Real or Scam?

[norcalbiker]

My buddy inquired a Pinarello that is for sale. Here is the seller's email.

"Hello I have for sale a Pinarello FP7 Carbon bike. It was bought in 2010 and it is in pristine condition.
It has less than 100 miles on it.
I am not a professional rider, I just fell in love with the looks of this bike.
The bike was a gift from my platoon for my 48th birthday.
This is a gorgeous bike, it is a pleasure to ride it, but I need to let it go, due to an upcoming investment and due to the fact that I am on camp most of my time.
The price is $2500. At this moment I am in an U.S. air force base getting ready for Afghanistan.
I do apologize, I wished that the situation would have been different and talked this over the phone for a much faster communication, but I am able to check my emails 2-3 times a day.
I will wait your response quickly if you want to buy my bike. Regards"

[bike22]

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=89703

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=88813

[oldpotatoe]

My buddy inquired a Pinarello that is for sale. Here is the seller's email.

"Hello I have for sale a Pinarello FP7 Carbon bike. It was bought in 2010 and it is in pristine condition.
It has less than 100 miles on it.
I am not a professional rider, I just fell in love with the looks of this bike.
The bike was a gift from my platoon for my 48th birthday.
This is a gorgeous bike, it is a pleasure to ride it, but I need to let it go, due to an upcoming investment and due to the fact that I am on camp most of my time.
The price is $2500. At this moment I am in an U.S. air force base getting ready for Afghanistan.
I do apologize, I wished that the situation would have been different and talked this over the phone for a much faster communication, but I am able to check my emails 2-3 times a day.
I will wait your response quickly if you want to buy my bike. Regards"


Well, if he came into the USA when he was 32 or 33, maybe. Platoon senior enlisted are most probably a E-6(maybe E-5) which if you are sharp, you will get in about 6-8 years.

He's not a Platoon leader, those are First Lieutenants, none 48 years old.

Unless he's Army Guard..then it may make sense.

[palincss]

The bike was a gift from my platoon for my 48th birthday.
This is a gorgeous bike, it is a pleasure to ride it, but I need to let it go, due to an upcoming investment and due to the fact that I am on camp most of my time.
The price is $2500. At this moment I am in an U.S. air force base getting ready for Afghanistan.
[/FONT]

Some questions for any career Air Force folks on the forum:
1. Do they even have "platoons" in the Air Force? (I don't know - I was Army)
2. Is 48 a plausible age for someone in the Air Force?
3. Does anyone in the Air Force ever say "I am on camp"? (Surely this must be "on base," no?)
4. "In an U.S. air force base" - bad grammar and surely someone in the USAF would capitalize Air Force, don't you think?

This smells phony to me.

[oldpotatoe]

Some questions for any career Air Force folks on the forum:
1. Do they even have "platoons" in the Air Force? (I don't know - I was Army)
2. Is 48 a plausible age for someone in the Air Force?
3. Does anyone in the Air Force ever say "I am on camp"? (Surely this must be "on base," no?)
4. "In an U.S. air force base" - bad grammar and surely someone in the USAF would capitalize Air Force, don't you think?

This smells phony to me.

1-USA units deploy from a USAF base.
2-See my post.
3-USA on a USAF base waiting to board aircraft to overseas
4-Maybe not if in the army(I was in the US Navy)

[palincss]

1-USA units deploy from a USAF base.
2-See my post.
3-USA on a USAF base waiting to board aircraft to overseas
4-Maybe not if in the army(I was in the US Navy)

Exactly, a "base" not a "camp". Would anyone ever say "I am on camp?" Or "in an US air force"? Doesn't even sound like a native English speaker, those are simply not idiomatic phrases at all. "In an abandoned mine," sure -- but not "in an U.S." anything.

When I was in the Army, we always called it the "Air Force," not the "air force" just as you called it the "Navy", not the "navy". I can't imagine that's changed.

I also wonder about the whole gift scenario. Assuming a platoon is between 25 and 50 people, can you really imagine a group that size all kicking in as much as fifty bucks for a gift for someone in the platoon? How much do enlisted get paid these days?

[zetroc]

I do apologize, I wished that the situation would have been different and talked this over the phone for a much faster communication, but I am able to check my emails 2-3 times a day.
I will wait your response quickly if you want to buy my bike. Regards

Read these sentences by themselves. It sounds fake.

[ergott]

I'll give him a credit card number to buy them;-)

[Don49]

Read these sentences by themselves. It sounds fake.

+1

Seller has a Nigerian accent.

[dsimon]

Ask Him to email you from his military account Im in he army and mine is my 1st Dot last name at us.army.mil his should be similiar but @us.airforce.mil

And for Enlisted pay after14 years not much but its better than nothing..

[FlashUNC]

Some questions for any career Air Force folks on the forum:
1. Do they even have "platoons" in the Air Force? (I don't know - I was Army)
2. Is 48 a plausible age for someone in the Air Force?
3. Does anyone in the Air Force ever say "I am on camp"? (Surely this must be "on base," no?)
4. "In an U.S. air force base" - bad grammar and surely someone in the USAF would capitalize Air Force, don't you think?

This smells phony to me.


1) Air Force does not have platoons. Flights, Wings, etc. No platoons.

2) Plenty of 48 year olds. They're just generally senior officers, not "platoon" leaders.

3) Correct, USAF doesn't do camps. They have bases. Air power and all that.

4) Is self explanatory.

Sigh, the scammer with no shame.

[rwsaunders]

+1

Seller has a Nigerian accent.

I know...the Nigerian Air Force...

[Germany_chris]

An Infantry Platoon is 38people to include The platoon leader and Platoon SGT. 48 is a bit old to be a SFC/E-7 Platoon SGT. I don't really think in the modern active army there are any 48 yr. old E-7's. If your really fast tracking in the conventional army 12-13 years is E-7so thats 30-35. At 48 he'll have been in just about 30 years and there is now a Retention Control Point (RCP) for E-7's and 30 it isn't.

@us.army.mil is not always a good tell. I have one as a civilian still that I got as a private 11 years ago christopher.davis22@us.army.mil.

[SEABREEZE]

Ask whats the name of the camp he's at, as we know he should come back with Partick, Mac Dill etc etc AF base, not camp

[bumknees]

probably is a scam. Tell your bud to hang onto his $$$

[Germany_chris]

Places forward are called camps, even in the Air Force

But yes, scam
Ask whats the name of the camp he's at, as we know he should come back with Partick, Mac Dill etc etc AF base, not camp