SELLER BEWARE
Thanks to Frank in his editorial in RC178 for trying to protect us as much as is possible. It’s evident that the fraudsters inhabiting the mega-priced world of vintage cars are filtering down to us poor souls in the old bike community.
I advertised my 1958 bike for sale and got enquiries via email saying ‘I will buy your bike but am abroad at present so will not be able to collect it immediately… Give me your details and I’ll pay the full asking price and collect the bike later.’
My mate who is expert at these sort of things (I’m most definitely not) explained. The buyer will pay the full amount into your account and some time after that will contact you to say he’s changed his mind and ask for his money back. The whole idea of this operation is to get this fairly large sum transferred from your account into his. I couldn’t see the scam as I’d made no financial loss, although I could have lost a genuine buyer. My mate said something about money laundering. It’s all beyond my simple mind I’m afraid.
A nice chap and his wife came to look at the bike, made an offer and bought it straight away. He’s delighted with the bike and we keep in touch so happy endings all round. Pete Trow Sorting scams from real deals is just about impossible, which means you are forced to let a good bike for sale go, rather than take the risk. I thought this might work. Say the bike is in Italy. Google for an English-speaking solicitor in the area, and see if one will act as a go-between for a fee. Give the seller your solicitor’s name and say that you’ll send the money for him to hold. The seller makes contact, is told the money is there and can send the bike. When the bike arrives, you give the solicitor the OK to release the money.
If it is a scam, you’ll get no response once you suggest this safeguard to the seller. In fact, suggest it before you contact a solicitor and if it’s a scam then you’ll hear no more. Denny Chappell
As I said, it’s not always easy to identity a scammer. I usually search online for similar images, and if a bike’s been offered before it will usually turn up. However, last month there were several which looked dodgy although there was no trace of the pics. I do worry about this, as some of the bikes are unusual and interesting. Another scam – so I’m advised – is to deposit the money, wait until the vendor’s bank confirms that the sum has cleared, take the bike and then withdraw the funds. In truth I don’t know how that works, but I’ve been told about it several times. If we wanted to buy a bike from overseas, most likely we’d ask an RC reader (via the Facebook group) to take a look at it in person. I’ve both bought and sold bikes unseen and rarely have a problem. Most folk are honest. FrankW