Gumtree-Have to be careful if buying/selling on it.

[Dave7]

Gumtree go out of thier way to give good advice on being careful/staying safe. I have just sold a bike on there and the guy who bought it was extremely nice.
However you do see some bikes advertised that get the alarm bells ringing.
I saw a Dawes advertised that looked tasty.......no size & no model....so I emailed and asked the obvious questions only to get this reply-------
"Hi!
I am unsure of the make sorry, i didnt really look too much into the bike and just went for the looks as it looks great!
I cant for the life of me remember the frame size either, but i am 5ft 10 and its perfect for my height....
Very sorry for not being clued up on it, i bought it new, set it up and then binned all the papers!"

Now the seller may be genuine and it's maybe wrong to pre-judge but as I say-it does ring the alarm bells.

 

[akb]

IME, Gumtree is an ideal place to sell stolen goods.
The response you got, which may well be legit, indicates that the seller may not be who they say they are.
I assume the bike is a Roadie, so cost minimum of about £300ish (quick search on Google) Would you spend that sort of money on a bike without knowing the ins and outs of the sizing and full spec? I wouldnt.
I'd steer well clear.

 

[yello]

IME, Gumtree is an ideal place to sell stolen goods.

I think you might be advised to rephrase that

 

[akb]

Haha! You know what I mean!

 

[Dave7]

I think you might be advised to rephrase that

+1
My post is really by way of advice/warning to those new to Gumtree and maybe less 'wordly wise'. Gumtree themselves seem to be very much 'above board' and thier repeated warnings indicate that they realise how it could be abused.

 

[DCLane]

I bought my MTB from Gumtree with the same advisories. Got a receipt and it all seemed legit though - and yes, I collected from a family home. Dad was aware his son was selling his unused birthday present since Dad had subsequently bought him a motorbike and Merc SLK.

Dad had more money than sense/time for son? Also, son could've learnt to spell the words 'mountain' [mountin] and 'bike' [bke] plus answer his phone/not grunt - otherwise he'd have got a decent price rather than the bargain I got 2 months after he started advertising it!