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Help with bikes on ebay please
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I am helping a GF who wants to buy a bike on ebay. she bidded on a trek 5200 (04) and didn't get the bid but has since gotten 2 different emails. One email was from the "seller" and seemed suspicious. The second email was sent from ebay as a second chance offer. Is the second chance offer sent through ebay legit? She wants to buy the bike, however if it is a scam she definately doesn't want to go through with it. Has anyone bought something through a second chance offer? Has anyone been scammed this way?
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Re: Help with bikes on ebay please [Marisol] [ In reply to ]
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the bike scams seem to outnumber the good bike auctions nowadays
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Re: Help with bikes on ebay please [Marisol] [ In reply to ]
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http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...=ebay%20scam;#749297

Andy

'You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Thinsg Are As They Are.'
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Re: Help with bikes on ebay please [Marisol] [ In reply to ]
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An official second chance offer should be safe.

Pay through Paypal using a credit card; if something goes wrong, you can contest it with the credit card company rather than dealing with eBay and Paypal. Inspect before accepting delivery and she should be fine.

If she's not a bike person like you, volunteer to help her out with the inspection to make sure it's OK.
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Re: Help with bikes on ebay please [Marisol] [ In reply to ]
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Oye Chica,

I don't know why fraudulent bike auctions on ebay are so prevalent but Amie is trying to get a bike also (speaking of, what did you decide about the Aegis?) and in the last 3 weeks she's had no fewer than 7 2nd Chance Offers that were not legit. I've been trying to pick up a road bike and I've gotten 3 bogus 2nd Chance Offers. Amie contacted the seller directly on 2 of the auctions and they both e-mailed back saying that it's a scam as they had in fact sold the bike.

Like PT Barnum used to say, "there's one born every minute". El caveat emptor (sp?) is definitely what you need to keep in mind when trying to score a deal on ebay. I've bought 3 bikes off ebay and have always had good luck contacting the seller BEFORE the auction ends and sending him/her e-mails to their personal account IN ADDITION to using ebay's e-mail delivery system. Good luck with that...I know it's frustrating trying to get a bike on ebay and getting "sniped" at the last second.

FWIW, the 2nd chance offers that I've seen as legit come from ebay and have a paypal icon that you can pay immediately on whereas the scam 2nd chance offers are e-mails directing you to "contact the seller" to set up payment. And lastly, at least in my exprerience, anyone who wants you to send funds anyway other than paypal (ie wiring funds to Malaysia) is probably trying to scam you.

Shifiting gears, you get a big ATTAGIRL for you efforts at IMAZ. I wish I could swim as fast as you :)

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Michael in Fresno
"Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man" V. Corleone
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