Am I stupid ?

I was unable to resist a sorry looking ratbike on fleabay.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260241218856

OTOH at that price it is prbably worth a load more as parts.

 

Why?

It's being sold by a garage in Cornwall.

No surprise there are campervans and caravans kicking around.

Certainly doesn't look like a pikey site.

 

What worries me a little is the background in the photos and the
seller's grasp of English.

 

Look at his name.

Google it.

He's a garage listed in the phonebook.

Can't see a problem myself - many people who are good with oily stuff
are useless when it comes to putting words on paper / screen.

 

Thus spake SteveH () unto the assembled multitudes:

AOL. Mate of mine has his own car mechanicking business and he's very
competent (also a dab hand at custom spray painting), but his reading and
spelling are pretty weak. And he insists on spelling my surname with an
apostrophe: Clew's for heaven's sake! Still a top bloke though.

 

I just had a look through a few more google results for the seller -
he's a commercial vehicle repairer, which explains the collection of
stuff in his yard.

 

I figured that the lousy pics and zero feedback was scaring off the buyers
and took a punt at a silly bid. Bearing in mind that it needs to be picked
up from the arse end of cornwall the bidding was slow and I won it.

Time will tell, but at 157 quid there has to be a bit of profit in it
somewhere even if I just put it back on ebay with my decent feedback
and some decent pictures. If it is not too bad an MOT would also add
to the value.

 

Google a bit harder then. The phone number also matches for a composer
and a caterer. Odd.

 

Heh - he'll fix your car , sing to you and make you a sarnie whilst he
tarmacs your drive......

Steve

 

OMG. I thought they'd all been despatched to death.

 

Well, I went to pick it up and found a total pile of shite.
Rear swingarm rusted right through, so a lethal hazard.
Walked away and left negative feedback for an asshole trying to pass off
a pile of rust as a bike.

 

Heh. I did say the swinging arm was the item to watch, didn't I?

 

Indeed, and thanks for the tip, I could easily have missed it and paid
for a heap of scrap.

My intention was to drop it off at my local bike MOT shop for evaluation,
it would not have got any farther.

The annoying bit is almost 6 hours of driving and around 80 squids of
diesel wasted.

 

Nice of him to leave you positive feedback. Think he hit the wrong
button..?

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

"Total twat, him danger on the pikey site."

Sellers aren't able to leave neg f/b any more, so matey found a way
round it.

 

When did that change? I got a retaliatory neg from a seller at the end
of April.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

Earlier this month.

 

At least you got the subject right.

 

A bit self-defeating, because after a while it'll drop off the bottom
of the screen, as it were, and it still leaves you with a 100% FB
rating.

 

Mind you, I don't approve of the no-neg thing. Sometimes a neg would be
more use than a NPB and banning and all that.

Some buyers are indeed arseholes. Suppose they pay and then do the old "it
never got here" scam, and bung a refund claim into Paypal? what's the
seller's recourse then?