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Nortonbits eBay shop - who's had dealings?

Just come to start rebuilding the Dominator engine and all was fine, until I was getting ready to put the head on. The gasket in the kit from nortonbits won't fit.

I have now ordered one from the club.

I bought off ebay as i wasn't a member at the time. Has anyone else had problems as he doesn't answer his phone and hasn't answered e-bay messages

cheers Lee

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You could always start a claim against him via eBay for 'not as listed'. eBay do nowadays heavily favour the buyer in disputes, tending to take no prisoners in their dealings with vendors.

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Previously howard_thompson wrote:

You could always start a claim against him via eBay for 'not as listed'. eBay do nowadays heavily favour the buyer in disputes, tending to take no prisoners in their dealings with vendors.

I have messaged him through e-bay saying i will give him till end of today then i am reporting him and leaving bad feedback

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Oh that sounds familiar! I bought some clutch bolts for my Jubilee/Navigator, they dont fit either, I sent them back to the ebay address but after a month they were returned as gone away, I emailed again and they apologised for not updating their address (which they have done now) I returned them to the new address and have heard nothing and had no email replies. I will be calling the mobile number on Monday to see what happens. I had heard that they were partof, or has connections to Norvil. 'Shant be using them again in a hurry!

dan

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To those who asked why the original conversation has been locked, the answer is simple. This thread was also running and there was little point in having two parallel threads on the same subject.Would those posting further items here please note consider very carefully what they are saying with respect to the law concerning libel. I will be moderating firmly.

Webmaster

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Previously Chris Grimmett wrote:

To those who asked why the original conversation has been locked, the answer is simple. This thread was also running and there was little point in having two parallel threads on the same subject.Would those posting further items here please note consider very carefully what they are saying with respect to the law concerning libel. I will be moderating firmly.

Dear webmaster

I think you have taken a heavy hand on my posting about members who have received rogue parts for their Norton's. I never mentioned anybody in particular as I was only standing up for our members. If you are the only one monitoring the postings perhaps other commitee members should have a say before removing post's or perhaps the club is a little to close to the said person who is perhaps selling rogue parts. I see other people have had their say on this matter and post's have been remved. Not a happy BUNNY.

Den Bourne.

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I have now received my parts order from the club, thank you.

i have tried the club gasket over the top of the Norton bits gasket and there is definately a difference .

I am returning the other gasket and Mr anonymous and abrupt has agreed to pay for my club gasket and the return postage. I will keep you posted on the refund side of things.

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Well still no reply to my emails, I'll try and call him this week.

This is what I bought:

They do not fit my early Navigator or late Jubilee, so are incorrectly listed and are still even though I have pointed out that they do not fit - they are too short. I wouldnt be suprised if the1 set left are the ones I returned!

Dan

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A simple check of the VAT number quoted on ebay (Value Added Tax Number: UK 319129167) on the EU VIES web site shows that the number is registered to our old friend Les at NORVIL.

This information is available on the accessnorton web site, but I checked its validity anyway.

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Hello there,

Charles' research into the VAT number must be a big relief to Lee and Dan knowing now that Nortonbits is part of a responsible group - namely Norvil- and not an unknown Ebay trader. Presumably we shall hear shortly that the 'problems' with the wrong bits have been sorted to the individual's satisfaction. If not presumably the answer is for Lee and Dan to contact the MD at Norvil and ask for his personal attention to the problem.

Patrick

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If this is the case, then is he selling the same part through the other outlet?

because if he is then there will be a problem with the quality.

what i'm concerned about now is the parts that i wanted to buy from Norvil,like the belt conversion kit and various other items.

Has anyone had any experience of these rims as they seem a bit too cheap to me, compared to other retailers.

cheers

Lee

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Dan,

Open a case against them through e-bay for the item not being as advertised. I am sure that you will then get his attention as i did.

regards

Lee

Previously Dan Field wrote:

Well still no reply to my emails, I'll try and call him this week.

This is what I bought:

They do not fit my early Navigator or late Jubilee, so are incorrectly listed and are still even though I have pointed out that they do not fit - they are too short. I wouldnt be suprised if the1 set left are the ones I returned!

Dan

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Never had an issue with Hagon rims and spokes. Also a nice Devon stainless rim on the back of my Commando these last 20 years.

I don't know where we are with the NOC possibly buying Norvil, that seems to have gone quiet. If we do though, then I hope someone will be responsible for quality control of bought stock.

