Need Advice/Opinion....seems like a real fishy situation

[JimJam19]

Ok, I am looking online trying to find a bike to buy. A few weeks ago I went on cycletrader.com and found a 2003 Yamaha R6 (valued at about $6600) for $4000. So obviously it caught my eye and I emailed the guy. He said he is now located in Europe. I told him I wont send any money unless I can actually see the bike myself. He replied and told me we have 2 options of buying it. One would be I send him 1/2 the money, he ships the bike, I get to look at it and make sure its in proper condition and such. I then send the rest of the money and he sends the title. But if I dont like it, he will have it shipped back, free of charge, and send my money back. Right there it seems very odd. But I didnt consider it anyway bc I wasnt about to send $2000 over there without seeing it. So....

Last night I found a 2002 R6 for $4000. It says its in NH, so I email him and he writes back, and so happens this guy is now also located in Europe. So right off the bat I am led to believe this is another fishy situation. I emailed him, told him I wont send the money unless I can see the bike, and he replies with:

dear si r,

if u like to see the bike here is a way we can deal .

u will send half of the amount in advance and i will
take te money and shipp the bike and DHL will deliver
to your home address . aftehr u have the bike i will
alow u 2 day`s for inspection . aftehr the inspection
u will send the rest of the money or the bike back and
i will send u the money back in 2 day`s !


if u are ok with this reply a.s.a.p for the payment
details !


regards

So it seems to me that this is some sort of scam that can easily be pulled when trying to by some type of vehicle online. This is what I think anyway, unless this is a common way of dealing with these types of situations. What do you guys think?

[JAG]

Do not under any circumstances send them money. Your instincts about it benig a scam are dead-on right.

[dacman]

For those of you who haven't heard about it, the whole moved to Europe sell the car in the US thing is a major scam right now. Not saying all situations like this aren't legit, but many folks have sent money, checks, etc. to secure the transaction or get a test period so to speak and have nothing to show for it.

[JimJam19]

Ok, my thoughts exactly. I somewhat remember something like this on the news just the other day. I would never send any money unless I actually saw the bike, or whatever I might be buying. But when you are looking for a bike and you see a bike like this for that price, its hard not to just look in to it, knowing that its not legit from the start.

[Maple Leafs]

http://www.ama-cycle.org/news/2003/scams.asp

"A number of concerned members have contacted us about a scam involving motorcycles posted to classified and auction sites at too-good-to-be-true prices.

In this scam, the seller often claims to be living in Europe, while the bike is in the states. "

[Nyarlahotep]

As a test you can suggest that Escrow.com be used for the transaction.

[JimJam19]

How does this Escrow.com work? I've never used it. I'll check out the site.

[CamEdwards]

Originally posted by corbes
Also, as a house rule, you could avoid sending money sight unseen to people who lack a basic command of English grammar.

This is up there with the people who say they have $42 million dollars they want you to help them smuggle out of an African country.

no, that's for real.


At least I hope it is :(

[The_herd]

Escrow is a 3rd party that holds the money you send until you give them the ok to release it to the seller. Basically you send the money to escrow, they send the bike, you look over the bike, and then decide on whether or not to release the money to them.

I think that's a summary of it. I could be off, its been about 2 or 3 years since I used it. Its great to use if you buy something off of Ebay and have any concern or reason to be suspicious of the seller.

[Nyarlahotep]

Yep, that is pretty much how it works. Makes it very secure for both the buyer and seller. Witht he amount involved in this transaction I would think their service fees would be money well spent. If the deal is for real, the seller should have no problem with using an escrow service.

[JimJam19]

I wrote them an email, telling the I will be more than happy to complete this deal if we use escrow.com. I'm assuming I will get no response at all.

[Nyarlahotep]

Probably not.

*But, at least you now know of a resource that will help protect you if you find a deal that doesn't look quite so shadey.*

[rkmsuf]

did u refert o them using teh proper dicktion?

[dacman]

Yeah, escrow -- if it weren't for that whole other "escrow company is actually a russian mafia front" scam too. I think they cracked down on that one recently, though.

[mckerney]

Originally posted by CamEdwards
no, that's for real.


At least I hope it is :(

Of course it's real. Hell, I just helped a guy get his wealthy family out of Africa. He says the check is in the mail.

[cartman]

Hmmm... So I guess this means I shouldn't try and sell my Honda until I get back stateside? :D

[MizzouRah]

I would try your local paper, worked for me. Cycletrader didn't do much for me either in my quest for a bike this summer. I would NEVER spend that kind of money without going to someone's house and looking the bike over - as well as a test drive.

Luckily, I found a '99 Katana (I know a baby 600) for $4900, the bike was like new with only 1500 miles on it. I went to the guy's house and drove it, looked it over and offered him $3500, he called me a week later and told me to come and get it.


Anyhow, an R6 (blue of course) would have been an option as well. Good luck on the search.


Todd