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Buzglyd

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#41 ·
Frequently there is a chick angle too. I was inquiring about a plasma TV once and got the old "I'm selling it because I just broke up with my boyfriend and I don't want it" or something like that.



The "seller" was just a short drive from me so I suggested a meeting and of course there was always some lame reason not to meet.
 
K

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#42 ·
Re: Thanks for your support

Yes you're right. I can't go into details but in the case of Japan it made sense to share work as is done on other airplanes (market access), however the Japanese were not content to do the same old stuff. i.e. they are taking on higher food chain items this time. In the case of Italy no one has a clue. Probably an executive likes to visit Rome. The engineering union (yes one of the few in the world) is not happy.
 
I

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#46 ·
This VFR 800 is for sale on ebay right now......2472034965 ......I emailed the seller a few questions and got no response. Questions like, How did you acquire the motorcycle and how long have you had it? Why did you have it inspected and serviced with only 25 miles on the clock? Do you have the title in hand?



Does anyone think this is a good candidate for fraud?
 
pdad13

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#50 ·
I just looked it up on ebay. Doesn't seem to be an outright scam, but I'd be a little leery about the seller. He's only got three transactions, negative feedback and one transaction aborted. Not a good track record so far.



How long has it been since you sent the e-mails? I usually give them about a day to respond.



Why I think it's probably not an outright scam:



1. There are plenty of pictures of the bike. Often, scammers will just pull one or two pictures of someone's bike off of the internet somewhere. They usually do not have access to more that two or three pictures of the same bike (also check the backgrounds of the photos to see that the bike was photographed in the same location, and not just random pictures of the same model and color bike). But this is not gospel. I have seen some scams with multiple pictures.



2. There is a VIN number listed. Most of the time scammers will not list a VIN number. In any case, if you have any doubts, you should run the VIN number through the state's DMV.



3. It is not listed at a low-ball price. When all is said and done, this bike will probably go for about $8,000. One of the biggest scams is to list a bike for a ridiculously low price to lure someone in for a quick sale. Of course, they have no bike and they'll try to get you to pay right away in return for such "a great deal."

$8,000 for this bike (remember it is still 2 years old and technically used) seems fair. But look into what the actual value of the bike is, if you don't already know, to get a feel as to whether you may be getting scammed.



4. The seller has completed transactions that relate to motorcycling/motorsports (Did sell some cars and had another bike listed.). Investigate the seller's feedback history and look for transactions/items that relate to motorcycles (if they're still available for viewing).

Apparently, many scammers hack into legitimate ebay users' accounts and list items to these accounts. If you find the bike is listed by "luv2knit" and you find only transactions for knitting and quilting supplies, you might be getting scammed. That is not to say that luv2knit can't also own a Gixxer, but in context of other suspicious circumstantial evidence, I'd stay away.



Also, this person seems to be in the buy/sell business, so it is possible that they bought this bike from the original owner or took it as a trade in. This could explain why the guy had it looked at and inspected. But this is a big maybe. If this guy doesn't respond to your e-mails and answer in a believeable manner, I'd walk away. There are plenty of honest, no hassle people on e-bay.



Hope this helps.
 
seruzawa

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#52 ·
Re: Honda Velociraptor is great motorcycle

You're onto something, Buz. I'd bet that we could come up with better names for bikes than the manufacturers do.

Harley FXBoatanchor.

Suzuki SillySavage.

Kawaski VulcanMindMeld.
 
