05/20/2026
Hello, everyone. Les here, from Classic Auto Restorations. I was forced to make a difficult decision the other day. I have been selling Bricklin Parts on Ebay for over 20 years and every year they take a bigger bite, and tie your hands by not letting me properly take care of customers before purchase because we cannot exchange phone numbers. In a way I get it, with some out there trying to make side deals. For me, that was not the case, I was trying to serve the Bricklin owner. I have been working with it for a while now, but in the last year I have had a few issues which left me on the short end. I have repeatedly tried contacting Ebay to work the issues out, but it is impossible to talk with them to repair anything. When you go into the help center you just get form letters that slant in their favor with no solution or conversation. I did finally find a number to call the other day to fix a problem that was going to cost me over $800.00 and all I got was an Artificial Intelligence Operator that was also loaded with generic answers and found myself just not having any fun at all. The final straw for me was now when I make a sale, for example a carpet kit, in the listing it clearly says allow 2 weeks, because, although we stock all of the yardage, we make the kits to order because some people want single flaps, some want dual flaps, some want the darker brown, some want the brown closest to stock and some want a different color all together. That way everything is fresh. So now their new policy is they put a hold on your funds untill 3 days after the customer notifies Ebay and says they got it; which you know a lot of people have very busy lives and will simply forget to notify Ebay, and the guy just trying to make a living is basically loaning money to Ebay interest free. A very smart, but crooked move on their part. I could see them putting a hold on funds if you had a history of not sending people their product in a timely manner, but for Classic Auto Restorations that was never an issue. One of the other issues that I have not liked for a few years is that Ebay, when calculating final value fees, uses the entire amount of the ticket, including tax and shipping. What that means is that for years we have been paying for some of your sales tax and some of your shipping. This is just a few reasons I have made the decision not to sell on Ebay. With some of my listings, by the time they got done, Ebay made more on the sale then Classic Auto Restorations. We have a very full line of quality products for the Bricklin SV1 and make quite a few parts for them as well. So here is my plan from now on, if you should want anything from Les at Classic Auto Restorations You can reach me on the phone Monday thru Friday 10:00am to 4:00pm at (951) 317-7643. You are also welcome to text that number 7 days a week, but I will contact you the next business day. Just let me know in the text if you prefer a call or text back, because I know some of you are a bit shy talking on the phone. I on the other hand am a Chatty Kathy. Saturdays if you call it is spotty on whether I pick up. I might be having fun doing something. Sunday is my day with the family, sorry no calls. You are also welcome to contact me by email at [email protected], which you are welcome to email 7 days a week, but again I will get back the next business day. Just send me a numbered list of what you want, I will generate an estimate and send it back for approval, then I will Paypal you an invoice to be paid through Paypal or Zelle. While I am bending your ear here, I talk to people all over the world that may be experiencing issues working on the Bricklin, and my phone is always open to help and I have never charged even a dime for that, whether you are buying from me or not. I am not claiming to know everything, but I do have a very good understanding on the Bricklin SV1. I am aware there are a couple more great sources out there for parts and you need to deal with who you feel you can work with best. I have no issues with that; we all get along. Just a little bit about me, I have been actively restoring, servicing and selling parts for the Bricklin SV1 for 35 years or better and still enjoy them. We are not throwing in the towel by any means, just Boycotting Ebay.
Thanks, Les Randolph. Owner, Classic Auto Restorations
Thank you for understanding.
