Tim Mollenhauer — Mar 21, 2024
This is NOT A REAL BUSINESS! IT IS A SCAM!!! HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME..I was looking to purchase a late model, low hour Excav…
This is NOT A REAL BUSINESS! IT IS A SCAM!!! HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME..I was looking to purchase a late model, low hour Excavator and didnt want to pay the exorbitant prices that the dealers charge. The Excavator that I was looking for was a Deere 50G or a Cat 205CR, both of which sold new for over $100k. Wanting a used machine, I began looking on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace and was surprised at how many there were. I found used prices, while still alot of money to be reasonable. Now, I am smart enough to know that a machine that is worth $60k that is selling for $18k is a scam and would scroll right by. I am talking about the $80k used machine that the asking price is $50k These sellers have websites, contact numbers, testimonials, business addresses and even stated warranties. They are "sponsored" by Facebook. In all of my examples, I spoke to a live sales person that accepted my offers immediately (both offers were 10k under the used asking price) and after asking for my zip code, calculated the shipping cost and agreed to include shipping in the accepted offer price. I called many different references that said that the companies were good and that they would buy from them again. One of the references even said that he had bought 3 different tractors from the seller. The seller requested that I wire the funds to their bank and even had me sign a contract through Docusign. One of the sellers agreed to take half the money through wire and half upon delivery. I really thought that these sellers were giving me a good deal at a fair price. As I began researching the business online I started to see things that didnt makes sense to my very skeptical mind. These business were not on BBB, there were a few misspellings, the testimonials didnt ring true and something just seemed wrong. Being as skeptical as I am I decided to visit one of the sellers in New Hampshire to actually look at the Excavator and in the Louisiana Excavator I called a Private Investigator and for $320.00 he would visit the sellers business, take pictures and report back to me. Thinking that if the businesses would agree to let me or the PI come look at it that it had to be legitimate. The sellers all agreed to the visits......(I know they thought if they agreed to the visit that surely I would think they were legit and not actually make the visit) When I called for the last time to make an appointment for the visit the phone no longer worked and they would not return emails....This is when I realized that this was all fraud and how deep these scammers will go to rip me off. Thankfully, my money is still in MY bank and both of these scammers didnt win this time. Here are some tips I can share:
1.Make sure the vetting process includes BBB, Google reviews, Yelp reviews and general online information. If there are minimal reviews and not much online information it is likely fraudulent.
2.Always arrange to go look at the item you are purchasing.
3.If they never answer the phone and always have to call you back.
4.If they agree to your offer with no back and forth negotiations.
5.When your excitement of getting such a great deal is high and the seller stating that there are other people looking at the same machine.
6.When you ask to speak to the owner and they have the owner call you back and not just transfer you via extension.
7.When calling the seller you should expect to get a receptionist or at least feel like you have called a business, not someones cell phone. These scammers use burner phones and disconnect them when they get caught.
The 4 Co. that attempted to steal my money were:
1.Yardtech Power Equipment in Lee , New Hampshire yardtechpowerequipment.com
2.Ryan's Farm Tractor and Equipment in Marksville, Lousianna ryansfarmequipment.com
3. Turner's Implement Co. in Lucasville, Ohio, turnersimplement.com
4.MGT Titan Oasis in. St. Louis, Missouri mgttitanoasis.com
There ARE reputable small equipment sellers out there that are just trying to make a living. I encourage you to patronize these smaller Companies.
Read more
This is NOT A REAL BUSINESS! IT IS A SCAM!!! HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME..I was looking to purchase a late model, low hour Excavator and didnt want to pay the exorbitant prices that the dealers charge. The Excavator that I was looking for was a Deere 50G or a Cat 205CR, both of which sold new for…
This is NOT A REAL BUSINESS! IT IS A SCAM!!! HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME..I was looking to purchase a late model, low hour Excavator and didnt want to pay the exorbitant prices that the dealers charge. The Excavator that I was looking for was a Deere 50G or a Cat 205CR, both of which sold new for over $100k. Wanting a used machine, I began looking on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace and was surprised at how many there were. I found used prices, while still alot of money to be reasonable. Now, I am smart enough to know that a machine that is worth $60k that is selling for $18k is a scam and would scroll right by. I am talking about the $80k used machine that the asking price is $50k These sellers have websites, contact numbers, testimonials, business addresses and even stated warranties. They are "sponsored" by Facebook. In all of my examples, I spoke to a live sales person that accepted my offers immediately (both offers were 10k under the used asking price) and after asking for my zip code, calculated the shipping cost and agreed to include shipping in the accepted offer price. I called many different references that said that the companies were good and that they would buy from them again. One of the references even said that he had bought 3 different tractors from the seller. The seller requested that I wire the funds to their bank and even had me sign a contract through Docusign. One of the sellers agreed to take half the money through wire and half upon delivery. I really thought that these sellers were giving me a good deal at a fair price. As I began researching the business online I started to see things that didnt makes sense to my very skeptical mind. These business were not on BBB, there were a few misspellings, the testimonials didnt ring true and something just seemed wrong. Being as skeptical as I am I decided to visit one of the sellers in New Hampshire to actually look at the Excavator and in the Louisiana Excavator I called a Private Investigator and for $320.00 he would visit the sellers business, take pictures and report back to me. Thinking that if the businesses would agree to let me or the PI come look at it that it had to be legitimate. The sellers all agreed to the visits......(I know they thought if they agreed to the visit that surely I would think they were legit and not actually make the visit) When I called for the last time to make an appointment for the visit the phone no longer worked and they would not return emails....This is when I realized that this was all fraud and how deep these scammers will go to rip me off. Thankfully, my money is still in MY bank and both of these scammers didnt win this time. Here are some tips I can share:
1.Make sure the vetting process includes BBB, Google reviews, Yelp reviews and general online information. If there are minimal reviews and not much online information it is likely fraudulent.
2.Always arrange to go look at the item you are purchasing.
3.If they never answer the phone and always have to call you back.
4.If they agree to your offer with no back and forth negotiations.
5.When your excitement of getting such a great deal is high and the seller stating that there are other people looking at the same machine.
6.When you ask to speak to the owner and they have the owner call you back and not just transfer you via extension.
7.When calling the seller you should expect to get a receptionist or at least feel like you have called a business, not someones cell phone. These scammers use burner phones and disconnect them when they get caught.
The 4 Co. that attempted to steal my money were:
1.Yardtech Power Equipment in Lee , New Hampshire yardtechpowerequipment.com
2.Ryan's Farm Tractor and Equipment in Marksville, Lousianna ryansfarmequipment.com
3. Turner's Implement Co. in Lucasville, Ohio, turnersimplement.com
4.MGT Titan Oasis in. St. Louis, Missouri mgttitanoasis.com
There ARE reputable small equipment sellers out there that are just trying to make a living. I encourage you to patronize these smaller Companies.
Read more
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