It's tempting to order direct online when purchasing an electric bike, because they tend to cost less. However, there are some considerations that we wanted to share so that people can make the best decision for their lifestyle and go in with the right expectations. Are you fit enough to receive, unpack, and assemble a heavy electric bicycle? Sometimes these ebikes can arrive with some damage to the packaging and parts... or even have missing parts or hardware. I've experienced this myself, and it means extra time waiting for the company to provide support or another product. You almost always spend more time when ordering direct and in some cases, the companies are smaller and less professional.

I've had great experiences, okay experiences, and sometimes bad experiences ordering electric bikes online and using crowdfunding. I hope that this video serves as a reference point and a place to share your own experiences with this, to help each other.

Pros of direct order ebikes:
- You'll probably save money, may save 20% or more
- It may be your only option if there are no shops around

Cons of direct order
- It may take a lot of physical strength to receive, unpack, and build
- It can take a lot of time and effort to assemble some ebikes
- Parts can be missing
- Sometimes the bike that arrives isn't exactly like the bike you receive... components are different or downspecced
- Sometimes the bikes aren't purpose built and the parts aren't as fine-tuned to fit properly, this can make assembly difficult and functionality and ride not perfect
- Language and communication barriers and breakdown
- It can be difficult to reach companies, challenging to express your questions or concerns, and then long waits on replies... we get preferential treatment and sometimes it is still really difficult
- Sometimes crowdfunding campaigns fail or never get delivered, and the final product may also be different than what was advertised
- While you do save money usually, buying online, there's something to be said for the wait time that is involved with shipping and the tools you may need to setup an e-bike EBR was paid to perform this review #Sponsored We try to be honest, thorough, and fun! Comparison tools, shop directory, and forums at: ElectricBikeReview.com