Is this a Scam

[JRM]

Saw a tractor on Craiglist that was way too cheap. Sent seller an email and this what I got back. Just does not sound right and the ad on Craiglist has been removed. Here what she wrote back.
"First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my tractor. I sell at this
price($6,300.00 US) because i just finished the divorce with my husband. When the
divorce has finished i own this tractor. Now as a women i don't need. This tractor
is in excellent working conditions, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage,
slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title.
From the begining you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I
prefer the payment to be done using eBay services.
We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a
purchase protection account for $20.000. The final price that I want for this
tractor is $6,300.00 US including shipping and handling.


If you are interested in buying it please provide me your full name and address so I
can initiate the deal through eBay.
I will wait your answer(if you are interested to buy) very soon"

It would be a great buy if it is legitamate, let me know I do not do much buying online so not up on all the scams out there

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Caveat Emptor!

Don't buy anything from Ebay or Craigslist "sight unseen" for more than $100. (or, not for anymore than you are willing to lose).

Especially, anything that might be from a foreign country.

There are hundreds of versions of the "nigerian scam", "shell game", "PT Barnum", things.

Even "locally purchased used items" it is buyer beware...there are crooks everywhere...

:cowboy:

 

[Green Creek]

After reading the reply two or three times, I think you can pick up on a pattern. Sounds like a person not very familiar with writing in English and that's only one of the reasons I would pass on this "amazing offer".

 

[Jim62]

I'd say DEFINITELY a scam, just by the speech pattern. I think this may be the same gal that wanted me to help her smuggle $87,000,000 out of Kenya (or somewhere).

Wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole........

 

[SFFarms]

Something is not right about this at all. :? Im a criminal Justice major right now in college and my dad is a retired police chief and after reading this the red flags went a flying through the roof.

#1 "Now as Women i don't need."--- Sounds very strange

#2 "Excellent working condtions and looking"--- Sounds like someone that doesnt know much about tractors.

#3 The point where "she" says she has purchase protection account for 20k, is to ease the mind of the potential victim.

#4 "Including Shipping and handling" --- A tractor is not something easy to ship.

My opinion it sounds like a scam artist from India or China or other country, based on the very broken english and the strange way sentences are put together. To me i would have to see more of the ad and stuff but i would not take a chance until i look at it or know where it is located. I would recomend not messing with this one "if it's to good to be true it usually is". :tiphat:

 

[grannysoo]

Scam!

 

[JRM]

Thanks for all the replies,
the tractor is close by ( 2 hours drive or less). If the "tractor" she is selling is the one in the pictures it appears to be in good to very good shape. My wife and a couple friends think she may be a housewife who just got the tractor in divorce and wants to sell it ASAP and has no idea what it is worth or just wants to get rid of it now.
I have emailed her back saying I will pick up when I pay and I will also have her show me and get a copy of the divorce papers saying she has possesion of it.
Like others has said this is probably a scam but I know personally of a person going through a divorce that would probably do this, just get some cash ASAP and not really care what it was worth.
The language bothers me as well, and her saying"When the divorce has finished i own this tractor."
it not sure if divorce is final or not. What I feel she may be doing is selling the tractor without having the rights to sell it at this time, or she wants to do it online with the pay and she delivers it which she never ships it.
I will be very carefull. If it is legit, it would be a tractor worth around 30,000 to 40,000 dollars (according to Tractorhouse.com).
Thanks again I will be very carefull

 

[chippie]

Yes it is. I see that you are in Texas. That ad and similar ones has been in most all of the Texas Craigslist.
People are doing the same sort of scam with aluminum horse trailers. Prices that are too good to be true.

Also, the selling through eBay is the giveaway. eBay doesn't work that way. People are phishing for your info. They will even send you a spoof email with a link that on the surface looks like eBay, but actually directs you to a different site. The seller will ask you for a deposit through eBay to hold the tractor for you. You will never see your deposit or the tractor.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/q ... icity.html

ETA: I bet that if you want to look at the tractor, you will find out that it is in a different location.

 

[Ralphy6177]

Scam. See them on Craigslist all the time.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Thanks for all the replies,
the tractor is close by ( 2 hours drive or less). If the "tractor" she is selling is the one in the pictures it appears to be in good to very good shape. My wife and a couple friends think she may be a housewife who just got the tractor in divorce and wants to sell it ASAP and has no idea what it is worth or just wants to get rid of it now.
I have emailed her back saying I will pick up when I pay and I will also have her show me and get a copy of the divorce papers saying she has possesion of it.
Like others has said this is probably a scam but I know personally of a person going through a divorce that would probably do this, just get some cash ASAP and not really care what it was worth.
The language bothers me as well, and her saying"When the divorce has finished i own this tractor."
it not sure if divorce is final or not. What I feel she may be doing is selling the tractor without having the rights to sell it at this time, or she wants to do it online with the pay and she delivers it which she never ships it.
I will be very carefull. If it is legit, it would be a tractor worth around 30,000 to 40,000 dollars (according to Tractorhouse.com).


