I inquired about a posting on Bikereview.com regarding a green Cinelli for sale recently. The 'seller' then sent me some low-resolution photos that reminded me of a similar bike sold to a list member back in late March, for over $3000. This scam artist wanted $1600 for the bike and claimed to have good references with an escrow service named 'etradingsafe.com'. This is an interesting scam that plays on the passion of bike enthusiasts like us. What gave this scam away are a few things:
1) I vaguely recall reading the ebay description which was written by someone quite knowledgeable about bicycles and well-educated. This seller gave the same description verbatim but the rest of his/her writing is at best grade-school level. 2) The 'seller' claims that he can ship the bicycle at no cost because his friend works for UPS 3) When asked why he is selling this bicycle, he claimed it is to buy his son a car for his 18th birthday.
Buyer beware!
Anyone else out there with a scam story?
Lewis Ting
Chicago, Illinois