steveindenmark
Legendary Member
As I am in Denmark I have never bothered looking at Gumtree. But as I have been actively seeking a Brompton over the past few weeks I thought I would give it a go. I have bought motorbikes from the UK in the past without any problems and that is down to having a good judge of people and asking all the right questions and weighing up the answers.
After looking through hundreds of ads over the years you get a feel for what is right and what is not. There is a site in Germany called Mobile.de which deals with motorbikes. Jannie has suggested I go and get a job with them as I can spot "Wrong Uns" from miles away. Its the same with Craig Lists.
So I have now had a chance to get the swing of Gumtree.
Now call me Mr Suspicious if you will but if I am ever bought an "Unwanted Gift", it is usually a book or something for the kitchen and is worth £15 or less. Never in my wildest dreams have I ever been bought a brand new 6 geared Brompton. worth a little over a grand. But if you believe what you read in Gumtree, this is a regular occurence. Especially if you live in London. They are willing to let these bikes go for about £800, which is a bit too tempting to resist.
I like to test my theory out and so I have contacted a few of these people. They all want paying in cash, not Paypal or bank transfers. They are quite guarded and not open and flowing as you would expect if you wanted to sell a high value item. They all have mobile numbers in their ads and not land lines, but that could be a Gumtree policy. They will only use Gumtree e mails and will not give out their private e mails, even when you are on the edge of making a deal. Gumtree will not allow you to send e mail addresses through their text box but changing @ to AT gets round that problem.
I let this go on for as long as possible but to me it soon becomes obvious if it is a scam. I always ask for more photos to be sent but this is easy to cheat on. All the seller does is lift copies of say a Blue Brompton off the internet and uses them. When I am buying bikes or motorbikes I always ask for a photo which is unusual but simple. I will ask for a photo of the bike with a cup or newspaper or tea spoon on the seat. At this point the bogus sellers stop contacting you and the genuine sellers think you are nuts but send the photo anyway.
Using this method I can tell you that there are plenty of bogus sellers selling Bromptons on Gumtree.
Here are a couple of my tips for buying on sites. I would like to hear yours:
Read the sites own security policy....we never do that.
Dont ever send money by Western Union....someone must do, they are still in business.
Dont let your desire for something cloud your judgement....I want...I want...I want
Ask for that unusual photo...At least then you know the seller may be a crook but at least he has got the article he is supposed to be selling.
If you cannot see the article you want before buying it get someone to see it for you. I have bought 4 Moto Guzzis from the UK. I asked Moto Guzzi Club members who I had never met, to go and look at the bikes for me before I made an offer. This forum has members all over the country.
If it feels wrong, abandon ship.
If you are in any doubt, however slight. Do not turn up at an address or pre determined place with a wad full of cash. Leave the cash in the car or whatever and go and meet them without the cash first to weigh them up.
Here are 2 personal instances.
When I was a police officer in Hull I dealt with an instance where a man had seen a car online and agreed to have it without seeing it or the seller first. He arranged to pay by cash and to call at the sellers flat on a time and date and from there they would go and get the car. On the landing to the flats he was jumped on and robbed of the cash. I couldnt prove the seller was involved but everything pointed to it.
The second one was where a collegue arranged to buy a car in Amsterdam. He drove down from Denmark with a friend and arranged to meet the seller on a car park in the centre of Amsterdam. When they got there they were jumped on by a group of Eastern Europeans, who not only stole the money they had taken for the car but also the car they travelled down in. Neither has been recovered.
So it does happen.
These are some of the rules I follow. But looking at Gumtree, there are some dodgy boilers out there.
After looking through hundreds of ads over the years you get a feel for what is right and what is not. There is a site in Germany called Mobile.de which deals with motorbikes. Jannie has suggested I go and get a job with them as I can spot "Wrong Uns" from miles away. Its the same with Craig Lists.
So I have now had a chance to get the swing of Gumtree.
Now call me Mr Suspicious if you will but if I am ever bought an "Unwanted Gift", it is usually a book or something for the kitchen and is worth £15 or less. Never in my wildest dreams have I ever been bought a brand new 6 geared Brompton. worth a little over a grand. But if you believe what you read in Gumtree, this is a regular occurence. Especially if you live in London. They are willing to let these bikes go for about £800, which is a bit too tempting to resist.
I like to test my theory out and so I have contacted a few of these people. They all want paying in cash, not Paypal or bank transfers. They are quite guarded and not open and flowing as you would expect if you wanted to sell a high value item. They all have mobile numbers in their ads and not land lines, but that could be a Gumtree policy. They will only use Gumtree e mails and will not give out their private e mails, even when you are on the edge of making a deal. Gumtree will not allow you to send e mail addresses through their text box but changing @ to AT gets round that problem.
I let this go on for as long as possible but to me it soon becomes obvious if it is a scam. I always ask for more photos to be sent but this is easy to cheat on. All the seller does is lift copies of say a Blue Brompton off the internet and uses them. When I am buying bikes or motorbikes I always ask for a photo which is unusual but simple. I will ask for a photo of the bike with a cup or newspaper or tea spoon on the seat. At this point the bogus sellers stop contacting you and the genuine sellers think you are nuts but send the photo anyway.
Using this method I can tell you that there are plenty of bogus sellers selling Bromptons on Gumtree.
Here are a couple of my tips for buying on sites. I would like to hear yours:
Read the sites own security policy....we never do that.
Dont ever send money by Western Union....someone must do, they are still in business.
Dont let your desire for something cloud your judgement....I want...I want...I want
Ask for that unusual photo...At least then you know the seller may be a crook but at least he has got the article he is supposed to be selling.
If you cannot see the article you want before buying it get someone to see it for you. I have bought 4 Moto Guzzis from the UK. I asked Moto Guzzi Club members who I had never met, to go and look at the bikes for me before I made an offer. This forum has members all over the country.
If it feels wrong, abandon ship.
If you are in any doubt, however slight. Do not turn up at an address or pre determined place with a wad full of cash. Leave the cash in the car or whatever and go and meet them without the cash first to weigh them up.
Here are 2 personal instances.
When I was a police officer in Hull I dealt with an instance where a man had seen a car online and agreed to have it without seeing it or the seller first. He arranged to pay by cash and to call at the sellers flat on a time and date and from there they would go and get the car. On the landing to the flats he was jumped on and robbed of the cash. I couldnt prove the seller was involved but everything pointed to it.
The second one was where a collegue arranged to buy a car in Amsterdam. He drove down from Denmark with a friend and arranged to meet the seller on a car park in the centre of Amsterdam. When they got there they were jumped on by a group of Eastern Europeans, who not only stole the money they had taken for the car but also the car they travelled down in. Neither has been recovered.
So it does happen.
These are some of the rules I follow. But looking at Gumtree, there are some dodgy boilers out there.