Thanks again I will be very carefull

Again, be careful! Caveat Emptor!

If the alledged tractor is that close by, confirm the seller's address and location of the tractor. MAKE A PERSONAL VISIT! Also, IF this is a legitimate deal (questionable), make SURE she has clear title to the tractor and is authorized (legally) to sell it! Pending divorces issues can get dirty and as afectionados of CSI, Trauma in ER, American Justice, and other medical/crime TV shows illustrate, people can get shot, killed, etc., when caught in the middle of a hotly contested divorce involving whackos.

Bottomline, absolutely no personal type info given to her over internet, no money sent in advance as a "deposit", etc., etc. Personal visit to look, then go from there...assuming all the other ducks are in a row.

 

[JRM]

All yall get the winning prize. SCAM. Here what I got back, now this started out to be a tractor in Fort Worth Texas.
Just trying to see how I can get back at her and waste "her" time. Think I might have brother "Jimmy Hoffa" go down and pick up the tractor and save her the trucking cost since I would be getting the tractor at such a bargain. LOL
Here what she said:
"Hi again,

The tractor is already at the shipping company in Orlando, Florida sealed and ready
for shipping. I have a contract with eBay so this deal must go through them. I'm
very busy with my job and I`m left out of town so I can't meet you in person, so
this is the reason why I chose to sell my tractor over the Internet. According with
eBay you have 5 days from the time you receive the tractor to inspect it and decide
if you want to keep it or not.
Here is how it will work:
1. First of all I will need the following details from you:
- Full Name
- Full Shipping Address
2. After I will receive the details from you, I will forward them to eBay.
3. After they will process your info, they will send us both invoices. The invoice
will send you the details on how to make a refundable payment.
4. eBay will contact me and I will ship the tractor to you. After you receive the
tractor you will have 5 days to test, verify and do whatever you want with the
tractor. If you will buy it, then I will receive the payment details from eBay so
that I can pick up the money.
5. If you will decide that you will not buy the tractor, eBay will refund the money
and I will have the shipping company come pick up my tractor. If you wish to make
the transaction, please send me the necessary info so that we can proceed. I look
forward to hear from you.

Thank you"

 

[dun]

Her response put's in a different light. It's not a scam, it's a SCAM!

 

[chippie]

Do you want to have some fun with her? Write back and ask for her eBay user name so that you can check her feedback and ask for her phone number plus the shipping company's name and phone number because you have a brother who happens to lives in Orlando and he would be happy to look at the tractor for you before buying.

And what in the world does she mean by "sealed and ready for shipping"? Did she shrink wrap it?

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

This is getting more hilarious as the hours pass!

Now..."sealed and ready to ship" !

First thought that comes to mind is that of a "Model Toy Tractor"... Yes, it's a tractor of given make & model and it "looks good"... etc.

-----
On another note to "gotcha her"... Tell her this...

"Send the tractor (you pay ship costs), and IF the tractor is good, runs, THEN I'll send you the money"...LOL...ROFLOL!

----

Reminds me of a joke(?) I heard years ago...

"Send me the widget and if it's any good, I'll send you a check"....
"Send me the check...and if it's any good, I'll send you the widget"... :banana:

 

[ToddFarmsInc]

I've never had to "tittle" my tractors..... :?

 

[Jogeephus]

I've never had to "tittle" my tractors..... :?

If I'm not mistaken, I think "tittle" is the little dot above the i if MDO0505's posts is correct. (See I can learn something)

 

[hillsdown]

What is her ip address???

This sounds exactly like an add my sister responded to only it was a Lexus SUV,,she said she was going through a divorce and it was part of her settlement and that she needed the cash. The ip was in California but the SUV was in NB Canada. After a couple more inquiries such a serial numbers etc; she never got back to my sister again ...
But the everything else sounds exactly the same with broken english as well.

SCAMMMMMM.

 

[TheBullLady]

Honestly.. with all of this kind of stuff showing up everywhere (I bet we get 10 to 20 of these a day on our office computers) you'd think people would have something better to do.. like get a REAL job.

 

[Proverbs 12:10]

Think about it...Why doesn't the seller just take it down to the auction house, put a minimum sale price of 20K(or more) and do a lot better than selling to you?