White Van Speaker Scam

[Tabascocat]

Well, I hear there is a sucker born every minute and I guess that I had a rebirth today. How have I never heard of this before since it has been going on for decades? I will try to keep this short.......

I am at the gas station filling up in Burbank, CA and this guy in a nice Lexus SUV pulls up. He strikes up a conversation about the Cowboys(I have the star decal and Texas plates) and talks about the team. He knew a lot, it wasn’t casual fandom. He said he was from Dallas and was part of this home surround sound company.

Longer story short, his car was full of home entertainment systems and started the sell job. He was tired and ready to go home and had to sell one more for the day. I politely declined several times(as the price got lower) but this guy was persistent! He looked like Brenden Frasier and spoke very well

This guy had professional brochures showing the product for $2499.00 and all the works. This unit is a daneli HD-52 and looks great. The two thick plastic straps are still around it with the name on them and the tape was still there with the same name stamped on it. This box was not tampered with in any way, shape or form.

He wanted $1200 at first, then it kept dropping as I declined or made excuses as why not to buy. After 15 minutes, he asked what my absolute highest price that I would pay. I have had enough at this point but was still intrigued, so I said $100 to get him to leave.

He declined and drove off but circled the lot and came back around and said “fine, I like you, you are a fellow Texan. Throw in an extra 20 for beer and it is yours”.

He quickly unloaded it in my backseat of the truck and followed me to the ATM. I kinda knew at this point that it is too good to be true but this perfectly packaged box looked like the real thing.

FF to my arrival at home and letting the wife know that I got a deal of a lifetime. She shook her head and told my that I got took. I scoffed and opened up the box with her watching. Wow, it is all there and not cinder blocks, thought I I showed her up

I decided to dig deeper and google HES.....the results were not good, I got took. To cut to the chase, the sub-woofer is filled with cement and the smaller speakers have sand bags in them. I mean what the heck, who goes through all this trouble preparing this????

Evidently, this scam has a manufacturing plant to produce this from point A to Z. It looked like something that would be bought at Best Buy...........

The receiver looks promising, is there anything salvageable out of this or throw it in the dumpster?

 

[BigStar]

We've all been had one time or another. You're just man enough to admit and post it.
I got taken pretty good one time when (about 15 years ago) the Direct TV guy was installing the dishes with a "friend" of his who was tagging along. This friend eventually gets to talking about the ID cards that give you all channels for free incl the Sunday Ticket. $300 one time thing right? They send signals out to fry these ID cards every few weeks so had it work for a whole week or so bf it gave out.

 

[Runwildboys]

I had a guy try to sell me speakers out of a van about 25 years ago, in a Burger King parking lot.
He said they were "surplus" that the company didn't order.

Lol....Okay.

 

[SlammedZero]

Wow! I just looked this up as well and had no idea this was going on. On one of the YouTube videos there is comment after comment about how people fell for these speakers. Well, at least he only got you for $120 and not $500 or something. I guess that saying "if it's too good to be true, it probably is" comes into play on stuff like this. Oh well man, you live you learn. Thanks for sharing. Now if this happens to me I'm going to troll them right back. haha

I just can't believe the lengths people will go to scam people. I just went through a whole debit card fiasco where somebody dropped almost $3 grand at a Target in Florida with my account. How do these people do that? I feel like these people, I will call them that since there is no swearing on here, could have legitimate successful lives if they could redirect that energy and effort into something positive.

 

[NorthoftheRedRiver]

I remember a co-worker who fell for this back in 1984(ish). Thank goodness he drove straight to the office before he opened it all. Opening those boxes in front of his co-workers (while bragging about his negotiating savvy) was one of my all-time favorite life experiences.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Well, I hear there is a sucker born every minute and I guess that I had a rebirth today. How have I never heard of this before since it has been going on for decades? I will try to keep this short.......

I am at the gas station filling up in Burbank, CA and this guy in a nice Lexus SUV pulls up. He strikes up a conversation about the Cowboys(I have the star decal and Texas plates) and talks about the team. He knew a lot, it wasn’t casual fandom. He said he was from Dallas and was part of this home surround sound company.

Longer story short, his car was full of home entertainment systems and started the sell job. He was tired and ready to go home and had to sell one more for the day. I politely declined several times(as the price got lower) but this guy was persistent! He looked like Brenden Frasier and spoke very well

This guy had professional brochures showing the product for $2499.00 and all the works. This unit is a daneli HD-52 and looks great. The two thick plastic straps are still around it with the name on them and the tape was still there with the same name stamped on it. This box was not tampered with in any way, shape or form.

He wanted $1200 at first, then it kept dropping as I declined or made excuses as why not to buy. After 15 minutes, he asked what my absolute highest price that I would pay. I have had enough at this point but was still intrigued, so I said $100 to get him to leave.

He declined and drove off but circled the lot and came back around and said “fine, I like you, you are a fellow Texan. Throw in an extra 20 for beer and it is yours”.

He quickly unloaded it in my backseat of the truck and followed me to the ATM. I kinda knew at this point that it is too good to be true but this perfectly packaged box looked like the real thing.

FF to my arrival at home and letting the wife know that I got a deal of a lifetime. She shook her head and told my that I got took. I scoffed and opened up the box with her watching. Wow, it is all there and not cinder blocks, thought I I showed her up

I decided to dig deeper and google HES.....the results were not good, I got took. To cut to the chase, the sub-woofer is filled with cement and the smaller speakers have sand bags in them. I mean what the heck, who goes through all this trouble preparing this????

