I'm trying to sell a bike on my local CL. I got an interested email from a buyer, then asked if he wanted to stop by, or wanted information or more pictures. I got this as a response:

"Hello,

Glad to read from you. I'm really interested in your Item but i'm so sorry as i won't be able to come for a look as i'm the busy type. Well, i'll keep in touch with my financier to mail a check for the amount you're requesting and will have a shipping company to come for the pick up as soon as you confirm to me that you receive the check and it clears your bank.


If this arrangement is acceptable, pls get back to me with your name as it will appear on the check and your contact address that the check will be mail to along with your cell #. Please write back as soon as possible so we can proceed.



Thanks."

It feels like a scam to me... But I can't figure out how it would be. He said he would wait until the check cleared my bank to have a shipping company pick up the bike. The email seems phony even though it's a gmail account. The bike's asking price is very high, so the most scary thing I was thinking is that he would try to rob me when he got my address. Though that seems really unlikely.

If I provide an address of a business for him to send the check to, and ask that he send a money order only, I'm pretty sure I'll be in the clear. It still just seems strange.

Thoughts?

Scam...I've had similar responces.

not worth finding out.
"item"
"shipping company"
"my fiancier"
all smell of scam.

The wording looks like a scam some how, I agree. I'd get his cell number first and call him if he does not want to do that then it's a scam.

scam scam scam scam.

run away

Potential scam, or definitely hits some cautionary notes in the exchange.

There have been a couple of reports of people depositing a check, then having the bank retract the money more than a month later if it was an overseas account and the other bank was slow or non-existant.

I won't get into the bad english grammer aspects, even though the dialect reads like some typical scammers.

Higher priced bikes bring out more of these types of people.

As soon as the person mentions a shipping company coupled with the mention of a financier I'd have hit either the delete key or sent a reply that those terms are not acceptable.

It really sounds like one of those scams I have heard of recently...

If it is, he will send the amount for the purchase plus enough for the shipping company. Then I would expect the "shipping company" to show up before the check really clears (a day or two after you get the check), and get their portion of the payment and the bike right before the check you received bounces.

The fact that he wants to use his own shipping company is the part that tips the scale solidly toward scam in my mind. You can ask for a money order, but they can be counterfeited too.

However, the chances are that if you push for a money order, the "deal" will fall through.

Scam. Craigslist itself gives the following advice to avoid scams:

The fact that he will not meet in person and wants to use a "financier" and a shipping company are huge red flags. It is not worth the risk. Find a local buyer.

A scam for sure.

This should have been a poll. It would have been one of the few unanimous results in Bikeforums history. Perhaps the only one...

I agree. Not sure what bike you are selling but it sounds like it's a lot of money, more likely to be a scam. If he sends you a check from an international bank, your bank may clear it within 3 days but then 10-15 days later it may find that it's a forgery or an invalid check so your bank would then reneg on it, leaving you with no bike, no money, and possibly an invalid check fine.

Scam. I had almost the same email sent to me when I had my bother sell a frame set for in Cali. I requested a USPS money order and never heard from him/her again.

I have a BRIDGE . . .

Re"guards",
J T

Every time I try to sell something on CL I get a handful of proposals like this. All worded exactly the same way.

jim

No question about it. I got a response worded exactly the same this week and it doesn't have to be an expensive bike to draw interest. My asking price is only $425.

Cashiers checks can be faked. You deposit it, it clears, you give them the bike, then the check turns out to be bogus and the funds are taken back out of your account and you are fully scammed. Do not do this. Google cashiers check scam and you will see what I am talking about.

Scam.

Write back and tell them that you will accept the deal only with a three month wait for the check to clear, since you've heard nasty tales of similar offers turning out to be scams.

Tell him to have his financier leave payment in cash in a brown paper bag and dropped off in the dumpster of the local 7-11. Once payment is received, you'll contact him as to where to find the bike.

Neal

total scam, I've gotten the same exact response

You have to ask?

I had the last one send a MO to the local sheriff. Believe it or not, he actually sent it UPS Next Day Air!

I think that someday I want to have my own financier.
When buying something I'll tell the vendor that my financier is arranging the funds. The financier will go everywhere with me. Like a wallet, but super highbrow.

Definitely scam.

They're not after the free bike. They'll intentionally send you a check for too much and then send the difference to their "shipping company" via Western Union. They'll offer you a premium for doing so.

In the end, you'll have sent real funds to the scammer via Western Union, and they'll have sent you a bogus check. Beware, as they're using bogus USPS money orders these days.

Bottom line, it's cash or Paypal these days. And, you still need to be careful of bogus Paypal email scams.

These scams take other forms as well. My wife does interior decorating work and answered a CL listing looking for a painter to paint their apartment. The scammer said that they lived overseas and wanted to have the work done before they moved in. They immediately responded to my wife and told her that she had the job, and requested that she provide our address so that they could mail her a pre-payment.

I immediately told her it was a scam. Not sure how it would've worked out, but I'm fairly certain that it would've involved wiring money to the landlord.

Beware! Vultures, vultures everywhere!

Scam-A-Lam-A-Ding-Dong

I can insure that bridge.

I don't know, sounds legit to me. I mean the guy has a financier, that's gotta mean something...like he's a real bigwig, even a movie star. Then again, maybe I'm just a sucker for things that end in '-cier'.