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Is This a Scam?


pizazz

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I recently contacted a guy on Craigslist who said he has a 2010 malibu wakesetter vlx for 18000. Here is his email he sent me. He sent me some pictures but they are not posted.

Hi again Dan,

I will do my best to walk you through the process. As I told you in my first email, I recently got promoted and transferred to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage Alaska for 3 years. The boat is located in Omaha, Nebraska, but I advertised it on other states also to get more exposure and sell it faster. It will be shipped from there by plane with US Navy Military Cargo. Shipping will be done door-to-door, to your exact location, so you will not have to pick the boat up yourself. The deal is handled by eBay so I don't have much to do about it. Using eBay`s Buyer Protection Program, you get free delivery, at your place in 5 days. In addition, you get 5 days to try it out before buying it, and if you don't like it, you can send it back at my expense. If you wish to proceed just send me an email with your full name (for the bill of sale), a delivery address and a phone # where you can be reached and I will forward them to eBay and they will send you the invoice with all of the transaction details.

Thanks,

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I've got a few buddies active in the military and never heard of them getting that type 'service' when the military was moving them. IMO, that would be the first red flag as a scam, but that is just my perspective

  • Like 2
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Ebay 'handle the deal'?

The Navy will fly his boat back and forth at his whim if you don't like it?

You don't have to pay for it until you've had five days to like it - sounds good but, of course, before Defence kindly deliver it to you for your personal assessment, I imagine you will have to send the vendor a nice deposit?

I think I'd run away.

Phone him and tell him you've decided to travel over to view it in person and see how he goes...

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I'm not in the military, but have family that is. Every PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move has been done by civilian contractors using commercial vehicles (reputable moving companies). Even the vehicle moves and storage options have been via civilian contractors.

During one deployment that lasted over a year, the storage facility that had my brother's sports car had a dealer mechanic come in an do an annual inspection to make sure there wouldn't be any problems with the car when he got back. The mechanic suggested that they put the car on stands or move it to a different parking spot each month when it was run up to temp; the point of moving it was so that it didn't get flat spots on the tires. The storage facility did this on their own so they didn't have any issues when delivering the car back to my brother.

If the seller is really in the military, then they can/will store the boat for him. This reeks of a scam.

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100% scam. When I was looking at boats last year I received this exact email about a different boat and a couple of different variations off of CL. Definitely run away from this one.

Edited by K2rider
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^^^^ was just going to say some of this. Experienced many PCS moves and the military has better things to do than fly someone's boat back and forth. It's hard enough getting a space available seat for your a** let alone an entire a/c for a boat! Too funny.

Some scams are hilarious when you think about them.

Edited by jgates237
  • Like 2
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Scam...eBay doesn't act as a 3rd party like they will be doing in this. I had a cl ad for tires and every one was a scam with the military name drops.... It's sad they're scamming people and using the military's names.

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Contact Craig's list report the scam. If this was a legit EBay deal don't think it would be showing up on Craig's List. Should also contact EBay and see what they have to say. Love the idea of letting him know you are coming out for a test drive and ski first.

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Ebay 'handle the deal'?

The Navy will fly his boat back and forth at his whim if you don't like it?

You don't have to pay for it until you've had five days to like it - sounds good but, of course, before Defence kindly deliver it to you for your personal assessment, I imagine you will have to send the vendor a nice deposit?

I think I'd run away.

Phone him and tell him you've decided to travel over to view it in person and see how he goes...

+1

The military will deliver the boat to you for a 5 day demo (via air, no less), then pick it up if you are not happy? Really?

Pizazz...if you thought this had any chance of being legit it is probably not a matter of if you get scammed but when. Might as well jump on this one and learn your lesson sooner rather than later.

  • Like 3
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seems legit to me. the guy is in the military after all. Don't you see those Military Cargo trucks delivering personal stuff all the time?

Bro totally legit. Just put your CC number and expiration on here for the deposit and I will get it to you no problem.....

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Bro totally legit. Just put your CC number and expiration on here for the deposit and I will get it to you no problem.....

Oh come on now. I know all about you military guys and your "travel expenses". Wouldn't be the first time the rules were "stretched"

Shipping a boat on Uncle Sam's dime seems rather ballsy though

Edited by DocPhil
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