http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2904&item=3682192329&rd=1
This has to be a scam, right?
i would think so, as tom’s e-bay handle is “actiontombikesport”. and those are clearly his pictures, so either the guy “borrowed” them, or it’s a scam. either way, it’s no good.
Wait a minute, so what you are saying is that I can’t get a Litespeed Saber, Guru TriLite and Cervelo Dual for three hundred bucks and free shipping?
Brett
I don’t know. Start bidding until you hit the reserve! haha.
This does appear to be a fraud. The photos were “right clicked” from our website and stolen.
You can identify me on E-Bay because my user name is “actiontombikesport”. I did that on purpose so people would realize it is me. Also, I mention our store (or that we have a store) in my descriptions and they sound like something I would right- very “technical” sounding.
I apologize for this. If I could find out who was doing this I would call in an airstrike on them or arrange for an unattributable neutralization of the principal to preclude ongoing operations.
sure! mail me $300 cash and i’ll send you any bike you want! 
Hey Tom, please report this evil-doer pronto.
I sent a question to the scam monger, asking payment terms and shipping to Venezuela…
Hey Tom, you should do this to this guy. http://www.mochunk.net/auctions/ebay17/
That is a cached version of an ebay auction that some guy stole pictures like this. Pretty funny and creative way to get back at him
I right clicked on the images to see if any were simply web linked and all the bike shots are hosted on Tom’s site. If I were Tom, I’d definitely switch the graphics to mess with this creep.
I offer you these weapons of mass sarcasm to get this fool back:
You know I took a look at the Ebay members profile/feedback rating - 100%! It would appear that a legitimate ebayer’s Ebay ID/credentials have been compromised by a scam artist located in another country! Looking at the profile, the person who accumulated a 100% satisfactionr ating has been a member since January 2002 and his last 2 auctions, one of which ended on June 6, originated from New Jersey not Venezuela as this “Scam” auction currently being run for some of Tom’s bikes.
**Update - auction has been canceled as of 7:29 (CST)
The item you requested (3682192329) is invalid, still pending, or no longer in our database. Please check the number and try again. If this message persists, the item has either not started and is not yet available for viewing, or has expired and is no longer available.
Tom, did you report this guy or did Ebay pull it for other reasons? just curious
don’t know if Tom did it but I emailed the high bidder and sent him a link to this thread…
Reply from the scammer (beyacooo@msn.com):
"Hello,
First of all I want to thank you for your message.
I have a various gamma of bikes right now so please let me know what size do you need the bike so I can see if I can find the size that you need.
The bikes model year is 2004. All my bikes are new in boxes and be sure that it will be a prompt delivery and the bike will be fully insured for the total amount. The best price that I can offer you on this model is $1200
with all the shipping charges included in this price.
Right now I’m in France, city Paris and I’m handling a bike store stock liquidation that is why I can afford to sell it at this price. Please get back to me if you
are intrested in this price for this bike, and also you will have to know that I will deal only trough Ebay, and we will use Ebay protection program.
If you got any other questions please feel free to ask them.
All the best,
Boji"
I didn’t know Tom was liquidating his stock? How interesting!
This is what I got back from him.
Looks like you are getting a better deal than me!!!
Hello,
First of all I want to thank you for your message.
I have a various gamma of bikes right now so please let me know what size do
you need the bike so I can see if I can find the size that you need.
The bikes model year is 2004. All my bikes are new in boxes and be sure that
it will be a prompt delivery and the bike will be fully insured for the
total amount. The best price that I can offer you on this model is $1500
with all the shipping charges included in this price. Right now I’m in
France, city Paris and I’m handling a bike store stock liquidation that
is why I can afford to sell it at this price. Please get back to me if you
are intrested in this price for this bike, and also you will have to know
that I will deal only trough Ebay, and we will use Ebay protection program.
If you got any other questions please feel free to ask them.
All the best,
Boji
There is another one going on for HED bars - this person only took Tom’s product review though, not the pictures.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=27951&item=3682115031&rd=1
compare the text to
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/barwars.shtml
Seems like an on-the-level guy, just not very creative with his product description. Immitation is the highest form of flattery though right? Not sure where that puts plagiarism…
Josh
The best he can hope for is a shallow grave with no GPS coordinates in a country who’s name his parents can’t pronounce.
I guess I’ll chalk this up to lack of creativity or writing skills, but someone just lifted my description from a recent Giant TCR Composite auction:
Here’s the offending auction.
This is my original auction listing.
It’s too bad that ebay seems to be fraught with people of questionable integrity, but where there’s profit to be made I guess that’s always the case.
Aeromon,
You know I am going to step up to the plate and admit that in the past due to constraints on my time I, also am, um, guilty of “copying” some text from another person’s auction! To my credit, I did edit the content somewhat and used my own images - Ford Expedition 3rd row seat - so that it was not simply a cut and paste of someone else’s auction! I guess I looked at it like this - since I do not make a living selling on Ebay and only auction a couple items each year, I dont always feel like reinventing the wheel when it comes time to clear out some of the stuff in the garage! In retrospect though, regardless of the motive, I guess that could easily be considered a copyright infringement so lesson learned.
No biggie. I understand not everyone knows how to market their auctions and not everyone knows geeky things like people on this board like what pro riders have been seen aboard what frames.
I just don’t appreciate verbatim lifting of my description, particularly when the other party’s listing overlaps with mine. It just cheapens both auctions, because you know that the same people looking at the Giant TCR Composite I have for sale are looking at the one the other guy has on offer.
Then again, hopefully a discerning reader can tell who was doing the writing and who was doing the cut and paste job.