Little tip on how to avoid being ripped of on gumtree

explosifpete

As many of you know gumtree is a place to sell stolen good and scam people out of money.

When you need look though the listings and see a top end bike for peanuts highlight the text in the advert (a bit the seller has wrote not just stuff lifted of the web) then do a Google search for it, often this will bring up the original advert from where the fake seller has taken the info from.

daviesee

Best advice - Don't go on gumtree? :?

dabbleonabike

gumtree can be good and i know people who've gotten bargain bikes on there, always check the stolen forum on bikeradar previously though.

daviesee

dabbleonabike wrote:

gumtree can be good and i know people who've gotten bargain bikes on there, always check the stolen forum on bikeradar previously though.

No doubt bargains can be had. Conscience free though? That's the question.

Or is it okay to bag a stolen bike as long as it wasn't a fellow forum member's bike?

I have no problem with genuine bargains but Gumtree has it'e reputation for a reason.

agent_buchwald

I think it's pretty possible to work out how legit the bike is by talking to the owner - responses such as "it's normal bike sized" and "no, I'll meet you by Kings Cross station" ought to set a few alarm bells off - there are some genuine bikes on there but there's also enough buyers who arn't too interested on where the bike's from - people who would not buy anything they are told is stolen but who are quite happy to not ask the question.

explosifpete

When i used to work at a bike shop a guy came and told me about his gumtree experience. He had arranged to meet a guy in a park to buy a bike that he assumed was stolen but did't care, but i turns out that he had just gone to a park with no cameras with £700 in cash only to be met but a few angry lads who wanted that money.They took it
That'll learn him!