A Cautionary Tale
Bit long but might help someone avoid the same experience.
Just thought I’d let you know of my recent experiences on the classifieds after putting up a wanted add as it might help anyone else looking for a specific thing. I’ve been looking for a 2nd hand singular swift xl F+F pre boost etc etc as I sold mine a few yrs ago to a very nice chap on here and missed it, I still had all the bits for a bike so thought I’d try and replace it. Bit of a long shot but I know a few are knocking about. Turns out a lot more than I thought.
So someone DM'd me saying they had one MK1 and sent me some pictures, it wasn’t perfect, but I decided to go ahead, (luckily) I got the flu and was delayed in completing the deal. Got back in touch, the guy sent me his bank details which didn’t add up… Clear Business Junction Acc (not a bank) and a different name with a weird reason for it, sounded off so I pulled out. I then followed up a few other DM’s I’d received in the interim and got offered another MK1 in good condition but when I said I was going through with the first guy he offered it me for much less as he had medical bills to pay which immediately set off alarm bells. So, I stopped communications.
Then I was offered a later frame MK5 for £750 when I said it was out of my budget he immediately came back and said I could have it for £300, (not very STW) when I explained I wanted an older frame he said his mate had one and gave me his email, emailed the chap (I was already suspicious but curious as now there seemed to be quite a few XL’s about! He emailed me with pictures and a price and low and behold the pictures were the exact same pictures as the very first guy.
Then got another DM on STW which initially seemed legit again, different pictures (also a MK1) but bank account details (Clear Business again) did not match the name, and the grammar then started to go wonky and the uncommon urgency.
So that was 4 dodgy replies to a wanted request, the only 2 genuine ones were the super nice guy I sold my frame to originally to confirm how much he liked it and wasn’t going to sell it back to me, which is a shame! Then another chap who lived in Texas so not viable.
I checked in with the moderators and they are happy for me to post the usernames linked to this activity. It seems very likely they are bogus or hacked and there are some dodgy individuals lurking on the classifieds targeting the wanted adds. All email responses had slightly suspect grammar, just the odd word out of place and an uncommon urgency to complete, then payment details that went by a different name and a Clear Business Junction account.
So, I would avoid the following users as they all led to dodgy/suspect offers, pretty confident if I'd paid then no frame would've materialised.
Old_Cyc05
Ricov
Craig77
Roger McLean
I’ve bought and sold a few frames and components on the classifieds, and it’s always been a solid and pleasant experience with genuinely decent people, but this recent experience has made me very sceptical. Now it may be that the wanted Adds attracts this type of attention and some suspect forum lurkers fishing for bored middle-aged cyclists. The users seemed to know a little bit about bikes especially the first one but altogether an unsavoury little journey into the Classifieds forum.
I very nearly sent the payment to the first chap and while not a lot of cash, I’m so glad I got the flu and the fear!
Be careful out there!
Nice one, thanks for the info.
The simple fact is that wherever there is money to be had, there will be criminals. STW's Classifieds is simply a means to connect people, it's always been strongly recommended to exercise caution when dealing with strangers. This is no different from Facebook Marketplace or sticking up a card on the board in ASDA. There is not - and cannot be - any buyer or seller protection in the Classifieds, you're on your own.
I would assume that the users you mention have been banned but whilst there are measures and techniques in place it's near-impossible to prevent the same people/scripts creating new accounts if they're sufficiently sneaky. Name and shame is likely futile, the take-away here is to always be careful.
Time and again we used to hear "I paid with Paypal Friends & Family to avoid paying 40p in fees and now they've absconded with several hundred quid" and the answer unfortunately is "well then, you're a blithering idiot." You wouldn't give an envelope full of banknotes to a random bloke in the pub on the promise that he'll bring your goods round tomorrow night and the Internet is no different. If you find yourself thinking "is this a scam?" then the answer is always yes, even if you can't immediately see how.
I only buy stuff from forums from regular forum users IE people who post in other discussions. Never had any issues that way.
I only buy stuff from forums from regular forum users IE people who post in other discussions. Never had any issues that way.
Honestly, I'd like to see a minimum post count applied to the Classifieds. The whole point of it from the outset was to allow site members to swap gear, not for people to set up garage industries (or scams) without ever engaging with the community. An experienced Moderator will spot the wrong 'uns in much less than 10 posts.
People still use the classifieds on here? Wow.
Same across the board - forums, facebook groups etc - stick a wanted ad up and you can pretty much guarantee a scammer will be in touch. Its about knowing the warning signs - as others have said, if they don't contributed anything to the forums then avoid. Facebook is similar - you can rip apart a scam profile pretty easily...
Had similar recently from an old Wtd ad. I’ve been contacted twice by users giving a “mates” email address that has what I’m after but doesn’t post on STW. They were blocked.
Agree with all comments above, they were easy enough to spot after i got over the first one almost catching me out and i did follow up on a few just to see what would happen (albeit cautiously) the only one i nearly got caught out by was the first one as the chat was normal and my enthusiasm high... until the payment details came through then it was clearly wrong.
Classifieds always used to be a pretty good place to swap stuff about as Cougar says.....
