"Unfortunately, we have to close down," says Meier Radsport in Zurich on its website, naturally in Zurich German, "With a heavy heart, we have to close down all our stock." A sporty, greying couple smiles slightly blurred into the camera, partially obscured by the edge of the picture and a text box.

Given the 75 percent discount plus an additional 15 percent discount for orders of at least three items, I'm supposed to think: "I can do that." A bike store with the second most common surname in the city might actually exist. But beware: "The sale at Meier Radsport Züri ends today."

Cool kits from Rapha, Santini and the entire World Tour peloton are on sale for 50 francs instead of 200, while glasses, helmets and shoes from brands that probably no one has ever heard of, such as Rayler, Sifvo and Progrip, also promise something useful at a ridiculously low price. Interestingly, Meier Radsport does not sell bicycles. The store is designed for impulse buyers, with prices that many people don't think twice about or turn off completely.

No entry in the commercial register, domain registered in the USA

As I occasionally order bike parts or clothes online, Meier Radsport appears at the top of my list when I visit our magazine's Facebook profile. For others, it's the fake store on Instagram. One bruised customer confided in the "Tages-Anzeiger", which then did some quick research: Meier-Radsport.com was registered in the USA on April 17, 2025. A representative of fakeshop-finder.de added that the fictitious cycling store had previously attracted bargain hunters with a .ch top-level domain. This is now closed. Instead, the fraudsters are now trying .com.

Surprisingly, several customers on Trustpilot reported that they had actually received the goods after a long wait. However, they said it was of poor quality. One customer was surprised that a shoe that was supposedly made in Europe had been sent directly to him from China. Customer service is an AI application that doesn't help you. One of them went to the trouble of searching for the store in the online trade register, where it is of course not registered.

The fact that I have never heard of Meier Radsport, which has supposedly been around for 20 years in the city where I have lived for even longer, is suspicious. The fact that the store has neither a physical address nor a telephone number is even more suspicious. The legally required legal notice is missing from the website. All indications of fake stores. More can be found at Stiftung Konsumentenschutz or at Verbraucherzentrale. At least opening hours are given - and what opening hours they are: Meier Radsport is open seven days a week.