I posted on a 4 speed Mopar group on Facebook, looking for a small block mopar scattershield. One guy messaged me about a gold painted unit for $300. I got a little suspicious when he seemed impatient for my response and then he got a bit pushy. I double checked ebay to see if any other verified sellers may have one and low and behold there was the same pictures of that very same gold painted scattershield from a different part of the country and an asking price of $599. So this guy just snagged a pic off ebay, threw me a price half as much and then was gonna disappear im sure. His profile was pretty blank and generic, as well. All the warning signs were there. Glad I was paying attention. Be careful out there, guys. -rick
right click on the pics and google image search usually finds the real pictures pretty fast.... buying on FB and Instagram seems dangerous as hell to me, not to mention what they do with your private information....
No reason to go anywhere past the HAMB. We have everything here. Just put an add in the wanted classifieds.
I typically look for local sellers on facebook- pretty handy for that. I like to fondle what I'm shopping for before i commit -rick
The only reason these scammers continue to work is there is a little cheapskate in all of us. We all want a good bargain, just how far we’ll turn our head or how far we push it is the difference in people. I too had rather touch and feel and make a deal, just not always possible today. I am not as strict in what I may want, I try to to have options. 99.9% off the unwashed won’t know when an item was first made available and it doesn’t matter to me anyway.
You'd be lucky if Ebay was more like a swap meet. You would have a better chance of actually speaking with the seller and seeing the merchandise before spending your money.
Yeah, be VERY careful, buying anything. Back about eight or nine months ago, I started looking to buy a car.I had very specific requirements that I was sticking to. I found a car that looked like it might fit the bill very nicely, decent price. The add had a personal phone number. I called the number. I asked about if the seller still has the car. He did a sort of grone, and said, "that add is still up" ? I sold the car 3 months ago". Damn. That add is STILL in place today ! Ok, so that says, that the advertisement companies do what they wish with the original adds. Another car that looked good. This car was advertised by a Broker type seller. The car was advertised at a showroom not too far from me. The phone number showed up per Google as the same location as the Google Earth shop photo. I called. I asked the girl that answered the phone about this particular car, silence. She said that she was sorry, but this is a Toyota dealership and we do not sell "Hot Rods" ! There's people stealing photos from one add and making up another add, inserting said photo, at a "NON-EXISTANT", location ! I ran into one situation, of a car that was not on my "list", but it appeared to be one that I'd like to have...anyway ! Although it was a Broker, he SEEMED to have all of the correct answers. BUT...he was DEFIANTLY a "fast talker" that wasn't going to let me get a word in. This car is perfect for you, I'll take some more pictures for you, what do you want to see ? Although I would have liked to have the car, I WASN'T going to work with this fast talker. So...all this is to say, during my several month hunt, I ran into most every scam, bull shit Broker, double talker, and a few others that I can't think of names for out there. Bull shit scammers are out there people, be careful. Spend the money (airplane fair) and go look at the car, or high dollar parts that you want to buy...first hand. Hang up on fast talkers. Mike P.S. - I did find a car. In an add in a local (to the seller) "classic car" type news paper, for a more than fair price, by the seller...NO brokers, no dealers. Luckily I have a friend that lives sorta close to the cars location (about 375 miles away) that was willing to "put eyes on" the car. Take a short ride. The sale went fine, the car is mine.
Nope. The Climate folks don't want you to have tar...and animal rights folk won't let you use feathers.
I am a frugal/cheap S.O.B. by nature and I can smell a scam a block away. I did pick up my "new" '66 Belair on FB marketplace, it turned out I knew the seller. My brother deals high-end bicycles on FB and says that it is rife with the dishonest.
I have always found these scams pretty easy to spot but I grew up on the internet and learned to be skeptical of everything as a kid. I once spent a week trying to get a painfully obvious scammer ejected from a flathead parts group on Facebook. His name was something stupid like John Jim (something that only a foreigner who is not really familiar with US names could come up with) and he kept linking to a Facebook page with a name like "John Jim's Rare old antique car Parts Store" and frequently advertised rare parts that were all stolen images from instagram. If anyone asked for a specific part he would chime in and claim to have it. I made a post saying I was looking for a 1929 Model A brake master cylinder and he said he had some ready to ship. The group admin insisted he didn't see anything off with the guy or his page...
Even HAMB market place isn't safe. I've had two instances where I posted on the "Wanted" board and immediately been contacted by scammers. You have to be deligent even here.
that must have been some time ago, Ryan changed the site so that members need at least 10 posts on the main board before they can see the wanted section. He did that to stop that kind of scamming....
I ran into this once, noticed the pic was the same as one on ebay, when I questioned him about it he did inform it was the same one on ebay and also let me know it was his ebay account also. When I asked him why it was posted cheaper than on ebay it simply said because he doesn't have to pay ebay fees and taxes and if local pickup he didn't have to fight with boxing and shipping. So I asked him to just me a Pic of it with his hand in it making a peace sign, he did, I bought it, no problem..... ....
yes, not everyone is a scammer, probably only a very small percentage of the overall population. Unfortunately, even a small percentage of 8 billion people, equals a lot of people………..
I’ve been contacted in the past by a scammer after posting a wanted ad here on the Hamb. That was a while back but shows that you need to educate yourself on the things they try and be cautious.
Scammers are everywhere and on every type of forum, one of the quick tell tell signs is the word "Parts" in the sellers name or group name. This is a double edge sword though, the more you spread the word about it the more aware the scammer will be and he will just change his tactics. So keep it in mind and do your do diligence when buying online.
Yes he did. And I know of at least one other so called Hamber who ripped off another member. The ripoff artist lives here in my city. Although he is no longer a member.
I bought an M20 4 speed on here in 2014, IIRC it was around $750 with shipping. I checked the seller out, read his posts, etc. So I sent off a money order and the item was at a friend's shop 4 days later. Not everyone is a crook, but they are out there.
I've bought and sold parts here on the Hamb, the Barn, Craigslist, Ebay, and FB market place. Sent parts to Australia, Europe, and Canada as well as the US. Never had an issue, got scammed, or a complaint from a buyer. But I've never sent a Western Union Money Gram, gift card, or Friends and Family payment either. Hopefully my positive experiences will continue in the future.
The Jalopy Journal
