scam or not?

[VFRLuke]

I know when something seems too good to be true, that it usually is. But I also know the common BS story about how slim local shop's profit margin is as well. I would say that the prices on this site put the cost of the bike just a little bit above the actual cost.

that being said. anybody ever bought anything from this place? it seems shady to me.

Van Bike Store

[SlowMTBer]

It looks too good to be true. The fact that none of the links at the bottom of the page work, makes me think that they are not legit.

EDIT: I just went back to the page again, and went in a different way. Now all the links work at the bottom, so I am not sure now...

[247]

post this on the 29er Thread... Some deals are too good to be true (but it says they take pay pal---so you should be covered)

[v3biker]

I don't know about this site...............it definitely looks a bit weird.

1) they have an ad for "all shirts on sale - 10, 15, 20% off" and it's a pic of a girl with a dress top and jeans..... And on the site, there's no apparels to be found.

2) 24/7 customer support with the number: 555-555-0123?!?!?!??!

3) a lot of the links on the bottom doesn't work.

For me, it seems more of a copy and paste sort of site. I'd wait for a bit and see if more information will come up.

[dlporter]

I would be very cautious about ordering anything from them, especially a bike costing possibly $2000 or more. The "About Us" link says they are in Jakarta, which is a hotbed for consumer internet scams. Proceed at your own risk.

[v3biker]

on top of that, their 'store' is in Jakarta, Indonesia, but then...........they list the bike store being in: International Plaza, Singapore.

If you'd really like to go ahead with this, you can always call International Plaza in Singapore and see if there's such a store.

https://plus.google.com/103961611625...ut?gl=ca&hl=en

Also, I am REALLY not being racist here or anything, but the two photos they provided..............has a high concentration of non-asians in the store...............including service staff. I apologize if I offend, but I just find it strange that there's such a high concentration of non-asians in a bike store that's located either in Jakarta or Singapore.

[v3biker]

To add more fuel to the flame, check out 'van-bikes' history & mission statement and opening hours with a site that's legit:

About Us - Cycle SuperStore

.............nuff said

[chargerfan]

on top of that, their 'store' is in Jakarta, Indonesia, but then...........they list the bike store being in: International Plaza, Singapore.

https://plus.google.com/103961611625...ut?gl=ca&hl=en

Also, I am REALLY not being racist here or anything, but the two photos they provided..............has a high concentration of non-asians in the store...............including service staff. I apologize if I offend, but I just find it strange that there's such a high concentration of non-asians in a bike store that's located either in Jakarta or Singapore.

Not racist in my book, noticed the same thing in the pics. In either Singapore or Indonesia, you would not have 100% white customers in the store. I think thats a fair statement, and a reason to stay far away from this one.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Just Another Tom]

The "Van Bike Store" behind the register is a worse photoshop edit than most of the "super d's" storefronts.

[shadowsports]

Not racist in my book, noticed the same thing in the pics. In either Singapore or Indonesia, you would not have 100% white customers in the store. I think thats a fair statement, and a reason to stay far away from this one.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

+1 on that. Thats not racist, you've made an astute observation.

Holy friggin' SCAM

[driver bob]

Went to shipping charges, picked a random US state, put in 5 random numbers for the zip and it still gave me a shipping quote...

and I can buy up to 100 Superfly's but they never ask what sizes I want..

scamtastic !!

[Call_me_Tom]

It's a scam, I emailed one of these sites in the past & the only payment they would except is a bank wire transfer even though they had PayPal, Visa, MC, etc on their website. That's a clear indicator right there because once your money is transferred you won't be able to get it back. Report the site here.

Report a Phishing Page

I reported the site I emailed & they were shut down in a week.

[v3biker]

It's just very sad that someone out there would do all this work to make the site look legit to rip people off.

And it's even more sad for the peeps who doesn't see past the lies that actually orders stuff through there.

When I got my bike, man, I worked hard for save up for it. I can't imagine someone who's just looking for a bike losing 1k$ on stuff like this. Complete BS.

[VFRLuke]

I'm skeptical about things like that...I would never wire money, but when it says PayPal is accepted it makes you wonder if its legit.

I would have figured it out somewhere in the process before pulling the trigger. I just thought it was interesting.

I think that's very low though. I know not everyone checks things out thoroughly. I suppose if they sucker 1 in 5000 people then they make a significant profit on their scam.

[mtnbikej]

Send me the money you were gonna send to this company.....and you have the same chance at receiving a bike.

[skitchy]

I just set up a junk email and told them I wanted to order 25 carbon fiber Mondrakers and 10 unobtanium Ghosts.

[daglord]

send me the money you were gonna send to this company.....and you have the same chance at receiving a bike.

lol:d

[shenny88]

Considering most of their brands dont allow dealers to sell online, and that they are a supposed dealer of Scott, Trek, BMC, Fuji, Cannondale, and more (brands that dont allow for that many competitors to be sold in one place).... id say theyre about as illegitimate as they come.

[AlexDeLarge]

I checked the domain registry here:
van-bike.com WHOIS domain registration information from Network Solutions
And the info shows it registered to Privacyprotect.org, in Queensland, Australia.
It seems the real owner really doesn't want to be found.
Note on the About Us > Shopping Info section at the bottom, none of the logos are clickable.
Google Street View didn't show it, and a directory for that address didn't list it (but both could be outdated).
It's a scam, an exercise in website design, or a company just starting out.
Err on the side of caution. Watch for posts like "I got scammed by Van Bike Store!"

[aznlegendzx]

Too good to be true

[mtnbikej]

I checked the domain registry here:
van-bike.com WHOIS domain registration information from Network Solutions
And the info shows it registered to Privacyprotect.org, in Queensland, Australia.
It seems the real owner really doesn't want to be found.
Note on the About Us > Shopping Info section at the bottom, none of the logos are clickable.
Google Street View didn't show it, and a directory for that address didn't list it (but both could be outdated).
It's a scam, an exercise in website design, or a company just starting out.
Err on the side of caution. Watch for posts like "I got scammed by Van Bike Store!"

Hey don't wanna be found because IT IS a scam.

[natebloser]

I posted up two bike for sale in the MTBR classifieds. I got two nearly identical responses that appear to be PayPal scams. Is this common with the MTBR classifieds? See the scam e-mail below.

Nate

"2010 Santa Cruz Heckler

Hello, I want to purchase your 2010 Santa Cruz Heckler is still for sale ? What is the final price and what is the condition of the item? I would like to pay using PayPal,After payments has been made i will arrange for pick up of the item *as soon as possible...Looking forward in reading back from you soonest.
Thanks, "

[chargerfan]

Yes, I get them with almost every ad I put up. Just laugh at their attempt, and delete.

[toddmeyers]

It's too good to be true. Jakarta Indonesia. Don't get suckered for this garbage.

[Wasmachineman NL]