News that the Raleigh Team Aero Pro Burner would be remade for its 35th anniversary caused quite a stir when we reported on it last week, and Raleigh claim that 7,000 people registered for the sale of just 350 bikes, priced at £500 each...
The Burner has SOLD OUT. We had just under 7K people trying to purchase! We never envisaged the project would receive the interest it did!
— Raleigh Bikes UK (@RaleighBikes_UK) July 19, 2017
However, angry fans are feeling burned after it became apparent that many of the lucky few who bagged one of the bikes were looking to profit, and screenshots appeared under Raleigh's Twitter post showing that bikes had already began to appear on Ebay just an hour after they officially went on sale...
It's a shame you can't do something about the idiots buying them just to try and make a quick profit. pic.twitter.com/G3Hq7xALRA
— Si (@MogUk) July 19, 2017
The bikes, sold direct by Raleigh for £500, have already started appearing on Ebay for as much as £1,500
Other genuine fans who wanted to own one of the classic bikes, remade pretty much to the exact specifications of the original Aero Pro Burner released in the mid-80's, have expressed their dismay on social media. Raleigh's Sales and Marketing Director Pippa Wibberley responded: "Raleigh released just 350 replicas of the bike and anyone wanting a piece of retro Raleigh, had to pre-registered their interest for the exclusive sale in advance, limiting purchases to just one per person, and preventing mass-purchase for re-selling.
"Every measure was put into place to ensure that the whole process ran as smoothly and as fairly as possible; this process was communicated to our prospective buyers to manage expectations and ensure full clarity throughout. We have received an overwhelming response, but unfortunately, as this is a limited edition bike, demand far outweighed the quantity we produced. We hope that we have served to delight some long-standing Raleigh BMX fans with this exciting replica”
What do you think about the Raleigh Burners being resold at a much higher price? Let us know in the comments.