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Hello Lee,

I bought a stainless rim from India five or six years ago and it seems to be fine. I expect that these also come from India (Royal Enfield) but I have never had any dealings with this particular Ebay supplier so can't say any further.

Best to check some details with the supplier if you want to fit the rim to a Norton hub. E.g. make sure that the spoke kit is suitable for a Norton.

Patrick

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My problem is that they had listed their returns address incorrectly so my returned items were returned to me, but the seller was replying quickly to my emails and confirmed that he hadnt received them, but as a consequence when I eventually got them back from the post office I had passed the 30 days that ebay will register a case (my fault for being so trusting) now Nortonbits arent replying to my emails. I am currently waiting for ebay customer service to call me back but don't hold out much hope.

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Got a call back from ebay, as I suspected they wouldn't honor their 30 day money back guarantee, but because they could see that I had been in contact with the seller, that they had stopped corresponding and that the return address was wrong they have given me an ebay voucher to the value of the item plus postage. So hats off to ebay, I'm pleased with their customer service, however I will not be using Nortonbits again.

Dan

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+ 1 for Hemmings, Fastest service possible,knows his stuff, honest guy ,Can be a little grouchy at times,but dealing with the public is a real patience test for even a saint!.

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Guys I don't know why people buy new parts from Ebay, we are very well served by RGM motors, Andover Norton and Mick Hemmings, the parts generally fit and if there's a problem you can call & talk to someone who actually knows about Nortons. Why take a chance on Ebay?

from information gleaned from another thread the club buying Les Emery's stock seems to be dead in the water, hurrah for common sense

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That works until you try to buy bits for the lightweights! there isnt the stock or people re-manufacturing the parts, I bet you can build a new commando engine from re manufactured parts, try doing that for a jubilee! I'd also add that I regularly buy parts for my race bikes on ebay, including from the states without any problem and considerably cheaper than the dealers, this is the first ebay trader I have EVER had a problem with..

I bought a negative film scanner the other day for £10, it didnt work, I emailed the seller, he instantly gave me a refund and said dont bother returning it - that's good service.

Dan

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I agree with Dan that the vast majority of Ebay traders are usually amazingly honest. I often buy sundry items such as BSF and Cycle thread nuts and bolts because it is so convenient - good quality items usually drop through the letter box the next day. This is very good service when you live in a very rural location and cheaper than anything available locally. I don't think I have ever had a serious let down even on items from China.

The NOCshop is the best source for most remanufactured Lightweight bits but there are lots of items which are hard to locate so you have to buy wherever you can sometimes.

It's good news that Ebay have acted so responsibly in Dan's case -that is good customer relations. I do hope that Nortonbits will honour their promise to Lee.

Patrick

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Then the answer has to be to knock the club spares scheme into shape so that they CAN supply the bits not available from reputable dealers.

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Previously patrick_mullen wrote:

I agree with Dan that the vast majority of Ebay traders are usually amazingly honest. I often buy sundry items such as BSF and Cycle thread nuts and bolts because it is so convenient - good quality items usually drop through the letter box the next day. This is very good service when you live in a very rural location and cheaper than anything available locally. I don't think I have ever had a serious let down even on items from China.

The NOCshop is the best source for most remanufactured Lightweight bits but there are lots of items which are hard to locate so you have to buy wherever you can sometimes.

It's good news that Ebay have acted so responsibly in Dan's case -that is good customer relations. I do hope that Nortonbits will honour their promise to Lee.

Patrick

I have been in touch with Nortonbits today asking where my refund is.

the answer was that" i will get it when they get the part back"

to which i replied, " you have had it as i sent it tracked and its been signed for" needless to say that i haven't had a reply back yet

This company doesn't deserve to be in business.

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Previously lee_hwozdyk wrote:

It turns out that Mr Nortonbits is following this thread very closely as he's just sent me a snotty message through eBay

And I of course have responded

how on earth do I know that the address is different from his work place. He told me where to send it

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Nortonbits have always solved eny problems out for me.But i needed to be very paciant.I think they need more staff.

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so glad i have read this thread any bad supplier should be named this saves fellow norton owners time and money brillint stuff regards nick

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Since we already have the spares scheme and at least 3 suppliers, Andover, Mick Hemmings and RGM who are a pleasure to deal with, why would anyone but a masochist go anywhere near the other supplier?

