Experiences with big-wheel.com?

"papercut" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone have successful experiences ordering online from big-wheel.com? Several attempts have ended
up fruitless. Turns out many things listed on their site end up not being in stock once they get
around to filling the order. I'm beginning to wonder if they're a real business at all.

I successfully ordered some shifters from them once. The second time I placed an order, it turned
out that they didn't have half of the 6 or so things I ordered in stock. They sent me the rest of
the order without notifying me ahead of time of the deficiencies. I probably won't deal with them
again, but if I do I'll phone it in so that I can be sure that everything's in stock.

Also, their web site is a cryptic, difficult to navigate, pain in the ass.

They're a real business, but not a well-run one.

--Josh

Most of the stuff on their website is not in stock. It appears to be tied into the J&B Importers
website which itself is highly suspect. They finally refunded my credit card after about a month.
Stay away.

Bruce

"papercut" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone have successful experiences ordering online from big-wheel.com? Several attempts have ended
up fruitless. Turns out many things listed on their site end up not being in stock once they get
around to filling the order. I'm beginning to wonder if they're a real business at all.

On 27 Oct 2003 18:58:57 -0800, [email hidden] (papercut) wrote:

<Anyone have successful experiences ordering online from big-wheel.com? <Several attempts have ended
up fruitless. Turns out many things listed <on their site end up not being in stock once they get
around to <filling the order. I'm beginning to wonder if they're a real business <at all.

I've placed one order with them and although I didn't get every item I ordered, I have a favorable
opinion and wouldn't hesitate to do business with them again. They have hard to find items at verrry
reasonable prices so I didn't expect "newegg" type efficiency but I actually got trackiing
numbers(even if I had to initiate the process).

They're a lot like [my] local shops.

bcnu-c.porter.

papercut-<< Anyone have successful experiences ordering online from big-wheel.com? Several attempts
have ended up fruitless. Turns out many things listed on their site end up not being in stock once
they get around to filling the order. I'm beginning to wonder if they're a real business

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<BR><BR>

NOT sure if this applies to them, but many MO places have little to no inventory and either ask for
suppliers to drop ship for them or they order it when somebody orders it from them...Many 'garage'
or basement operations are like this.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

[email hidden] (papercut) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Anyone have successful experiences ordering online from big-wheel.com? Several attempts have ended
up fruitless. Turns out many things listed on their site end up not being in stock once they get
around to filling the order. I'm beginning to wonder if they're a real business at all.

i ordered a bunch of stuff from them a year or so ago. i was forewarned of their inadequacies, so i
kind of took their pitiful service with a grain of salt. they *did*, however, have the best prices i
could find on generic bits and pieces like bar tape, freewheels, chains, and other OEM low end stuff
i was going through a lot of while fixing up beaters around campus.

the first time i saw their site, i went consumer-crazy. 'wow, i can get orange anodized open pro
rims for fifteen bucks!!' and such. however, none of that junk is in stock. basically, i just found
item numbers for stuff i wanted online. then called them. they checked stock on everything as i was
on the phone, and when they didnt have hte black bar tape i wanted, i could find another one right
then and add that instead.

they are a good place to get OEM stuff, which i havent seen other places. sometimes you really Do
want a 15 dollar wheel. try finding that at nashbar.

is it a painful process? yes. woudl i do it again? well-- if you were buying the [censored] i was buying,
6 cheap chains, 10 cheap brake cables, 3 cheap freewheels, 4 cheap cyclo track cogs, stuff like
that, its worth it for sure. if you saw a good price on one or two items, call them and check if its
in stock. but one thing you can Not do with bigwheel IMHO is expect good service, good advice, or
the ability to handle a large order.

toying with their search function until you understand it well expedites the process immensely.

fin

I have ordered a lot of stuff from them, and am very pleased. You are correct that they sometimes do
not have items in stock. This is all the more annoying since the site info generally indicates that
everything is in stock. When I have a critical need for something I call them and verify whether or
not they have it in stock. If you call, I think you will find that Mike and Lilly are both
knowledgeable and genuinely helpful. HTH, Ernie

papercut said:

Anyone have successful experiences ordering online from big-wheel.com? Several attempts have ended
up fruitless. Turns out many things listed on their site end up not being in stock once they get
around to filling the order. I'm beginning to wonder if they're a real business at all.