Nothing brings out the scammers like posting an ad in in the "parts wanted" section of the forum. I posted an ad a few days ago looking for a left front fender for my 73 Z project.  Within hours I started getting bombarded with replies stating they had one in excellent condition.  Just a few clues to be aware of so you don't get burned.  See how long they've been a member.  One reply I got the person had been a member for 4 hours, another one was a member for 6 days....red flag!   Another clue is the stated condition is always excellent...we all know that if you can find one of these it's not going to be in perfect condition.  Look at where the message is sent from...it's usually from some oddball source like tap a talk .   Some offer to send pictures, but the pictures are usually ones copied from some other source.  I  had one that sent me pictures from a legitimate ad where I had spoke to the seller who informed me the part had been sold.  If you call the number and connect with a real live person who speaks broken English it's more than likely a scam.   I replied to one that left an email address.  I replied a few days after I got his message...guess what?  It came back as an invalid email address.  Another red flag is the price is usually very reasonable and includes shipping.  The last fender I bought, the shipping was more than the cost of the part.  One way to help determine if its a scam (but not perfect) is to ask for specific pictures of the part.  I usually ask for a close ups of the front and back of the area where the headlight bucket attaches.  It's a shame we have to deal with these low life's.  Too bad there's not a way we could screen them out.  Maybe we can help each other out by posting detailed info any time we encounter a scammer.  Remember the old saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

Paul

On the Zcar forum my rule is to immediately delete the post and ban anyone who joins and within hours posts "my friend Bob has one of those...".   I have no mercy with those jerks.

I agree:

1) Get pictures, preferably ones that you specifically requested. Everyone has a cell phone and can shoot pix for you.  

2) Deal with someone who has been on the forum for a year or longer.

3) Get a phone number and talk with the seller.

4) If in doubt, use an online escrow service that holds payment until the part arrives and you approve payment. That means you and the seller have to agree, and you'll pay a fee to the escrow service.  It's worth it on expensive parts.  If the seller won't agree, forget them.

 

 

Wonder why @mike has not deleted the 80 plus posts? Am I the only one getting these?

  On 3/25/2022 at 6:22 PM, Yarb said:

Wonder why @mike has not deleted the 80 plus posts? Am I the only one getting these?

He's probably sick of doing it over and over. They're flooding his server, and probably everyone else's too, to slow it down or disrupt our little corner of the www.com. What's it called, DDS disruption of service I think? 

Edit** Wrong thread

Edited March 25, 20223 yr by heyitsrama

I was bombarded with the Spam ads as well, I reported a couple of them and it appears Mike has them banned for the moment. 

Hopefully he has been able to block the originating addresses.

Hopefully yes, as it look like they are back with a vengance. 

 

 

Mike should restrict a new users 1st post from going live until it is reviewed by him or a moderator.  I think he averages about 1 new user a day.

I agree! I would come up with a method to prevent new registrants from posting pending approval. @Mike might need to solicit help from a forum member that has the time and skills to help filter out this mess. I just waded through 6+ pages of crap to find the 3 or 4 new posts... 😞

@bpilati might weigh in ...

Another forum that I am a member of (not Datsun content) requires that a first time poster submit an introductory post. Who they are, where they are from, why they want to be a forum member. Helps prevent some of the issues that this forum has.