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Previously Barry Carson wrote:

i had steering head cup and cones for my es2 from nortonbits they jammed up on the road after going over a bump. i sent them back for them to have a look at so as to send back to manufacturer to check them over that was it.heard nothing more.complete communication breakdown.i have had bits off them since but thats it, no more ,time to move on.i want to stay alive a little longer.

oh dear that's terrible. Don't know how some people sleep at night

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Previously lee_hwozdyk wrote:

It turns out that Mr Nortonbits is following this thread very closely as he's just sent me a snotty message through eBay

Hello Lee

Mr Nortonbits seems to be agreeing that you should tell your fellow NOC members what the situation is ! . So the webmaster has nothing to worry about !. Thank you Lee and Dan for pointing out the quality of service from Nortonbits.

It's presumably a very very very long way from Rugeley to the 'works' address hence it takes all weekend to deal with your refund. I do hope that you will receive loads of gift vouchers as compensation - but I still believe in Santa Claus.

Patrick.

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Patrick,

As ever, the Club encourages useful debates of this sort provided the postings remain factual and everyone is sensible about it. If that is the case, we have no reason to suppress the dialogue.

One of the best uses for these message boards is to exchange information about suppliers who people feel are doing a good job for us, but equally to keep deficient suppliers on their toes.

Webmaster

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Previously patrick_mullen wrote:

Previously lee_hwozdyk wrote:

It turns out that Mr Nortonbits is following this thread very closely as he's just sent me a snotty message through eBay

Hello Lee

Mr Nortonbits seems to be agreeing that you should tell your fellow NOC members what the situation is ! . So the webmaster has nothing to worry about !. Thank you Lee and Dan for pointing out the quality of service from Nortonbits.

It's presumably a very very very long way from Rugeley to the 'works' address hence it takes all weekend to deal with your refund. I do hope that you will receive loads of gift vouchers as compensation - but I still believe in Santa Claus.

Patrick.

i too still believe in Santa ,and hopefully in less than 9 weeks I will get some goodies. That's if I've been a good boy of course.who knows,I may even get a refund from my new best friend.

I may even get a Christmas card off him aswell. I will remain hopeful and see what next week brings.

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Presumably "Nortonbits" is a ploy, to attract customers dissatisfied with this gentleman's other business. Now this has been exposed, it would be wise to check out any "New" suppliers of Norton spares appearing on eBay, or in the motorcycle press.

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You should see their Triumph Ebay site, 35 or so negatives but actually its surprisingly low few given the no of transactions. How do they do that?Is it just that when they/he have/has a bad day they/he really take(s) it out on the customer??

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Previously K Glassborow wrote:

You should see their Triumph Ebay site, 35 or so negatives but actually its surprisingly low few given the no of transactions. How do they do that?Is it just that when they/he have/has a bad day they/he really take(s) it out on the customer??

i actually rang Norvil before my eBay purchase to buy some parts and I got put through to Les , he was very helpful with part numbers for my bike. I was in mid conversation with him and I was writing all the part numbers down so I could place my order with them , when I got cut off. I rang back straight away to say that I had just been talking to Les and got cut off. The reply I got was "he's on another call"

i couldn't believe that he had just cut me off when I was ordering parts. Needless to say I now deal with other companies. That's how I ended up with Nortonbits gasket .

i had a nice chat with some one at RGM on Thursday, ordered some parts and received them this morning.

that's what I call service

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I always use Andover Norton or Mick Hemmings and avoid Norvil due to the poor reputation but looking at the feedback on the Nortonbits ebay site within 12 months they have 4,400 postives and only 11 negatives, must be doing something right. Oh and I do wish AN would get a proper transactional web site up and running or open an ebay shop themselves.

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Previously patrick_bramman wrote:

I always use Andover Norton or Mick Hemmings and avoid Norvil due to the poor reputation but looking at the feedback on the Nortonbits ebay site within 12 months they have 4,400 postives and only 11 negatives, must be doing something right. Oh and I do wish AN would get a proper transactional web site up and running or open an ebay shop themselves.

To be fair to Norvil, I have had mail order parts from them for 30 years or more and have been satisfied. I have never had to speak to the main man though and I must say RGM are very helpful and parts arrive next day, really good service.

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"Oh and I do wish AN would get a proper transactional web site up and running or open an ebay shop themselves. "

Sorry, but quite frankly I do not understand this remark. On Andover Norton's website you can click and buy on photos, part numbers, or open the "Commando" exploded drawings and click on them. Or search by number or description in the "pricelist" and click and buy. More transactional I cannot imagine.

e-bay shops we simply don't have the time for. Others sell our free instructional leaflets for 4 Pounds a throw on e-bay- they probably have nothing more important to do.

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Sorry to be helping this thread slide off topic!

