Am I walking into a craigslist scam? 2024

Hi y'all,

I've been in the market for an older, budget friendly small glass boat, and I encountered a '96 Nitro 170 on Craigslist in shockingly nice condition for a very low price (~2k). Everything is described as working and everything seem's to be in great shape for the age. I contacted the seller, who described that she has moved the boat to another state (almost across the country) and that eBay Motors currently has possession. She said eBay would send me an invoice, and once paid, the boat would be delivered (at her cost) to me, at which point I'd have five days to test out the boat before keeping it or returning it for a full refund. Has anyone heard of a similar dynamic before? It sounds fishy, especially for the too good to be true price. I asked for an invoice so I could check with eBay Motors and confirm the legitness. 

Any advice would be incredibly appreciated,

Have you seen the boat in person?

I'd contact eBay to verify the seler's claims and find out their buyer protection policies. If it's legit, pay with PayPal.

Grampa Casey always said, "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see."

Add to that the old saying 'if it seems too good to be true, it probably is'.

Lastly, what's your gut tell you?

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:37 AM, DogBone_384 said:

Have you see the boat in person?

Grampa Casey always said, "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see."

Add to that the old saying 'if it seems too good to be true, it probably is'.

Lastly, what's your gut tell you?

 

Hahaha, all online. Apparently sitting somewhere in the Midwest. That's a huge red flag for me, but for 2 grand, it's not like I'm gonna get the red carpet treatment on anything in that range.

I'm usually a pretty pessimistic person but my gut tells me this is legit. She gave me a very convincing and long backstory being a widow selling her husband's old boat and how she had to move states for medical and family care. The boat's probably worth double at least but I'm somewhat convinced she doesn't understand the market value and this is the most hassle-free way of unloading the boat. Who knows though. Once I get an invoice, I should be able to confirm everything with eBay. 

Wow. Agree with DogBone, but there have been those
gems on eBay where there's a divorce or something and
the wife sells the ex's toys at wicked discounts in a move
of spite against him/her.

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:42 AM, Darren. said:

Wow. Agree with DogBone, but there have been those
gems on eBay where there's a divorce or something and
the wife sells the ex's toys at wicked discounts in a move
of spite against him/her.

It's 20 years old but looks like it barely ever hit the water, definitely garage kept, seats and carpet look like they just left the factory. Motor's an old Mercury/Tracker 120 but enough for me. 

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:43 AM, Taylor Haberle said:

It's 20 years old but looks like it barely ever hit the water, definitely garage kept, seats and carpet look like they just left the factory. Motor's a Mercury/Tracker 120 but enough for me. 

Is there any way you can contact eBay Motors and 
have them verify the condition of the boat?

Just shooting in the dark here...don't know if it is
realistic to contact them or not.

ask her where she has it, and then tell her you have a relative nearby that is willing to go and check it out or even pick it up, that would be best for her as shw wouldnt have to pay shipping charges... most probably she will reply that is not possible and give some excuse.... 

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:45 AM, Darren. said:

Is there any way you can contact eBay Motors and 
have them verify the condition of the boat?

Just shooting in the dark here...don't know if it is
realistic to contact them or not.

Yeah, I'm gonna wait til I have an invoice in hand so I don't seem like some rando of the street. She sent me about 30 photos, all the same boat, all markings match up .

I have to be able to test drive a boat, and have a mechanical inspection done before paying a single penny to the seller.

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:46 AM, (='_'=) said:

ask her where she has it, and then tell her you have a relative nearby that is willing to go and check it out or even pick it up, that would be best for her as shw wouldnt have to pay shipping charges... most probably she will reply that is not possible and give some excuse.... 

She claims she turned it over to eBay Motors but I can't find a listing and I didn't even know they would take vehicles/boats and sell them for people. I want to pursue this cautiously though because if it's actually real, I hit the jackpot.

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:50 AM, Taylor Haberle said:

She claims she turned it over to eBay Motors but I can't find a listing and I didn't even know they would take vehicles/boats and sell them for people. I want to pursue this cautiously though because if it's actually real, I hit the jackpot.

i found a "great deal" some time ago as well

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:57 AM, (='_'=) said:

i found a "great deal" some time ago as well

 

 

Well there ya go! Nice dig up. Cautionary tale, to be sure.

Wow, that's almost the same language. What a joke. I had given her my address, hopefully there's no risk from that? I'm gonna keep it going just to see what garbage she feeds me next. Really appreciate the link, might have saved me. 

Ebay does not store vehicles. I ran into the same scam a few years back.

I buy and sell one two two boats and or jets skis at a time, depending when I can find them to fix them up.  With that said I have run into this scam over and over.  There is always some great story behind why they cant just pick up the phone and have you over and craigslist is the worst.  But all in all it is what it is.  I call the adds that have numbers and if they have weird area codes and or email only I just blow them off.  They are always good deals and always 2k or less.  If I can come over and see it, touch it and see the title I am out.  

Time to start messing with the scammer...

Grab the Vaseline and bend over if you go for that deal.

Variations of that same deal have been showing up for at least 10 years.   No matter what you say or do to try and seeing the boat, there is always some excuse as to why that's not possible.

I had one tell me one time that the boat was in Tucson Az.  I replied back that was great, I have a brother that lives just outside Tucson, he could go by a check the boat out and make the deal on the spot then.  Well, then it was in some special, secure warehouse and could not get access to it.  On and On with excuses. 

If you can't deal face to face, where you can swap the cash for the goods, then you are only asking to be taken for a sucker.  Also, it's dumber than dirt to buy any boat you can't inspect and take for a check out ride.  When you buy one sight unseen or taking the person word for condition is when you usually get to buy the most expensive boat you will ever own.  Of course well all know a bass fisherman would never tell a lie.

