Facebook Classifieds
Facebook Classifieds
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DeLorean75

Original Poster:

364 posts

134 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
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Can someone enlighten me - why are there so many classfieds car ads on FB with no mileage stated and proposed vendor doesn't respond to any questions. If it's a scam I really don't get what the nature of it is!

And as an aside, with a proliferaton of people selling multiple cars, whilst not officially being dealers, what is the deal. Are they just chancing their arm selling stuff sold as seen but without taking ownership themselves i.e. behaving like a dealer with regard to V5 and [road] tax but not like a dealer if you want to go back with a problem? I'm assuming so....




hunt123

282 posts

88 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
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Yes to the 2nd question. To the first, FB marketplace (imo) has alot of scammers and idiots selling poop. OK you can get idiots/scammers anywhere including Autotrader and Ebay, but there seems to be more on FB, and Gumtree.

vikingaero

12,904 posts

196 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
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Facebook is free, so it appeals to the lowest common denominator - those that can barely write or function in Society. I was laughing at an ad yesterday that simply said "very good car" and pictures of the windscreen and roof of a car. From the 3 pictures you couldn't make out what make and model it was.

But that said, trawl the neverending trash to find the gems if you have time.

DeLorean75

Original Poster:

364 posts

134 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
quotequote all
I do trawl Viking- and when I find the diamond in the rough it turns out to be some scheister!

spoodler

2,298 posts

182 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
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At the moment there are a huge amount of scam adverts/hacked accounts filling up Marketplace. This morning, every ad' I looked at was a scam of some sort... Housewives with fifty cars for sale, all at different locations - easy enough to spot and the same as Ebay was a short time back...
Even a lot of the genuine ad's on Facebook are "dodgy" - the amount of folk who think they can sell something for top money by simply using "quasi dealer speak" - I mean who the Hell wants to make out they are a dealer? Beats me. Add to that the fact that Facebook automatically fills in various details for the seller, which are often incorrect, that it erases phone nos. and sellers still state "call me on..."

All that said, I've bought several vehicles via Marketplace and have sold a few of mine... you just have to persevere...

coldel

10,790 posts

173 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
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The ease and lack of barrier to entry via a cost means you get all sorts on there.

But, cars you see on Autotrader being sold privately you also see there, so you can sometimes cross reference to see whats genuine.

As others have said, spend a bit of time digging and genuine ones are on there, and if you find a dodgy one report it.

DeLorean75

Original Poster:

364 posts

134 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
quotequote all
spoodler said:
At the moment there are a huge amount of scam adverts/hacked accounts filling up Marketplace. This morning, every ad' I looked at was a scam of some sort... Housewives with fifty cars for sale, all at different locations - easy enough to spot and the same as Ebay was a short time back...
Even a lot of the genuine ad's on Facebook are "dodgy" - the amount of folk who think they can sell something for top money by simply using "quasi dealer speak" - I mean who the Hell wants to make out they are a dealer? Beats me. Add to that the fact that Facebook automatically fills in various details for the seller, which are often incorrect, that it erases phone nos. and sellers still state "call me on..."

All that said, I've bought several vehicles via Marketplace and have sold a few of mine... you just have to persevere...
Spoodler what is the nature of the housewive scam? Send money to reserve or something more nefarious eg data harvesting? Yes there's loads of those here in NI. Some woman with 3 lovely kids in Newcastle Co Down is selling so many cars she must own a car park

RoVoFob

1,574 posts

185 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
quotequote all
DeLorean75 said:
Can someone enlighten me - why are there so many classfieds car ads on FB with no mileage stated and proposed vendor doesn't respond to any questions. If it's a scam I really don't get what the nature of it is!

And as an aside, with a proliferaton of people selling multiple cars, whilst not officially being dealers, what is the deal. Are they just chancing their arm selling stuff sold as seen but without taking ownership themselves i.e. behaving like a dealer with regard to V5 and [road] tax but not like a dealer if you want to go back with a problem? I'm assuming so....
FB marketplace is abysmal for buyers and sellers.

My A6 is currently advertised on there among other places and even I can’t find the live ad. You can’t add the full engine/spec details in the ad setup, it shows mileage in km and is thoroughly un-user-friendly.

It wouldn’t surprise me if messages didn’t get through from seller to buyer, judging how poorly set up it all is.

andymc

7,605 posts

234 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
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I am amazed facebook have not monetised the car ads?

coldel

10,790 posts

173 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
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andymc said:
I am amazed facebook have not monetised the car ads?
Me too. It could become the biggest car marketplace on the planet if they put a little bit of effort in. Even £10 a go would raise significant revenues.

sixor8

8,355 posts

295 months

Thursday 20th July 2023
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They can't even be othered to allow entry of miles instead of km. frown

AlwynMike

560 posts

114 months

Friday 21st July 2023
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Looking to buy a motorhome (sorry).
FB Marketplace Ads seem to be around 90% scam so I don't even bother looking. Vehicles priced at less than half retail etc.
Comes to something when you go to eBay to find "genuine" adverts!

DeLorean75

Original Poster:

364 posts

134 months

Friday 21st July 2023
quotequote all
Coming to same conclusion.

The catnip is the algorithm is excellent at understanding that you like banana coloured camper vans and keeps serving up ones within a defined radius wink


Ash_

5,965 posts

217 months

Friday 21st July 2023
quotequote all
DeLorean75 said:
Can someone enlighten me - why are there so many classfieds car ads on FB with no mileage stated and proposed vendor doesn't respond to any questions. If it's a scam I really don't get what the nature of it is!

And as an aside, with a proliferaton of people selling multiple cars, whilst not officially being dealers, what is the deal. Are they just chancing their arm selling stuff sold as seen but without taking ownership themselves i.e. behaving like a dealer with regard to V5 and [road] tax but not like a dealer if you want to go back with a problem? I'm assuming so....



To the bit in bold, yes, definitely. I fell foul of this a few years ago with a car, the "dealer" was an absolute and utter C**t!