For AN,

The AN website comes up short as you can't complete everything in one go. Yes you can add to a cart but you can't calculate shipping, and then seemlessly pay for the goods via PayPal/Credit Card.

Still a pleasure to deal with, just a bit bulky compared to RGM's site. I'm in Canada and RGM charges a flat rate up front for shipping, then provides a credit if theyovercharged. Sleek and convienent.No waiting around for emails etc.

All the shops need to add more PHOTO's. Part number conversions are great but a picture is the decision maker for me!

Cheers from Halifax NS,

Bryon

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Update

Ebay have yet to update my account, but in the meantime Nortonbits have replied to my email and offered me a refund incl postage, which I have accepted and will tell ebay that we have resolved the problem when I receive the payment.This was the email I received, it doesnt really explain why my emails werent answered but I think they are genuinely trying sort this out:

We initially had a return address which was a PO Box number but that was superseded some time ago by a Rugeley address. The only problem was that the webmaster forgot to change the returns address on every single listing and only changed the information page on our ebay account.For reference, Les has no contact with the day to day running of Norton bits, it's all done by other members of staff.The only contact he generally has is to offer advice when questions are asked that others can't answer.Maybe you could put a message on the NOC forum making this point as Les knows nothing of the problems that you encountered with the studs nor the non fitting head gasket from another correspondent. It is not possible for us to physically check every single item that we send out and generally we get well less than 1% of issues with our products.We do sometimes get bombarded with questions, many of which are ludicrous when the information being asked is clearly stated in the description so none of us look forward to answering them. I am the main question answerer but I do have more than my fair share of holidays so sometimes some of the more awkward questions can go for a long period before being answered.Send us that invoice and we will issue the refund.Paul

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Nortonbits may not be BMW standard of organisation but "All's well that ends well" -as someone once remarked.

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Someone at Norvil/Nortonbits should take a course in "Customer Relations". They obviously have more satisfied customers than disgruntled ones. However, one dissatisfied customer can cause more harm to their imagine (resulting in lost sales) than a thousand who take good service for granted. Eventually they seem to have resolved the problems, raised in this thread, but, they will receive little thanks, and have done little to restore their tarnished reputation.

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I have unknowingly dealt with both sides of the Norvil/Nortonbits business and I have to say that I have felt disappointed with both of my dealings with you. I hold no malice towards you, but I won't be using either of your outlets again. I personally judge a business on how they are with me, and you were a let down on both orders. I will now be spending my thousands of pounds elsewhere.

Regards

lee

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While we're "off topic"....

It would be interesting to hear what members think about the club's own e-commerce facility for spares in the revamped NOC Shop?

Peter

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Previously Peter White wrote:

While we're "off topic"....

It would be interesting to hear what members think about the club's own e-commerce facility for spares in the revamped NOC Shop?

Peter

Good suggestion, I had just sent them an email with comments and appreciation. My biggest issue is with the lack of notification that my order has been shipped. The last order took over two months to arrive - was it lost? Never processed? I had no idea. I also think there should be a tracking feature even if for an additional cost. When I purchased from the Merchandise side I received an email letting me know the shipment had gone out - that was very considerate and helpful. It's member's money that's being dealt with afterall.

I also like the photos on the parts lists now, also very helpful if one isn't certain of the part. Pre-photos I bought a part believing it would fit my Slimline, it didn't. The photo would have clarified that immediately.

Bruce

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Liking the new format!

But

Where has the text gone that identifies if the parts are brand new, NOS, or Sec Hand?

Cheers from Halifax NS

Bryon

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Previously Peter White wrote:

Hi Bryon

Well spotted Sir - It's now back!

Cheers

Looks good congrats. to all involved

Peter

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Previously Bryon Harvey wrote:

Sorry to be helping this thread slide off topic!

For AN,

The AN website comes up short as you can't complete everything in one go. Yes you can add to a cart but you can't calculate shipping, and then seemlessly pay for the goods via PayPal/Credit Card.

Still a pleasure to deal with, just a bit bulky compared to RGM's site. I'm in Canada and RGM charges a flat rate up front for shipping, then provides a credit if theyovercharged. Sleek and convienent.No waiting around for emails etc.

All the shops need to add more PHOTO's. Part number conversions are great but a picture is the decision maker for me!

Cheers from Halifax NS,

Bryon

Guilty for going O/T, my apologies but Byron summed it up, having the ability to compile an order into a shopping basket, add delivery charges etc and pay by card is ticket to the game stuff now in ecommerce and it is only going to get more important.

 


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