Awesome Deal... To Good To Be True?

[JeziHogg]

So I found a 2008 Triton TS 17 for $2900, 50hp all the works.

The person I emailed about it says she is recently divorced and is selling it because she is strapped for cash. The catch is the boat, motor and trailer are 3 1/2 hours away one way.

Does this seem legit to you guys? Or do you think I'm going to get robbed? lol

[Darren.]

Dude, can you check it out in person?

 

Edit: at 3.5 hours, can you ask her to hold it till you can check? Take a day off from work, a vacation day, a sick day, whatever, and check it out....

 

Sometimes you hear of $80K Mercedes being dumped for $5k in divorce cases.

 

If you're first in line, check it out and if legit, jump.

 

But I don't want to see a fellow bassresourcer get jipped. I'm sure there are other words of wisdom from other guys on the forum.

 

I've just heard of too many divorce cases in which pricey items are sold at beyond bargain prices due to wife getting back at hubby. If that's the case, then you win. If not, then you've been had. Impossible for any of us to know for sure unless you can get an address, and time for a visit.

Edited April 2, 2013 by DarrenM

[slonezp]

Is the title in hand and in her name? I bought my first boat from a couple getting divorced and got a great deal. The woman was one of my customers so I wasn't going in blind

[JeziHogg]

I wish it was that easy to take a day off in the army. Im gonna go this Saturday with a buddy of mine. I think its gonna be worth spending the gas money and takin a gamble and ill just keep the cash stored in the truck until I think everything is legit.

[Glenn]

Sounds like somebody is trying to unload some stolen goods.

[JeziHogg]

Hmm, I just sent her an email asking if she has all the registration and ownership paper work.

I really hope this is legit

[Fishing N Boots]

I would ask obviously about the title, ask if she could send you some more pictures, and then ask for a number to call and speak to her. Usually you can tell a lot by the phone conversation rather then email. I just drove 2 hours to get my boat, so sometimes the drive get's you a better deal, in my case the gentleman lived 2 hours from really the closest city so it was hard to get people to come out and look.

[Dogface]

I do not know how Canada handles boat transfers but as Slonezp said make sure she has the title. The boat and trailer are in her name. And the title is clear with no liens.  

 

Lets hope she is not rying to get one over on her ex-husband.

[DINK WHISPERER]

There are deals out there that seem too good but are legit. Check it out for sure it won't hurt to. I just drove from FL to GA for mine 7hr one way. Older guy, wouldn't even send more pics cuz he didn't know how. His grandson listed it on CL for him. It was priced the same as most of the junk here and listed as being mint. I just had a feeling about it and made the drive. All turned out well the guy just hit a rough spot in life and needed cash. I got a mint 20' bass boat for the price of the fixer uppers i saw here. Best of luck....

[ClackerBuzz]

When the last time it was running?  Leaks?  Hope she doesn't fumble around the answers. Can you meet on the water for a test drive? Or hitch to ur truck and drive together? (If she is nervous ask her to have one of her male friends present).  If ur going for it I'd line the notary up in advance too.  Sometimes they close early on Saturday's etc. Ask her the name of a local one she uses and call for their hours to make sure their open. Hope it works out well. Keep us posted

[JeziHogg]

This is what I just got...

 

Hello again

After i finished the divorce i have moved to my parents home in Detroit Michigan  for a while, because i think they are only people who can help me to pass this difficult situation. Besides, there are a lot of things which have priority now, so, this boat has to go. It has clean title, cleared of any obligations or fees (no lien) and it is registered in my name. I am a member of the eBay buyer protection and using this service you will get a 5 days testing period after delivery. During that 5 days testing period I will not be getting any money.  After your inspection period (5 calendar days) In case you won't like the boat you will notify eBay and you will send the
 boat back on my expense, if you want to keep it you will also announce eBay, you will send the funds (payment method and all the details will be set up by eBay) and you will keep the boat .

I need your name and address and after that I will send your info to eBay and they will e-mail you soon with more info about the deal.

Thanks and have a great day

 

Sounds like a scam to me.

[Fishing Rhino]

This brings up a red flag.

 

Who is going to let you take a boat for a five days' "inspection" without some type of security deposit?  It doesn't seem right to me.  Or is it one of those deals where you have to give the money to eBay?  I've read too many instances on this forum where someone has received broken tackle, or it never got delivered, but the "seller" gamed the system.  The buyer was left holding the bag.

