Ebay already removed it before I could see it -- but it sounds a lot like several other bogus auctions I reported to Ebay recently. In each case, the photos and most of the description were ripped off an auction for a Confente track bike that sold this summer (that auction ended successfully at something like $7000 or $8000). Also, in each case, the bogus auctions were removed within an hour after my reporting them. I've seen lots of similar bogus auctions for Masi bikes and other potential high-dollar collectibles.
My guess is that if you tried to track down the seller whose eBay ID was listed (amattkensethfan?), you'd find that their account was hijacked. They probably had no idea they had a Confente for sale. Easiest way for that to happen is to respond to an email purporting to be from Ebay, then following the links in the email and supplying your ID and password.
Anyhow, some "Red Flags" in these bogus auctions include: 1) Very short auction listing, such as 1 or 2 days -- especially for a potentially high-dollar item. If someone expects to get a lot for their auction, they'll want it listed long enough for lots of potential bidders to see it. Bogus auction scammers want to get in and out quickly before being caught. 2) Listing in the wrong category -- and I don't mean listing a road bike in the mountain bike section -- I mean listing a bicycle in a category like "children's books" or "vintage clothing" (as two of the fraudulent Confente auctions were listed). I'm not sure why a scammer would do that, or how that would help them (anyone have an idea about that one?) 3) Seller tells you not to contact them through the eBay Message system, and instead tries to get you to send all correspondence to an email link within the description (which if you checked it out, is probably different from the email that goes to the eBay seller ID.) 4) "INCREDIBLE BUY IT NOW PRICE of $1000 USD" for a bike you know could bring several times that amount. Incredible, indeed.
Another thing that was pretty "ballsy" (pardon me) about the bogus Confente auctions is that the first one actually was posted while the REAL Confente auction was still going on this summer. If you ran an "all categories" search on eBay for "confente," both the real auction and the bogus one would appear right by one another! (actually, that might be why they list the bogus ones in odd categories -- to minimize the chance of that happening)
Kyle Brooks
Akron, OH
> [Original Message]
> From: Mark Bulgier <Mark@bulgier.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Date: 9/19/2006 10:47:51 AM
> Subject: [CR] Confente track on eBay - bogus, right?
>
> http://ebay.com/
>
> I mean, the pictures are of a real Confente, but it seems like a
> probable attempt to scam someone using photos and descriptions from a
> previous auction.
> "incredible buy it now price of: 1000 USD"?
> Anyone know eBay handle "amattkensethfan", email addy
> "matamarea@gmail.com"?
>
> Apologies if this is the real owner trying to really auction a real
> bike.
>
> Mark Bulgier
> Seattle WA USA