said no problem and I asked them to email confirmation.
No email.
3 days later I called again and politely asked them to do the right thing and to please refund my money. To their credit they did refund it in full on this occasion via Worldpay.

I think they are probably above board and certainly not crooks but probably very disorganised and customer service is very poor.

I will certainly never use them again!

Hi I am new here but I wish that I had read all of what is being said about Shiny bikes. How can they take your money and not deliver the goods, I have been waiting more than 10 days now, they must be delivering mine by bicycle.
I did turn to trading standards but they aren't much help either, what do I do now.
Eric

I get the impression that Shiny Bikes is run by one bloke out of his shed.
It took me a week to get through to them on the phone when my order didn't come through immediately and then it was missing a piece. I got everything in the end but I'm not sure that the hassle was worth the £25 I saved by using them.

2 outta 3 experience for me with Shiny Bikes.
Two orders fine delivered within 2 days
One they took money for but did not have in stock & as it turns out didn't even have in stock when i ordered but the system never said it didn't nor does then spent over a week on the phone everyday to discover this & eventually get a replacement item.
Cheap & very often cheapest they are but wouldn't be my first go to for anything & now anything mechincal I support my 22 mile away local bike shop who are not cheap in comparsion but second to none on service & really quick service

You get what you pay for...... I have worked in retail for years and they didn't have the stock when you ordered it and made shit up to buy time until they sourced it. There probably a reason why you got no BB (which normally come with SRAM cranks BTW) and the wrong cassette, IE they never had them at all.

If you can't beat people with service then beat them on price.

Next time support your NBS and spend the extra, some of us actually still care!

I've never had a problem with any of the internet mob, including Shiny bikes.

Though I suppose they must get most of it right or they wouldn't make any money!

Similar bad experience with them, order placed, goods in stock, money taken from Paypal account. No goods delivered when promised, nor a few days later, phone calls not answered. Finally got through only to be told that they no longer supplied the item I ordered. Refund offered and eventually paid back into my account. I will never use them again.

I used them once and I won't be using them again. Long story short - ordered a new groupset, faulty shifter straight out of the box. Rather than replace with a working lever from stock, they acted as the middleman in a warranty claim. After much misinformation, poor communication and general lies, I contacted the Campag warranty place myself and had the problem resolved within a couple of days.

Since then, I've always paid the extra few quid and used Ribble, Merlin and Wiggle - they're actual companies who care about customer service, rather than a lazy twat in a barn, which is what Shiny Bikes appears to be. Oh and their new website is woeful.

This has been a sorry saga to read. It reflects the notion that a happy customer tells say 2 people but an unhappy customer mentions it to 5 people, ie, a lot more (there are some accepted numbers here but my business studies are a bit of a distant memory). I am surprised we do not exploit the collective bargaining available to the large population using this site; individual experiences of price and service could be logged on a supplier database fairly easily on the site - which would provide the leverage on the suppliers.

Sorry OP had such a poor experience but hope the finished article has made up for the obvious frustration!

I would say don't use them. Had bad experience with them. Money taken but product doesn't arrive. Only answer emails that suit them. Said would refund credit card but didn't. Absolute rubbish and just don't seem to care about customers

I'm having a similar problem with them right now over a pair of Assos bibshorts. I keep having to contact them, rather than they contact me to explain why they have had my money for over 10 days and they still can't tell me if:
1. the shorts have actually been sent out
or 2. they were out of stock and none went out

Manager said he would ring me back in 1/2 an hour and I am still waiting for his call three days later.

Highly NOT recommended!

They are literally across the road from me. I pop over to buy tubes every so often. Should given me a shout, would've been quicker for me to send the stuff to you!

Ahem. That *is* their real name.

www.shinybikes.com

Forgive me my naivety but shiny bikes who are they, and why not mention there trading name if you have a genuine complaint they can't sue you.

I'd heard a few horror stories about Shiny Bikes, but when I needed a few bits (significantly cheaper than elsewhere) I called them up and asked if they had the bits in stock. The nice lady went off and checked, came back and confirmed they had stock and could send it out the next day, and that's what they did. No complaints at all, polite and efficient service.

Wish i had read this before i ordered something last week. Have had no confirmation, no delivery, not returned the answer messages or responded to email. Had to resort to opening a paypal dispute to get a response. I will never get stuff from them again and will tell everyone i know to avoid them. Hard to believe that such crap customer service still exists

I used Shiny Bikes for the Zipp 303's I bought and they were spot on, no complaints at all. I've used wiggle also and had no issues when returning things which weren't quite right.

But I can sympathise with the OP sitting around all day waiting for Mr Postman.

As for LBS's some a shit hot some are hmm, not so good.... Same as websites!!!

You pays yer money, you takes yer choice. Shiny bikes seem to have some great prices, but I've always they must be scrimping on something to be able to do it. Unfortunately, it's usually customer service that goes first!

In future (though hopefully you and you new bike will live happily together for many years) I'd recommend Merlin for groupsets. I've ordered countless parts and other things from them (including full groupsets) and they always deliver quickly and, crucially, correctly. they have good customer service too (quick to answer emails) and I've not found anyone cheaper for a full groupset yet.

Good luck with the build - hope you get to enjoy it now!

i have more tools than my local bike shops, and the one bike i have bought new, has been riddled with problems the shop cant fix. and then when i saw them double handed tightening my handle bars i asked why they were not using a torque wrench, the mechanic looked at me like i was on crack.

my local shops are run by business men on for a quick buck on the ctw scheme.

i wouldnt trust them with a bike i dug out of a skip.

a prime example, a mate took a shifter in to get it checked out. the mechanic couldnt fix it with his adjustable spanner(no shit) charged him £12.50 for looking at it. i spent 2 minutes looking at it, found a small piece of plastic blocking the mechanism, low and behold it works now.

Use your local bike shop! Or lose it!
Especially if you have take your bike to get parts fitted because you cant

looks like a when it rains it pours moment. stick to high on bikes or someone else youtrust,wiggle etc. wouldnt use shiny bikes as they seem 'to cheap' if you know what i mean