Buying bikes from Czech Republic

[cbassett]

Looking for a m/c to ease my commute.

Found some unreal prices on ebay motors. The Buy It Now prices are too good to be true. I didn't know what the "C" meant in front of the bidding price.

I emailed the seller and asked him about one of his bikes, this is the response I got:

Subject: Re: Question for item #- 2003 Honda CBR 900RR 954RR

Hi there,
Thank you for contacting me regarding your willingness to purchase my bike.
First of all I want to tell you that the price includes all the shipping costs and insurance so you will not have to pay any extra charges. The bike has Clear Title witch will come along with it.
The bike is in perfect working condition. It will be shipped from Czech Republic via Lufthansa Air insured and It will take 4 days tops until you will have it at your door. The product is an US model with US specs, comes with all the documents you need to register the bike and I am the one that bought it from the store.
I have paid good money on it but due my personal problems that I have for the moment I am willing to let it go for $3500 US dollars with shipping costs and insurance. If you agree with this price we can begin to complete the transaction.
The payment will be made through Square Trade and only after you will receive the bike I will receive the payment.
If you agree with these terms, please email me your full name and address and I will be more than glad to start to complete the transaction with you.
I look forward hearing from you.
Best Regards,



So... don't touch it with a 10 foot pole, or...??



Another guy, selling a Hayabusa for cheap has the bike in Italy and is willing to front the costs for shipping. He wants to go through Western Union though, half up front half on delivery. I deleted that email.

[cbassett]

I'm about to write this off as an "If it sounds too good to be true...", but I couldn't resist replying to the seller:

Subject: RE: Question for item #- 2003 Honda CBR 900RR 954RR

Hi John,

I?m very interested in your bike. Due to the circumstances of location, and you have a brand new ebay account with zero feedback, hopefully you?ll appreciate my caution and reply to my questions below.

So the bike has no miles on it?
Is there anything at all wrong with it?
Have you started and ridden it at all?
Where (country/state) was the bike purchased and registered? As I?m in California, I need to look into registration feasibility and costs.
What is the VIN number for the motorcycle?
How does Square Trade work, is that an escrow company? Do you have an account with them? Do they have a Web page?

Looking forward to your reply.

Thank you.

[TObject]

It's a scam.

[TObject]

"SquareTrade" is the name of Ebay's preferred online dispute resolution service, there is no legitimate escrow company by the name "Square Trade" that I know of.

The name of the Lufthansa cargo company is "Lufthansa Cargo" not "Lufthansa Air".

I don't think you can legaly import a chainsaw in California let alone a motorcycle, due to enviromental certification requirements for engines.

How does a Czech know what documents are required for a bike registration in California, and if he does know, why doesn't he simply list the documents includded, instead of using the vague term "all the documents you need to register the bike"?

[TObject]

http://www.wholesale411.com/bbs/view...13718&start=30

[cbassett]

Good stuff Sergey, thanks.

I was pretty confident it's a scam, but naturally sceptical I thought I'd toss it out there just in case. Ah well, maybe I'll try to string this guy along enough to bag him for E-Bay's fraud dept or the 'authoritay'.

[chef]

see if you can find a link to the p-p-p-p-powerbook saga. same type of story, seller knew it was a scam, shipped out a 3 ring binder with a screen drawn on the inside, some keyboard keys taped on, it was great. people in the UK did surveillance on the address it was shipped to. the buyer/scammer sent the seller a trojan because he was ****ed he had to pay exorbitant import fees after he had asked the seller to write a low value on the package...got him good :P

[NAILER341]

Originally posted by chef
see if you can find a link to the p-p-p-p-powerbook saga. same type of story, seller knew it was a scam, shipped out a 3 ring binder with a screen drawn on the inside, some keyboard keys taped on, it was great. people in the UK did surveillance on the address it was shipped to. the buyer/scammer sent the seller a trojan because he was ****ed he had to pay exorbitant import fees after he had asked the seller to write a low value on the package...got him good :P

i read that one. that was some great stuff. there are a lot of scams out there, and some of the people are doing a good job of bilking people of their money. you have to be careful what you buy, and from whom.
good info sergey.