My boss has been
looking
for a large box truck for his business. After browsing Craig's
List,
he decided on two to look at. The first was a retired U-Haul
truck
down in Albany. It was totally clapped out. The next was a
furniture
delivery truck. The picture in the ad showed a pretty decent
looking
truck. The poster of the ad was a text only contact. After
passing
the furniture store shown one the side of the truck, the
directions
took him a few blocks further along. The street dead-ended at a
block
house, and no truck.
He was just starting to
text the contact, when three young males approached him - two
white,
one black. They asked if he was the guy looking for the truck.
He
said that he was, and got out of the car.
While talking to the
three, he started to get a bad feeling about the whole deal -
the
price seemed too good to be true, three individuals who didn't
seem
like the type to own such a vehicle, and no truck. They also
couldn't
give any solid answers regarding the vehicle such as mileage,
the
type of engine, or transmission. Also, he noticed that as he was
talking to the one guy, the other two were kind of wandering
around.
The hair really went up when he realized they were angling to
come up
behind him. When he inquired where the truck was, they pointed
through a gap in a a chain-link fence to an empty lot. They were
trying to lure him out of sight so they could roll him.
The leader then asked
him,
"You got the money?".
At this point he really
realized just how deep of shit he was in. He told them he had
the
money, just not on him at the moment. He told them he would
drive
around to the other street that the lot was on, and meet them
there.
They protested, and still tried to get him to get him off of the
main
street. Still being out in plain sight he got back into his car,
and
hauled ass! Once he got well clear of the area, he tried to pull
up
the ad - and sure enough, it was gone.
Mind you, my boss is
not a
gullible person. Being a suburb of Troy, New York's Chicago on
the
Hudson, he knew the neighborhood wasn't the best area. So that
put
his level of attention up a notch. Passing the named furniture
store,
he relaxed somewhat. Ending up on a dead end street, with a trio
of
shifty characters trying to lead him out into an empty lot had
the
alarms screaming in his head. Fast talking and quick thinking
kept
him from being another statistic.
He and I discussed what
happened to him that day:
-
An ad for a piece of equipment that was too good to be true.
-
A bad neighborhood.
-
Shifty characters that knew nothing about what they were selling.
-
The item for sale was no where to be seen.
While he managed to
escape
with nothing more than a bad scare, had he not trusted his
instincts,
it could have ended much worse....robbed, beaten, or even
killed. It
happens down there every day.
So be aware of your
surroundings, and every thing in it. Don't let yourself be a
victim
of your own complacence.
Here are some more tips on this linkedin post:
Don't go by yourself. Period. No "buts". Don't do it.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes sell things or buy things that have been advertised online. I always go well armed when I go to make the deal but I am lucky here in NY to be able to do so legally. In addition, when I am selling something, I always suggest a well known public place like a shopping center parking lot. That is not always an option when replying to someone else's ad for something I want though. So, I try to be careful by starting off the process by asking a bunch of questions, either via email or the phone, before I even consider actually going to see the item. I also ask them to email me more photos. If they give me BS answers, don't have photos, seem edgy, want me to come or whatever along those lines - I decline. You certainly do need to be careful I such dealings. The advice to never go alone is good to a certain extent but for me, having someone to go with me is usually not an option. So, as I said, I take along one of my friends Mr. Glock or Pietro Beretta and always have Mr. Justin Case with me.
ReplyDeleteThis confirms what I suspected about a number of ads from Troy that I saw while temporarily living in the Albany area. Glad I ignored them.
ReplyDeleteJesus, you can't even buy a truck anymore. I will heed everyones advice since I know I would have just gone to look at that truck. Certainly, for sure, I will take along Mr. Justin Case that Mr. Glenn B recommends. Mr. Case doesn't take up that much space and is quiet during the ride unless something would provoke him!!!
ReplyDeleteGo armed, or don't go at all. The minute he saw more than one person he should have kept driving. You don't need a crew to sell a used truck.
ReplyDelete