Genuine stw sellers will always put up a stealth ad in the main forum anyway so they're easy to spot. 😊👍
I always thought there should be a minimum post count to view or post in the classifieds as well.
Only 50 posts would help to get a feel for the other people
they were easy enough to spot after i got over the first one almost catching me out
See, here's the thing no-one talks about.
I used to think "how would anyone fall for this crap, are you thick?"
But that's no longer the case. Scams have progressed from a teenager chancing their luck in their bedroom to full-on state sponsored organised crime. (Well, ok, perhaps not on STW Classifieds, but still.) They've been doing this for a long time now and they are good at it.
Modern scams can be believable, compelling. People who really should know better can be caught out, it only takes a moment.
I only buy stuff from forums from regular forum users IE people who post in other discussions. Never had any issues that way.
Honestly, I'd like to see a minimum post count applied to the Classifieds. The whole point of it from the outset was to allow site members to swap gear, not for people to set up garage industries (or scams) without ever engaging with the community. An experienced Moderator will spot the wrong 'uns in much less than 10 posts.
On another non-bike related forum I use, you have to have 20 posts before you can see the classified section, and 100 before you can post in it.
Doesn't make scams 100% unavoidable, but certainly limits the chances. The mods are quick to spot people posting just for the sake of getting their count up.
Genuine stw sellers will always put up a stealth ad in the main forum anyway so they're easy to spot. 😊👍
'tis true.
However, I once asked how much my bike was worth because I was considering selling it, in a thread discussing second hand bike prices, only for the post to get deleted and my wrists slapped for posting a stealth ad.
On the old classifieds I always used to leave feedback after buying something. I don't know if anyone ever checked a seller's history next time they tried to sell something but it was there if they looked for it, I always had a quick look at their selling history before buying. Can't do that on the current classifieds unfortunately
This "I dont want it, but ive a mate, here's his email' is known alarm bell ringer.
We had a number on RetroBike, with the exact same format.
There seems to be a lot more of them about these days.
At least you didnt get stung.
I was selling a bike on gumtree and got a message from someone who wanted be to sent the the bike and upon receipt they would send me postal orders.
😆
I've got an old frame for sale.
seven hundred quid. or three hundred..whatever really... no bank account so you'll have to post the bills..... 😉
Glad you didn't get scammed, and well done for raising it.
DrP
I normally check against posts in the forum. You can tell who's a regular and wastes time on here at work while thinking about bikes.
Likewise on Facebook. I really only deal with people who look like cyclists from their profile.
Minimum post counts are decent, but plenty places use feedback systems which are simple.and effective.
There are legit classifieds-only forum users, some of whom are pretty prolific. If it's any consolation they caused no end of pain for Moderators, not because they'd done anything wrong but because we had to unpick what the buggers were up to.
I bought an XL swift frame and forks off here in 2014, paid by BT and posted to another country. Still going strong and love it. Ta for posting warning, just wanted to add my experience.
Genuine stw sellers will always put up a stealth ad in the main forum anyway so they're easy to spot. 😊👍
'tis true.
However, I once asked how much my bike was worth because I was considering selling it, in a thread discussing second hand bike prices, only for the post to get deleted and my wrists slapped for posting a stealth ad.
What is it? Asking for a friend.
Add Ian Real Grey to the list of scammer try-it-ons on here. Probably using a different name now.
Posted me images of a Ti Jones that had been cropped off the Jones site, said he bought it for his son and his son didn't want a 29+ Jones Plus (strange that...) and he just wanted to see it used, would pass it on for £750 transferred to his bank. 4/10, must try harder. Good work on the brand/bike hook though.
That’s the scary thing. The red flags are the photos, the account details, price and grammar.
How long until ai can create a realistic unique photo, sound convincing in the dialogue and copy genuine online haggling. That just leaves getting the names to match.
Infact i recon with ai i could bluff selling something i know very little about
For a couple of high value items I’ve bought on Pinkbike, alongside the usual checks (how long they’ve been a member etc), I’ve requested FaceTime (or equivalent) calls to see the actual item on sale and the person selling it. In both cases the requests were accepted without any hassle and the sales went ok.
Yeah, I almost got caught out on some Hope brakes on FB Marketplace once as everything was convincing... but when the guy wouldn't call me to discuss it was clearly dodgy.
There's lots of funny marketplace activity in Oz - people with 10 grand bikes who apparently live in towns that are thousands of km from any mtb trails, have thousands of FB friends and like lots of pages in foreign countries and using imperial tape measures in "their" photos.
Likewise on Facebook. I really only deal with people who look like cyclists from their profile.
What they have a picture of a bloke with a beard, shaved legs, drinking real ale whilst buying some over priced jeans?
I’ve not used classifieds on here for years. I’ve done it twice. I always checked the posting history. Both times they had posting history.
First was a bloke here purely buying and selling bikes so I felt a bit duped. 2nd was brilliant and actually sent me a pic of the bike once he had restored it
These days I always go with don’t trust anyone (unfortunately)
Well Craig77 is still active in the classified and trying to scam people, he replied over the weekend to my wanted add for an Elite Freehub, is there a way to get him banned?
MOD - They’ve been banned from the site.