[Closed] What are the current scamming methods when selling your bike?

Cash on collection. Sold as seen.
Job jobbed.

Second person will collect the bike, but still wants to pay via PayPal as he thinks it protects us both.
I’m not sure it really does?.is there some way he can take the bike, claim it fell to bits and charge back or something?

can you get evidence of him collecting, with some confirmation from him that it is what he wanted and he is happy

Finally, and I think I know the answer here. This dude wants to give me the cash in bits. Some now, some when he gets paid, then yada yada.

He wouldn’t take the bike but hmmm.

If he doesnt collect until hes paid in full then not too bad, kind of a deposit to stop you selling to someone else. Payday is iminent (for monthly salaries) so it might not be too long.

Cash on collection. Sold as seen.

I dont know what the bike is, but how many trips to the cashpoint will someone need to get this particular bike?
Going to your bank in person may be difficult or impossible for some people.

edit - PP friends and family while you are standing there together?

The last bike I sold the guy paid by bank transfer before even collecting it.

I've bought and sold whilst paying/receiving via online banking. As soon as funds show in your account you release the bike... Never had it take more than a few minutes. Always asked /been asked in advance though so no surprises.

3rd person - I'd take a non returnable deposit to secure it. But with a deadline to complete before you readvertise and his looses the deposit. You can decide later depending on if it sells quickly and for how much if you are going to be nice and reimburse.

If you want cash on collection - refuse offers that are not. If you change your mind and will re-advertise at a higher price. Collection only always get less for the convenience. You don't get it at the collection price and then make me faff around packaging it up.

I did cash on collection for mine recently. Was only £500 though so not loads of cash to be carrying about

Cash on collection or online transfer whilst you are together. Paypal for posting it.

If the buyer wants to use PayPal then make them pay the fees. There is no protection for you, just for them.

For £1400 I'd be looking at a bank transfer, cash is a pain just now as banks are only open about 20mins a day it seems or PP friends and family unless you know the person, are any of the "buyers" from here?

PP fees will be about £42

Yeah, 1400
I'd rather not post it. I don't think folks realise what a pain it is, plus he could claim it was in bits or swap it with his cracked one or something...
Oh I dunno... Maybe I'll just give it to Oxfam. 🙄

PayPal provide a collection code to match up now which prevents this whole buyer collects then says wasn't posted.

In this case though and assuming it's not someone known to you etc.

If you want to post, set up via an eBay auction, should be a £1 listing fee again this weekend. At least you can see feedback although doesn't guarantee not being scammed.

Don't PayPal & Post off ebay. It's still very easy to lose out even if PayPal friends and family where if buyer uses a stolen card/account or claims it has been, it will get reversed.

Bank transfer safest and collection only.

Whenever I have sold bikes, I have got the best prices via eBay, collection only and payment on collection, bank transfer, cash or PayPal now they have the collection code.

Furthest buyers have come have been 220 miles, although not practical now due to lockdown. That's still a huge c20m people target market in that radius.

Don't forget PayPal credit being offered to buyers via eBay will often uplift your sale price too.

I am rather risk adverse when it comes to selling though. To be fair I'm risk adverse riding these days as well, most air I get is when rolling of a kerb quickly.

Cash on collection sounds great but also has its issues. The other party agrees to buy it, they don't turn up but your house/garage/shed gets burgled soon afterwards.

^ Yeah, I think I'd meet them somewhere.
Minefield innit 😐

I sold a few at the start of lockdown 1 (stupidly without any covid tax applied).

1st - On-One fat bike.
Bloke set off a few alarm bells so just kept repeating the price wasn't negotiable and it was cash on collection only. He eventually drove to Reading from Sheffield in the middle of lockdown to pick it up and pay cash (to be fair by this point it must have been the cheapest bike of it's type in the country).

2nd - Niche singlespeed. Guy seemed genuine, local ish. Turned up, was obviously a "cyclist", paid via bank transfer on his phone.

3rd - dirtjump bike, same as the first bike. Few alarm bells just because of the type of bike. But he was happy bringing cash so it wasn't an issue. He came down from Chicksands.

TBH it's such a seller's market at the moment I'd just stick with cash on collection or bank transfer if you don't think you'd spot faked notes. Might take slightly longer to sell, and you'll have people from lands end to john-o-grotes asking you to post it as there will be nothing for sale local to them either.

Same with anyone saying "paypal offers you some protection", unless you really are worried that a direct bank transfer is more likely to be hacked than a paypal account, or they're trying to pay in £30 notes, then just say no. If they want it, they'll get the cash out at the bank or over a couple of days/cards at a cash point. I paid for my car over lockdown with cash, just went to the post office and they did it exactly the same way they do cashback.

I sold a frame and a bike last year, similar value. Used ebay to advertise and buy-it-now wiht delivery / collection clearly specified. In both we met halfway (so I was away from home) and I'd checked them out first and vice versa (proof of ownership etc). One paid via paypal app which allowed us both to confirm bike had been collected. The other was cash. In both cases the buyers were decent people and it all went OK. If I'd got any alarm bells I would have called it off. But so long as I know who they are and they me it seems OK.

I've bought and sold a few higher value things (around £1k tops) through the STW classifieds and all have gone well.

For me it's more about knowing the buyer a little rather than the funds transfer. Every time I've bought and sold here the other party is known on the forum and makes regular contributions and has done for at least a year.

Payment has been mostly paypal gift when meeting, generally in a mutual place or in a lot of instances I'm happy to drive to collect or drop off.

Only issue I had was bank transfer of some road wheels via a facebook group. The woman (hmm) tried to scam me 4 months after I delivered the wheels. My bank stopped my account until I could give them enough confidence that it wasn't me in the wrong.

Took a few hours to sort and luckily I'd kept the mobile conversations and facebook chat, or else my story for selling would have looked very dodgy - even though it wasn't - meeting in a car park etc.

Timely post though as I am about to sell a bike for around £1.5K and am also thinking about the best way to do it in todays world.

+1 to twonks ^. Buying / selling to known folk on here is reassuring too. In addition if they are a regular racer you will likely see them and the bike on roots and rain.

Bank transfer on collection. Sold as seen.
Job jobbed.

FIFY

Cash on collection sounds great but also has its issues. The other party agrees to buy it, they don’t turn up but your house/garage/shed gets burgled soon afterwards.

Sold my bike last month for a couple of grand. Met the guy about two hundred yards from my home. He looked the bike over, did a bank transfer there and then. Once it dropped in my account we lobbed the bike in his boot and off he went.

Even when I sent the receipt to him it had my address scored out, so he never actually knew where I lived, so couldn't empty the garage.