WARNING, Cycle seller network

[Gone in 60]

Hey, I fell for a bit of a scam myself when I sold my last BMW. When I listed it on Cycletrader and Craig's, I got a ton of obvious scam emails and texts for "help you sell" services. I thought I could spot a scam a mile away.

Then, I got a very convincing text from a guy who said he wanted to come take a look at my bike. We set up a time, seemed pretty legit. Then, the guy said "I'd feel very comfortable if you could show me a VIN report when I get there to see the bike." When I said I didn't have one, he replied with a link to where I could purchase one. It was ten bucks. I started to think that heck, I had bought the bike used myself, and I was wondering if anything might have been lurking in its past that I didn't know about.

I shelled out the ten bucks, and got a report that showed the bike had an original owner, then me, and that basically it wasn't stolen or under recall. Of course, I didn't hear back from that "serious potential buyer." Luckily, the next day, I got a serious buyer. When he came to my office, I had all of the bike's documentation laid out on a table for him to peruse, including my brand new VIN report. He said "You know those are a scam, right?"

Ugh. But, just ten bucks. Live and learn.