I tend to check ebay for bikes on a frequent basis usually due to boredom. There is one scam I keep seeing again and again. Here is a warning so yo ucan spot it (it’s not just bikes, I’ve seen this guy doing it with cars and campers).

Listing – top of the range bike.
Location – usually the highlands or somewhere difficult to get to.
Photos of bike – In amongst the photos will be a slide with the following:

“Best buy it now price on ebay, email “xxxx@gmail.com” for more details”.

If you email, which I did once a number of years ago, you get the usual scam messages of “send us a deposit and then pay the full amount when it arrives” or “I can do this price if you transfer the money to xxx”.

The listing is always taken off by the seller before the auction can end. I report everyone of them I see. I’ve seen up to 10 of them in a week.

I thought Ebays cleverness stopped people putting email addresses in listings like that?

I thought Ebays cleverness stopped people putting email addresses in listings like that?

That’s not the c-word I would use to describe ebay’s policies…

It doesn’t stop mobile numbers either.

TBPH, I’m ok with eBay on an ‘it is what it is’ basis, but as soon as I clock a seller trying to work around the T’s & C’s like this I don’t care what they say they’re selling anymore, I’m out.

I see this a lot also on camper van / motorhome listings, usually trying to get someone to leave a hefty deposit. Usually the seller with have multiple listings all copied from a genuine ad, at a fraction of the price.
If it looks too good to be true………………..

I saw similar on a motorhome, got the guy to give me an address so I could view it – he seemed surprised that I wouldn’t give a deposit beforehand sight unseen! Funny old thing, the house in the ads wasn’t the one where it was apparently stored…