Be Aware Of Ebay Bike Scam

[OCRoadie]

Here's a brief run down of a recent encounter on eBay, I'm sharing this in hopes of saving someone from getting scammed, which almost happened to me. Last week while searching for bikes on eBay, I came across a listing for a De Rosa King Carbon fully equiped with Campy Record. I did not place a bid but emailed the seller asking what size the frame was. He replied that he had a shop and was being forced to sell these bikes to pay some bills and told me that he had various sizes and actually sent me a list of measurements to take so that he could make sure I would have a good fit. He told me that he was hurting for cash and needed to sell quick and offered the bike at $2700 US dollars including shipping and insurance. At this point the item was no longer listed on eBay and the seller was trying to get into a private transaction. The was that send funds via Western Union and when he received the control number, the bike would be shipped via UPS 2 Day. The seller went as far as explaining that the transaction would be recorded and protected by the eBay "Safety Board" and an email appearing to be from eBay arrived stating they would insure up to 90% of the transaction. This email was what really tipped me off, as it just appeared a little bit sketchy. I'm sure this scenario plays out everyday and you people out there that frequently shop on eBay would have probably spotted this much sooner. This guy was really slick, he had hijacked someone elses eBay account that had a lot of selling acitivity and plenty of great feedback. He was sweet talker in his emails and seemed like he really knew bikes. Looking back there are a few very easy tell tale signs that should have tipped me off and others should watch for:
1. The seller's history never had any bikes or bike related auctions
2. $2700 for a $7500 bike doesn't make sense
3. What kind of bike shop would keep these stocked in all sizes?
4. You should never pay for anything via Western Union
5. Even after I offered to pay a higher price to ship COD or through an escrow service, he insisted on Western Union.

It's really easy to get caught up in the excitement of a potentially great deal and ignore the obvious signs that you are being taken. Remember if somethings to good to be true it is.

 

[gemelk]

Here's a brief run down of a recent encounter on eBay, I'm sharing this in hopes of saving someone from getting scammed, which almost happened to me. Last week while searching for bikes on eBay, I came across a listing for a De Rosa King Carbon fully equiped with Campy Record. I did not place a bid but emailed the seller asking what size the frame was. He replied that he had a shop and was being forced to sell these bikes to pay some bills and told me that he had various sizes and actually sent me a list of measurements to take so that he could make sure I would have a good fit. He told me that he was hurting for cash and needed to sell quick and offered the bike at $2700 US dollars including shipping and insurance. At this point the item was no longer listed on eBay and the seller was trying to get into a private transaction. The was that send funds via Western Union and when he received the control number, the bike would be shipped via UPS 2 Day. The seller went as far as explaining that the transaction would be recorded and protected by the eBay "Safety Board" and an email appearing to be from eBay arrived stating they would insure up to 90% of the transaction. This email was what really tipped me off, as it just appeared a little bit sketchy. I'm sure this scenario plays out everyday and you people out there that frequently shop on eBay would have probably spotted this much sooner. This guy was really slick, he had hijacked someone elses eBay account that had a lot of selling acitivity and plenty of great feedback. He was sweet talker in his emails and seemed like he really knew bikes. Looking back there are a few very easy tell tale signs that should have tipped me off and others should watch for:
1. The seller's history never had any bikes or bike related auctions
2. $2700 for a $7500 bike doesn't make sense
3. What kind of bike shop would keep these stocked in all sizes?
4. You should never pay for anything via Western Union
5. Even after I offered to pay a higher price to ship COD or through an escrow service, he insisted on Western Union.

It's really easy to get caught up in the excitement of a potentially great deal and ignore the obvious signs that you are being taken. Remember if somethings to good to be true it is.

Thanks for posting this.

I myself would have found the price alone to be a bit too suspicious and in all sizes?. Oft times, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

With eBay, you should always use their PayPal service because then you're protected and let me guarantee you that the very aggressively pursue AND prosecute fraud cases.

Further, if you notice that someone has no feedback record - it's a tip off, see paragraph 1 above.

If you see that an ad disappears from eBay before auction end, be very scared!

If ever a seller wants to take your sale private, they're trying to either subvert the eBay system OR they're trying to cheat you OR both!!!

Good post. Good call. Thanks for this.

Eric

 

[soonerschwinn]

I love ebay and use it a lot. But, I have seen enough such scams to make me really watch out. It happens all over the place
$18,000 Harley's for $6,000
$3,000 drum kits for $800
$1,200 guitars for $300
They have figured out a way to even assume someone elses feedback so that they look good if you check them out. They always want payment by cash or Western Union. In fact I heard something on the radio the other day that an estimated 80% of Western Union's business now is provided by internet scammers. Don't know if that's true. It sounds high. But I know there are a lot of scams these days on ebay. Be careful out there.
SS

 

[OCRoadie]

I love ebay and use it a lot. But, I have seen enough such scams to make me really watch out. It happens all over the place
$18,000 Harley's for $6,000
$3,000 drum kits for $800
$1,200 guitars for $300
They have figured out a way to even assume someone elses feedback so that they look good if you check them out. They always want payment by cash or Western Union. In fact I heard something on the radio the other day that an estimated 80% of Western Union's business now is provided by internet scammers. Don't know if that's true. It sounds high. But I know there are a lot of scams these days on ebay. Be careful out there.
SS

This guy had hijacked someone elses account who had perfect feedback and lots of selling activity, the fact that none of his auctions ever had anything to do with bikes was a big tip off. The worst thing was that even though I started feeling this was a scam, I was so caught up in the thoughts of riding my new dream bike that I overlooked the clear warning signs and almost fell for this scum bags trap.

 

[LottomagicZ4941]

I had a co-worker want me to cover for him so he could do a road trip to pick up one of them 18K going for 6K bikes. Guy claimed that he was getting a divorce and was selling the bike on the QT. Bank wanted a copy of the title or something the seller never provided so my coworker did not make the road trip to see the bike first.

 

[cydewaze]

Thanks for posting this. I never do business on eBay, but it's still good to know. I read 419eater.com a lot, so as soon as you said "Western Union", alarms went off in my head. Good catch btw on the seller having no history of selling bikes.