[migz123]

Over the last week or so, there has been an increase of fraudulent superbike listings on eBay .... the signs are obvious to most, the most obvious being ridiculously low buy-it-now prices... like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ducati-Superbike-2005-Ducati-Superbike-999-RED-Low-Buy-It-Now-price_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ49990QQitemZ4607785428QQrdZ1

Another sign would be that the seller is asking to be contacted privately instead of the usual eBay "ask the seller" link...

If you come accross a fraudulent auction, just report it to eBay and they are usually quick to remove the auction.

Here is the link to report the frauds (make sure you have the item number of the auction handy - that is found at the top right-hand corner of each auction):

http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index_6.html

• Select "Fraud Concerns for Buyers"
• then Select "Report a listing that you think is faudulent"
• click 'continue'
• then click on "e-mail us"
• Enter the item number on the field provided

 

[Guest]

i saw those auctions earlier....anyone who thinks they're going to get a 999 for $2,800 is pretty stupid

 

[scott]

Just had it happen to me last week with recent ad of mine.
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/showthread.php?t=1950

 

[Bodhi]

They usually want you to "pre-qualify" in order to bid. In other words they want your credit card number. Can you guess why?

 

[naked1]

You know what though... As much as I hate the bastards who try and swindle others on eBay, you really have to ask yourself... "what in gods name were some of those people who got taken for a ride thinking?".... I mean, did they really think they were going to get an 05 999 for $4000 shipped FREE VIA AIR from europe, or another one I remember seeing was a $3000 buy it now auction for a lot of THREE "almost brand new" monsters a "retired cop" was selling... COME ON! Who are these people bidding on this stuff? They're just as much to blame... But then again, what was that saying again.... "There's a sucker born every minute...." ???

 

[Rainman]

I just responded.....

I contacted them and gave them SCOTT's credit card number!!!!

HA!

 

[scott]

I have registered my card numbers with Google so everyone can just get them with a simple search

 

[J749]

I recieved this the otherday on ebay for a bike I was selling, Looks pretty dodgy to me, and get this the guy wasnt even registered on ebay, or at least thats what it said next to his name.

Here it is:

"Dear Seller,
I am interested in buying your item for my client.After several consideration over the advert placed my client has really shown interest in it and would really want to issue the payment for your buy it now price in form of cheque. Will you be accepting a cheque?

According to my client the cheque that will be drawn by him would include the cost for the item, shipping of this item to my client and my commission would be included on the same money order/cashier check because of time constraint.

We shall solely be responsible for the shipping of the item, i mean arrange for pick up from you when the cheque CLEARS.

Provide your CONTACT NAME,ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER if you are interested in selling so that I can have it forwarded to my client for immediate payment issuance.
Please contact me asap via email for futher questions as regards this transaction.

Thank You.
Pamela Bryan."

 

[VolvoWrench]

This exact thing has been going on with boats too.
I'm on a boat owner's forum for a particular brand of ski boats and one guy posts a link to an ebay auction for a boat. Right away, another guy on the forum says "hey, that looks like so-and-so's boat".

So-and-so gets on and says "yeah, that's my boat". The dude stole the guys pics. and description from another website. The guy had the same story, wanted you pre-approved, he was a non-registered user, boat was practically brand new, Oh, and by the way, the boat was in Greece.

So-and-so's wife works with a bunch of lawyers and they started contacting him acting like they were interested. Should be fun.

 

[rob]

If you choose to pursue this (and make no mistake, it smells like a scam), do a couple of things to safeguard yourself. First, deposit the cheque in an account all by itself and don't touch the money right away. Second, inform the bank that you suspect the check may be counterfeit and ask them to expedite validation. Third, inform the buyer that you'll only release the bike for shipping if and when the bank validates the check's authenticity. Get an estimate from your bank how long that will take, and then double it for the buyer. Don't be shy about telling him the transaction may take as long as 90 days or more to clear.

Also, if the buyer insists on going through an escrow company, don't use his. Do some research into which companies are trustworthy and insist on using the one you like the best.

Some other things you could do are: don't accept a check. Tell him you'll accept Western Union wire transfer only. Or tell him it's a cash-only transaction and make someone come hand you the cash. Perhaps require him to secure financing through a local bank (local to you, that is), so that you can receive a check from the bank directly (meaning - go to a branch to collect the check from an officer of the bank). If he's legit, this should be acceptable as he can then immediately reconcile the bank loan with a single payment. Then if he defrauds the bank, it's not your problem.

Be as strict as possible to ensure you're not being bamboozled, and be prepared for the buyer to disappear.

 

[Bodhi]

One more word of advice I have gotten. Don't assume that because the seller has a 100% rating with 2,000 sales, that someone hasn't hijacked that account. I (carefully) checked out one of those dirt cheap too good to be true bikes (an '04 Hayabusa with 2,000 miles for $2,800) and the eBay seller was some little old lady from Pasadena whose 2,000 sales consisted mainly of pot holders and beany babies and victorian inkwells. Yep turns out she wasn't selling any 165 mph motorcycle. The link to verify your credit card was a redirection to somewhere in Slovakia. These scam artists pop up as fast as eBay can remove them.

 

[Namor]

i haven't read the other posts. i'm a rather trusting individual, to the point of a flaw, i even feel bad about telling one of the moderates i was japanese just to prove a point, can't remeber which one or else i'd apologize.

back to ebay

anyhow i bought a 2000 748s for $5800, and it never existed. a good time.
-never ever ever pay western union.

-on large sums always contact ebay for confirmation on you item, and don't do a thing till they respond.

-never take messages not delived through ebays "my messages"

-feedback can be phoney. to check feedback contact the peron who sent the feedabck and ask them about their purchase. that clears things up.

-if you are sending the money, be very uncompromising on securty of transaction and title.

- offen times people notice when a bike isn't sold, steel the images and put the bike up for austion again and say "the bidder didn't pay" or something along those lines. i saw a 998 two weeks ago that sold a year ago. craft.

-frauds can be very very very well done. all links, all contact, everything can match its authenticity.

-some shipping companies are phoney, set up entirely for fraud.