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I

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#56 ·
It would seem the upside is obvious. Case in point. I just sold a 2002 KLR on Ebay. I live in South Louisiana. The bike I sold is a dual purpose motorcycle that by most accounts is a decent street bike that can go down a few fire roads now and then, or a gravel road, dirt road no problem, camping is great, off to Alaska if you can get the time off, great, problem is down here off road means SWAMP. Cycletrader does me no good when I want to sell a KLR in South Louisiana. How about a dual purpose bike 75% swamp, 25% water? I need to get to buyers who live someplace where off road looks like a John Denver song. Cha Ching, ebay baby. Just the facts ma'am................2466462860.......check out what my '02' KLR sold for on ebay. Ok , it had a few extras, worth $600 retail. I sold that sucker for $3800, with 7K miles no less. Subtract the used value of the bags/seat/tank bag and I figure I got $3400 for it. That bike in South Louisiana would sell for $2800 max, and yet the buyer drove over 800 miles to get this bike so I am guessing he was happy too. Sure, your local bike trader has a bazillion bikes, and if you could care less what you buy, have at it, come to think of it my local paper has a bazillion Harleys, CBR600F2s, Moto Guzzi Convertibles, BMW R50/5s, Suzuki Marduras, Kawasaki Specters, Honda Pacific Coasts, on and on and on. On the other hand if you just have to have a very nice KLR with luggage, Corbin seat, Dual Star tank bag (the best by the way) and ebay has it right now, go for it because it ain't gonna be in the cycle trader any time soon.
 
theDuke

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#59 ·
Re: Buying/Selling on eBay

I bought a car and a motorcycle on eBay Motors in the past year. Both transactions went very smoothly. One should be careful buying online just as you would offline.

The car was bought cross-country and shipped to me. Even with shipping, I figured that I saved about $4000 versus buying one here in Northern CA where dealers seem to think their used cars are made of solid gold. In my case, the car was a few years old, but still under factory warranty. I had a friend who lived near the seller check it out and give me a thumbs up. It was shipped from Chicago to San Francisco in about a week and delivered right to my office. In this case, the seller was a licensed dealer. You'll notice that some dealers post their state license information in their listings which helps to verify that they are who they are.

The bike I bought was relatively hard to find locally, a Triumph Thunderbird. This was an individual selling his own bike. He lived in a small town in Northern California about 200 miles from me and had essentially no local market for this bike. He told me that he had listed it in local papers for weeks with no bites. Likewise, I never would have found it locally to me. I had a long phone conversation with him, checked out tons of pictures on his listing, and ended up very happy with my purchase.

Some other points of advice. For cars, you'll notice that the VIN in the vehicle information section is a hyperlink. eBay offers a great discounted price for an Experian AutoCheck (background check, title, mileage, salvage, etc.). For $4.99 you can get one check or for $9.99 up to ten in a couple of months. If you're comparing some cars, this is totally worth it. Imagine, if the seller says he's in Texas but the background check says it's in Washington.. you'll have some serious questions to ask.

Also, emailing the seller is important. I was looking at a BMW recently and part of the description didn't make sense to me. I wrote the seller twice with a straightforward question and received no response... I passed on the car and kept looking.

Don't overlook eBay's feedback system. You can see details of previous buying and selling transactions for the person you're dealing with along with comments left by the other party. I wish I could get this type of information for local dealers?

If possible, use Paypal to send your deposit, they add additional protections on top of the regular eBay fraud protection insurance and help to verify the identity of the seller. Never, ever, send money out of the country via Western Union... the money is gone and there is no way to trace it.
 
theDuke

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#60 ·
Re:One other thing

Also, remember that eBay's fraud protection and free warranties only apply if the item sells on their site (if you're high bidder or use Buy It Now). In other words, be suspicious if the seller pushes you to complete the transaction off of eBay ("send me a deposit check and I'll cancel the auction.")

There's definitely some urgency to end the auction if you're interested and don't want to risk getting outbid. A way to combat this is to have the seller add a Buy It Now price so you can end the auction online.

A friend recently sold his old car on eBay Motors and did this. The buyer was in Canada and my friend was in Southern California. It served as a bit of an official "handshake" on the deal, they were able to leave each other feedback, and the buyer had some protections from eBay on the purchase. Yeah, my buddy had to pay the additional $40 fee for the sale, but this is refunded by eBay if the buyer doesn't comes through.
 
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