Oh, I'm going with it right now to see what they try to pull. She said an eBay representative would contact me today 

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:43 AM, Taylor Haberle said:

It's 20 years old but looks like it barely ever hit the water, definitely garage kept, seats and carpet look like they just left the factory. Motor's an old Mercury/Tracker 120 but enough for me. 

Could be the picture is 20 years old too. NEVER buy a boat without looking at it in person first.

@Taylor Haberle That's a classic scam. I've seen it many, many times when I inquire about a "too good to be true" ad on CL- always the same nonsense about having to move out of state (getting deployed by the military is another common one) and invoking the name of eBay or something similar to make it sound legit. Don't fall for that one. You may even get a call from the "ebay motors representative" but it'll be the scammer or a colleague.

Taylor, sounds like you've got your answer.  You might owe these guys a drink for listening to them rather than your gut! 

I can confirm this to be a scam. 100 percent. I was looking to buy a tundra. The listing said the samething about it is in a ebay warehouse. Called ebay and they confirmed that they do not hold sellers items for them.

Scammer! I ran into something sim early this year when trying to sell my old boat.  Guy said he would by the boat but he's in the military and over seas. he's willing to pay for the boat unseen and have a company pick it up. He wanted me to send my Paypal info to him so he can pay me. Before I did anything I search on google to find this is a common scam and they use a super program to break paypal and sell your account info. I also happen to find ( there not very smart) that they use the same name,  I cam to a conclusion its a person working to get the info when a better programer pays them. 

Not worth it. 

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:34 AM, Taylor Haberle said:

Hi y'all,

 

I've been in the market for an older, budget friendly small glass boat, and I encountered a '96 Nitro 170 on Craigslist in shockingly nice condition for a very low price (~2k). Everything is described as working and everything seem's to be in great shape for the age. I contacted the seller, who described that she has moved the boat to another state (almost across the country) and that eBay Motors currently has possession. She said eBay would send me an invoice, and once paid, the boat would be delivered (at her cost) to me, at which point I'd have five days to test out the boat before keeping it or returning it for a full refund. Has anyone heard of a similar dynamic before? It sounds fishy, especially for the too good to be true price. I asked for an invoice so I could check with eBay Motors and confirm the legitness. 

Any advice would be incredibly appreciated,

 

This is a scam...The sheriff's office where I work has been dealing with something very similar, but it is primarily with cars. Another one our deputies contacted the seller posing as a buyer and there was a list of whoops that had to be jumped through. This involved almost the same story line accept with was with a very nice used, but in excellent shape, ford work truck. It is one of those interstate cases that will probably be hard to figure out. 

It always goes back to if it sounds too good. 

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:42 AM, Darren. said:

Wow. Agree with DogBone, but there have been those
gems on eBay where there's a divorce or something and
the wife sells the ex's toys at wicked discounts in a move
of spite against him/her.

Or its the Wife's divorce lawyer. In my 4 years of practicing primarily domestic relations law I have forced the sale of two bass fishing boats. Hate doing it. I would contact Ebay and confirm that everything is on the up and up with regard to the boat. You may just have found a gem, but it certainly sounds like a scam to me. 

Interesting... as I was looking a something and got these emails from this lady whose name was Grace:

1st email:

Hi there,

2nd Email after I asked for more info about the boat:

Hi again,

I think its the same type of Scam.....

 

SCAM

  On 4/12/2016 at 8:06 PM, Gotfishyfingers? said:

SCAM

^^^ This.

I did the same thing a few months ago with a Ranger. Person told me that the auction for the boat ended and the buyer backed out and it was being held in eBay's lot. I read this and it sealed the deal for me that it was a scam. I told the person that if they re-listed the boat for sale with the same buy it now price I would buy it immediately but I never heard from them again.

They sent me a pretty realistic looking invoice from "eBay" this morning. Email address was a slight giveaway. 

Thanks all for the help with this. I would have quickly figured it out when she sent the invoice, but still appreciate everything. I've heard of lots of craigslist scams but this is a new one to me.. I'm sure it's been successful before

Its a scam. I've had the exact same thing happen when I sold my wife's car. The whole, I'll send you an invoice, my shipper will pick up the car, I'll give you 90% now and 10% after I drive it a week.

Do yourself a favor and steer clear. 

You could always string them along, it's a lot of fun, I do it all the time. 

Yep definite scam. There's a lot of scammers out there. Best way to deal is in person. If they start making excuses not to, or a lot of times if they don't even have a number listed with their add just move on. 

Go here, read and adhere to their advice.  Also, check out the second example of actual fraud emails.

 http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

Yeah, I was stupid for somewhat believing it initially, although it wasn't a slam dunk scam. Selling a 1996 Nitro for two grand isn't the most preposterous thing, despite the condition. If it was a new Ranger or something, I wouldn't have even e-mailed her. I thank everyone for their help and hope this thread is a good warning for anyone who runs into this. 

  On 4/13/2016 at 10:42 AM, Taylor Haberle said:

Selling a 1996 Nitro for two grand isn't the most preposterous thing, despite the condition. 

i believe that's the appeal of the scam and what makes it work for them....

  On 4/12/2016 at 3:46 AM, (='_'=) said:

ask her where she has it, and then tell her you have a relative nearby that is willing to go and check it out or even pick it up, that would be best for her as shw wouldnt have to pay shipping charges... most probably she will reply that is not possible and give some excuse.... 

that's a really good idea.  If its' legit she will make arrangements if not..............................................

Its a very well known scam, they try to switch things from Craigslist to Ebay by sending you a link to click on to complete the sale. The link is not to a valid Ebay site, any information is sent to the criminals to steal your identity. The email with links will look very well done, most of time they pull actual Ebay graphics and mimic actual Ebay emails.

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