Marketplace woes

[915e]

I have a wanted ad on the Market Place, looking for an exhaust baffle. Today, somebody contacted me and offered me a baffle I was looking for. after three phone calls and having to listen to his foul and colorful language he finally told me that he would have to have at least $220.00 for the baffle because it's probably really worth $350.00
I understand, the part is hard to find.........but, what a rip-off attempt.

I have been a MOA member since 2015 and was always under the impression that this forum and association was a cut above the rest. Sad, sad! Supposedly the person who contacted me was given my contact info from a MOA member. No big deal since my phone number is in the ad. All one can hope that that person is not a member here, he surely wouldn't be worthy to have around.

 

[Omega Man]

Any of this online stuff really needs careful scrutiny.
From the opening page on the Marketplace-

Welcome to the BMW MOA Member Marketplace. Log in with your MOA username and password to list your items for sale. Need a little help? Check out the FAQpage or contact the Membership Team for assistance.

As a rule, trust your instincts. If you are suspicious of a payment method or find the process confusing or awkward, stop all contact. Please contact us by email at membership@bmwmoa.org or by phone at 864-438-0962 if you want to determine whether someone contacting you is a member or not. Always be cautious with any financial dealings on the Internet.

OM

 

[915e]

Trust me, I am aware of all the scammers on sites like FB, craigslist, etc. Just never encountered it here, hence my surprise. I doubt that person is a MOA member as he told me that one of his Air Head friends told him about my ad.

Not a big deal, I wouldn't deal with a person like that anyway.

 

[Omega Man]

I'm not sure if you are aware that one doesn't have to be a member to access the ads in the Marketplace.
OM

 

[915e]

I know. In the future I remove my phone number, then the only way to contact is via email link and I believe you have to be logged in to to that.

 

[akbeemer]

There is no reasonable expectation that the MOA site will provide complete protection against scammers. You can add a bit of protection by telling people to respond to your ad by way of a Private Message (PM)) on this forum.

 

[riderr1150gsadv]

There is no reasonable expectation that the MOA site will provide complete protection against scammers. You can add a bit of protection by telling people to respond to your ad by way of a Private Message (PM)) on this forum.

That will eliminate scammers from the outside. And I am not implying we have scammers here btw. I also do think that ads on marketplace should only be visible for members.

 

[915e]

There is no reasonable expectation that the MOA site will provide complete protection against scammers. You can add a bit of protection by telling people to respond to your ad by way of a Private Message (PM)) on this forum.

I wasn't implying that the MOA bears responsibility for that. I was just surprised, that's all.

 

[9842]

HI Gang
Hans, I feel the same way. I was surprised to get two scammers to respond to a want ad I'm running right now for a seat. This was last week.

1. Guy shows me a online photo of a complete beautiful black R75 and tells me he is parting it out. Ding ding ding, bell instantly goes off in my head he is an a--hole scammer. I had fun playing along for a bit. Told me this and that and I told him the seat was not the one I had in mind. He sends a photo of another seat I had just seen on e bay and asked if I wanted to buy it. I cut, pasted, and sent him the ad with the note, "just like this one on line"? He vaporized and I haven't heard from him since. He actually did his homework and had many photos of the R75 and seat.

2. Scammer calls me on the phone and has the seat up on the shelf (like the ad says) and his name is Brian just like me. Click Ding Ding, I'm thinking another scammer, wow times have changed. We talk and he is yelling on the phone telling me he is only in town to clean out his dads house and he used to ride, and Bla bla bla. I tell him no photo no deal. He actually called back and could not figure out how to send a photo of the seat. I told him when I get a photo I will buy the seat. Guess what, never heard back from him either.

My advice used to be to at least talk to the person on the phone and feel them out, but now they are calling on the phone to begin with. So sad. I'm wiser now and ask tough questions before I buy anything online.

question everything and good luck

Brian

 

[rhbike]

Is there a reason why the Marketplace section needs to be visible to non-members?

Not to say there won't be lowlife members too, but I bet the price of admission will keep most out.

 

[pglaves]

The logical reason is that it may expose the item(s) for sale to more prospective buyers. Some sellers like that. Other sellers probably prefer some sense of security from the notion that only members can see what is for sale and the personal info associated with it.

 

[rhbike]

Makes perfect sense for times past. Personally, I don't think that makes much sense with the significant increased risk the internet poses in current times. Those who want the extra exposure and are sufficiently aware of the risks can readily list in as many other venues that they would like. With what I suspect is the average age of our members, I suspect many listing here do not sufficiently understand the risks. An example is how some aren't aware the Marketplace is visible to non-members.

 

[rhbike]

Let it put it differently, if I had to sell something, I would like to be able to list it on MOA or another bike forum I frequent. But I would only do so in current times if I knew such listings were private to the group. I would toss away items before i would risk listing to the Internet as a whole. My line of work has me a fair bit more aware of the risks than most. Many on this forum may not be sufficiently aware, or aware at all, of their exposure.

 

[61996]

This is a timely discussion. I have bought and sold quite a few items on the MOA Marketplace. All transactions went smoothly and were beneficial to both the buyer and seller.
But recently I was ripped off by an individual posting on another forum, where they refer to themselves as "inmates".
This person advertised an item but shipped something different.
He used what appeared to be a "ghost" handle (dirtriderdan) through PayPal so his email address and other identifiers were hidden. He also requested me to pay via Friends and Family. Which I agreed to. But by doing this I was left with no recourse if something went wrong. Murphy's law, being what it is, sure enough when I received the item, I questioned it and he came back with a lot of double talk. When I informed him that in addition to the item not being what he advertised, it did not work properly. At that point he went silent. He made no attempt to remedy the situation, I have never heard from him again and I'm out $100. As a side note, the 3% PayPal fee on a $100 transaction is only $3. Barely enough to buy a cup of coffee. So I wonder if he had some other motive to insist on F&F.
I am not a newbie to internet buy and sell and have used PayPal F&F in the past without issue. This time I got burned.
The lesson I learned is not to use a payment process where there is no recourse...I will never use F&F again. I will always use Goods and Services as payment.

So, all that said: Caveat Emptor.

 

[lee]

As a side note, the 3% PayPal fee on a $100 transaction is only $3. Barely enough to buy a cup of coffee. So I wonder if he had some other motive to insist on F&F.

He wanted Friends and Family so Paypal would not help you get your money back.

 

[Omega Man]

He wanted Friends and Family so Paypal would not help you get your money back.

I didn’t know what Friends and Family was. Had to look it up-

Choose “Sending to a friend” for the everyday exchange of money between you and your friends and family. You can use personal payments when you send money as a gift, split a lunch bill, pay your share of living expenses, or something similar. Personal payments aren't covered by PayPal Purchase Protection.

Sounds risky, especially if the deal was with a stranger…….as so many internet transactions seem to be.

OM

 

[riderr1150gsadv]

F&F is literally only for family and friends, you know the ones you personally know and not the fake ones from stupid things like FB etc....
Sorry you got hosed by an 'inmate' @61996 . That site has gotten worse over the years and many good people have left it.

 

[61996]

That site has gotten worse over the years and many good people have left it.

Me included!

 

[riderr1150gsadv]

Ditto!

 

[cajunrider]

Sorry you got hosed by an 'inmate' @61996 . That site has gotten worse over the years and many good people have left it.

When it went under "new ownership", the number of advertisements went up... BIG TIME. To the point that I would have to close 4 or 5 windows just to read a post.

I haven't been back since.