GREENVILLE, S.C. (BRAIN) — E-commerce retailer Glory Cycles is in the process of closing but many customers are still waiting for products or refunds, including a New York retailer who says he never received a fork he ordered to complete a custom bike build.
"We are in the process of closing the business and liquidating the assets," Glory Cycles Customer Service emailed to BRAIN on Thursday. "COVID delays drove these complaints and impacted our decision to close the business. At this time, we are working to ship or refund remaining orders. Our site has been closed and not taking orders since September, but there is a fake site (we) have been getting complaints and calls about as well."
Through November, 39 customer complaints were registered with the Better Business Bureau against Glory Cycles. Complaints included not receiving a $1,762 build kit, a $2,670.35 frame, and a $3,696 12-speed Di2 groupset.
While he didn’t file a BBB complaint, Andrew Crooks, NYC Velo owner with two locations in New York, said he never received a $585 Enve road disc fork he paid for in advance in March. Crooks told BRAIN he was doing a custom build for an extra-tall customer and needed an Enve fork with a 400mm steerer tube.
Crooks first ordered through QBP but didn’t know if it could get him the fork promptly. Because the customer wanted the bike for an upcoming event, Crooks searched the internet despite knowing his margin on the purchase would be considerably lower.
“If I have to buy this at retail and just eat our margin on the fork, I will do that to keep the client happy,” he said. “My goal was to take care of my client.”
That’s when he saw Glory Cycles had one in stock. When contacted, Glory Cycles said it didn’t actually have one but would the following week.
“So I’m basically putting eggs in multiple baskets,” Crooks said. “Who could fulfill it first? I have no idea what the revenue of Glory Cycles is, but my guess is they dwarf my bike shop, meaning they’re probably selling more Enve forks, and the chances of them being ahead of me in that queue at QBP were great.”
It wasn’t until June when the fork arrived — from QBP. Crooks called Glory Cycles to cancel the order. After repeated attempts, Crooks finally received an email saying the order would be canceled and a refund processed within 8-10 business days. He's still waiting.
“Few things make me angrier than people stealing from me,” he said. “We try to do everything with the best of intentions. When that’s met with the opposite, it’s disappointing, to put it mildly. This whole thing about COVID delays, sure, it’s no secret and something I’ve experienced. And frankly that’s what prompted the order from Glory.”
On Oct. 27, the Better Business Bureau opened an investigation into the business practices of Glory Cycles, which opened in 2010. The BBB said shop representatives cited shipping delays and other issues. Eventually, customers told the BBB that Glory Cycles ceased all communications and did not offer refunds.
The shop was resolving some complaints until July, according to the BBB, when it stopped responding to customer disputes. Organization representatives then visited the shop to speak with owner Clive de Sousa, who told them he was going out of business and filing for bankruptcy.
Glory Cycles’ website is still active but all products have been eliminated. Its Facebook page has been taken offline.