Evidently, this scam has a manufacturing plant to produce this from point A to Z. It looked like something that would be bought at Best Buy...........

The receiver looks promising, is there anything salvageable out of this or throw it in the dumpster?

So that’s what Kaiser’s been up to.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I remember a co-worker who fell for this back in 1984(ish). Thank goodness he drove straight to the office before he opened it all. Opening those boxes in front of his co-workers (while bragging about his negotiating savvy) was one of my all-time favorite life experiences.

Loool, that’s awesome.

Reminds me a little of my coworker years back. Granted, he was a young dude but a bit of a hot head. He went to some used car lot and waaay overpaid for a piece of junk that had engine issues immediately. He took it back to the same dealership ranting and raving and drove away after purchasing an even more expensive hunk of junk.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I had a guy try to sell me speakers out of a van about 25 years ago, in a Burger King parking lot.
He said they were "surplus" that the company didn't order.

Lol....Okay.

Yeah, same deal. 20-25 years ago the same scam in a parking lot in Arlington....it’s always “hey, we’re looking to get rid of these things...”

 

[CyberB0b]

I worked with a guy who asked me for an opinion on the speakers. He totally bought into the hype and actually started arguing with me, and then went and bought them. His speakers actually worked, but they were garbage.

It happens. Humans are social animals and are hard wired to trust people.

 

[joseephuss]

I was approached with the same scam about 20 or so years ago. I didn't know it was a scam at the time. I had my doubts, but I didn't truly know if the guy was on the level or not. I just wasn't in the need for speakers at the time and told him no thanks. Then it happened again a few months later and also had a friend get approached as well. That is when I fully realized it was a scam. After that, I was also approached in the same manner, but this time it was steaks in the back of the van. Definitely said no to that offer.

 

[YosemiteSam]

My defense is I just do not talk to people in public that approach me.

The second someone approaches me, I immediately (and coldly) say no thanks and look away from them, but focus on their distance from me. If they decide to step even closer, I become more stand offish to the point of being outright hostility depending on how close they get,.

I can't tell you how many women with a small child in tow (a majority of the time, it's staged) have walked up to me asking for money. Gas stations or store parking lots are the most common places for these scams.

I have a rule about charity. Either I initiate it, or it doesn't happen. If someone asked for money, they just built a giant wall that will never be breached. Too many scammers have ruined it for actually people in need.

btw, It should have been a clue that he was selling stuff out of the back of his truck. While people used to do this years ago in like the 50s and 60s. (vacuum anyone) Nobody does this today.

 

[CouchCoach]

I was approached with the same scam about 20 or so years ago. I didn't know it was a scam at the time. I had my doubts, but I didn't truly know if the guy was on the level or not. I just wasn't in the need for speakers at the time and told him no thanks. Then it happened again a few months later and also had a friend get approached as well. That is when I fully realized it was a scam. After that, I was also approached in the same manner, but this time it was steaks in the back of the van. Definitely said no to that offer.

Yep and they've only got a few of those steaks left and don't want to take them back to the shop and want to give you a deal.

 

[CouchCoach]

It's those damned speaker and steak salesman that give Gypsies a bad name.

 

[cowboyec]

I ordered a Chidobe Awuzie road jersey on ebay...got it for under $25.
I didnt even open the package...and decided to wait til the next game when we wore blue.
Boy did I feel dumb when I opened it up on game day and found out the seller sent me a womens jersey...not a men's AS IT WAS DESCRIBED.
so much time had passed it was too late to send it back....hell I had even given it a positive review.

 

[Runwildboys]

I ordered a Chidobe Awuzie road jersey on ebay...got it for under $25.
I didnt even open the package...and decided to wait til the next game when we wore blue.
Boy did I feel dumb when I opened it up on game day and found out the seller sent me a womens jersey...not a men's AS IT WAS DESCRIBED.
so much time had passed it was too late to send it back....hell I had even given it a positive review.

You didn't get scammed. You just neglected to complete your part of the transaction.

 

[speedkilz88]

You should have asked if he had the projector as well.

 

[timb2]

Con man came up to me and my friends we were going into a technical school and he came up the van and act like the items that he had in his van were hot. My buddies they went for it and it was just junk probably was legal and he's just acting like they were hot so they would be interested

 

[Bigdog]

You are lucky he didn't take you for more when you went to the ATM machine. I have read that if someone comes up to you and demands money from you why you are at the ATM if you put your pin number in backwards it alerts the police to come to you. Don't know if this is true or not. I have not asked cop friend of mine yet.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

You are lucky he didn't take you for more when you went to the ATM machine. I have read that if someone comes up to you and demands money from you why you are at the ATM if you put your pin number in backwards it alerts the police to come to you. Don't know if this is true or not. I have not asked cop friend of mine yet.

Gimme your PIN number backwards and tell me if the cops come to your house.

 

[Tabascocat]

You are lucky he didn't take you for more when you went to the ATM machine. I have read that if someone comes up to you and demands money from you why you are at the ATM if you put your pin number in backwards it alerts the police to come to you. Don't know if this is true or not. I have not asked cop friend of mine yet.

I have never heard of that but I was never intimidated by him, quite a smaller fellow and very polite. He stood outside when I went to the ATM too.