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  • I came across an online bicycle shop with a decent sale and a shocking number of sought-after bikes in stock, like 6 speed 2020 Bromptons sold out at most dealers.

    The retailer is https://alphabike.co.uk/ but read on before buying anything.

    I've found a few red flags and want to know what everyone else thinks:

    1. There's no telephone number, only a contact form and email address.
    2. The website domain has only just been created in the past few weeks.
    3. Aside from a few tweets (@alphabikeco) they have no social presence.
    4. There is one tweet with pictures of Bromptons supposedly sent to them by their customers but I did a reverse image search and one of the pictures is floating about on the internet. This could be a white lie to make themselves appear established but doesn't look good.
    5. The website makes no reference to a legal company or company number which they'd have to display as an online retailer.
    6. The address isn't to a specific unit on the road, just Alpha Bike then a road name. A Google search for Vickers Drive North and Alpha Bike doesn't show it listed anywhere but their own website.
    7. There's no Google business listing or reviews on TrustPilot or elsewhere.

    I sounded unsure before, probably deluding myself for a good deal, but typing this out I feel more certain: this has got scam written all over it, hasn't it?

  • They're selling Carrera bikes new, which is a Halfords own brand, and Hoy bikes which are exclusive to Evans. The whole content is probably scraped.

    It's weird because it looks like someone's gone to a fair amount of effort to make this look legit, when surely it's going to get shut down very quickly.

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