 

Google "eBay buyer protection scams".

 

Run Forrest, run!

[BrianinMD]

Yeah, sounds like an ebay scam. They will send you a link to what looks like an Ebay site but it is fake. Any information you enter is given straight to the bad guys. Do a nationwide search for the same boat, you will probably find listings for it all over the country.

[jhoffman]

Super shady

 

When I sold my bike I listed it on ebay cause locally it wasnt getting attention. Guy contacted me, the bike didnt sell for the reserve he was from erie... 3.5 hours away. He called me that morning, was standing at my door at noon and the bike left at 1 cause he had a plane to catch in erie by 5. Paid for the bike in cash, I signed over the title at the notery and life went on.

 

Anytime someone is really WORDY about something like that after you have initiated contact then its likely a scam. Id tell her, I am coming with cash or I aint coming. Better yet, maybe a cashier check so as soon as they cash it its trackable.

[ClackerBuzz]

 WORDY

is spot on.

i can tell by the sentence structure that English isn't their first language.

"In case you won't like the boat".  In case you don't like the boat

Nigerian  !!!

I can completely solve this problem.  Just deposit the funds into MY account and I'll oversee the transaction!   

Edited April 2, 2013 by ClackerBuzz

[jhoffman]

They are trying to pull a phishing scam(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing) on a fisherman, kinda funny... sorta.

 

Anyhow, yes, pay attention anytime you get a URL in an email. I can make a link look like anything I want, even on this very forum. Notice how if you hover over the link its not a puppy website but the one above about phishing. With a tiny bit of code and your known email address I can write a php script and send emails on your behalf.

 

Click this link to go to a puppy website

[HookSetDon]

This is what I just got...

 

Hello again

After i finished the divorce i have moved to my parents home in Detroit Michigan  for a while, because i think they are only people who can help me to pass this difficult situation. Besides, there are a lot of things which have priority now, so, this boat has to go. It has clean title, cleared of any obligations or fees (no lien) and it is registered in my name. I am a member of the eBay buyer protection and using this service you will get a 5 days testing period after delivery. During that 5 days testing period I will not be getting any money.  After your inspection period (5 calendar days) In case you won't like the boat you will notify eBay and you will send the

 boat back on my expense, if you want to keep it you will also announce eBay, you will send the funds (payment method and all the details will be set up by eBay) and you will keep the boat .

I need your name and address and after that I will send your info to eBay and they will e-mail you soon with more info about the deal.

Thanks and have a great day

 

Sounds like a scam to me.

This is a scam for sure 100% Last year when looking for a small aluminum boat for some back water lakes I got the same response, exactly the same. Its a scam

[Dogface]

Sounds like a scam to me.

Yes it does.

[DINK WHISPERER]

SCAAAAAAAAAM!!!!

[J Francho]

Run from this one.

[Glenn]

I'd be curious to see the header information from the email you received.  I'd bet it's not from anywhere near the location they say they're from.

 

If only there were a way to scam the scammer.  Hmmmm..... 

 

A friend of mine did that once, to a scammer trying to sell Home Depot gift cards at below the retail value ($100 card for $75 bucks) on ebay.  The scammer would sell the card in a parking lot somewhere, and then retrieve the funds before the buyer can get home or to Home Depot to use it.

 

Here's how he scammed the scammer:

 

His brother went to Homedepot.com and ordered some items online...got them in the cart, but didn't checkout.  At the same time, he met the scammer to "buy" the gift card.  The scammer told him to go ahead and call Home Depot to verify the card's value. Well he called....

 

his brother...with the account information on the card.  His brother entered it and finished buying the items online.  Once his brother told him it was finished, he told the scammer that, although the card checked out as legit, he wasn't interested anymore, and left. 

[tnriverluver]

I had a friend go through this same deal on a horse trailer with living quarters.  I told him it was a scam but he just had to find out the hard way.  Drove from Tenn to an address in Chicago where the trailer was supposedly located.  Turned out to be a vacant lot and of course no trailer.  Luckily he at least took my advise and did not send any money.  This was an Ebay deal with all the pictures and every thing.

[BuckMaxx]

_Scam!

[IowaHusker28]

I have gotten almost this exact same response on a boat once before, hopefully you've checked back here and didn't spend any money! I typed the word by word email into google and it came up many scam alerts. I gave them a piece of my mind and moved on!