Maintenance & Restoration

Byron Kinnaman · 08-24-2006, 10:58 AM

It would be a real shame if you let a scammer stop you from persuing your dream. These little trailers are a real delight to have and use. Please continue your search, you'll find the right one from the right seller.

lwehrly · 08-24-2006, 11:08 AM

The guest room is nice...but you'll have to share it with a bunch of us who are still looking for the right trailers. I am very leary of ebay, unless its close enough for me to look at physically. And since I am such a newbie, I've figured out I just need to look at em anyway, because pictures don't tell it all!
When I first started looking in February, someone told me to go to the Oregon meet so I could see a bunch of them and because there are frequently trailers for sale (people upsize, downsize, go from bumper pull to fifth wheel, etc) Boy do I wish I'd taken that advice! In hindsight I see that it was a wonderful idea that didn't seem to work into last year's schedule. I want to go this year, if they'll let me park my stick n tin trailer nearby and hang out with the eggs!
(I think it was Donna that gave me the advice)
Hang in there. Hopefully we'll both be out of the guest room and into the egg carton soon!

Myron Leski · 08-24-2006, 11:17 AM

I bought my trailer off ebay, one of 200+ clean buys over the years, but that don't make your experience any less painful, I am sure. You always got to watch the flags!Wire transfer to UK for a trailer in California? How big was that!

Ebay is constantly warning about sellers who want you to duck around their procedures. I saw that Casita auction and emailed the guy in the UK asking where exactly the trailer was so I could go look at it. He in fact responded with a non-answer and I notified ebay about the guy being shady. About the same time I got an email from ebay warning me that contacting sellers through private email addresses was foolish. I also used the "contact seller" hot link on the auction site to ask the same question, and got a reply from the actual guy who's identity the UK scammer had hijacked, informing me of the situation.

So its not like it's all on ebay.

John Perry · 08-24-2006, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Hi, this is my first post and I wanted to share with you a very recent event for me. I was scammed, attempting to buy a Casita on Ebay.

Sorry about your loss Gary.
I am an ebay junkie. I have had 55 trouble free transactions on ebay since last Dec.
Several of them have involved thousands of dollars. If you follow ebays instructions and use pay pal you should not have any problems. I will not do business with anyone that does not accept pay pal for the deposit. If you are a buyer pay pal costs you nothing. Pay pal charges the seller 3%. I usually pay the deposit with pay pal and pay the balance in cash when I pick up the item. I have had only one problem. I paid for 3 day delivery on an item and a 10 days later it had not arrived. The seller did not respond to my e-mails. I filed a complaint with paypal and they refunded my total payment in 2 days. I did receive a negative feedback from the seller but that was better than losing my money.
The ATV section on ebay is notorious for the scam that you suffered.
I buy and sell ATVs and have reported at least 30 scam listings in the last year and they have all been removed. Just this week I have reported 3 listings and they have been removed.
Follow ebay rules and use paypal and you should be safe.

I hope you find your perfect egg,
John Perry

cathys · 08-24-2006, 01:15 PM

i saw the same scamp ad that's on now a few months ago, i knew it sounded too good to be true so i emailed them why they were selling it so cheap? they replied that it would be too expensive to ship the trailer to europe where they were moving..they are slick and it almost sounds convincing....it's sad to think people are being taken advantage of and they are getting away with it.

Roger H · 08-24-2006, 01:23 PM

Gary, what a bummer... and it's true that not everyone is honest... fortunately most of us are. Don't give up or give up hope. Just be more wary about the next one you find. There are signs of fraud that should send up a red flag. I won't bid on anything on eBay or buy something long-distance on Craigslist except on my terms. I figure the seller wants my money worse than I want the item. I can always find another widget that meets my needs, but the sellers may not have an abundance of buyers.

I always use a credit card and always purchase through PayPal. While the PayPal system protection system is a little weak, the combo of using a card and PayPal is about as safe as you can get if you can't be there in person.

I've bought a significant number of items both on eBay (500+ transactions) and now a couple on Craigslist, along with some long-distance trailer purchases and sales. Actually the biggest pain I've encountered along the way was a long-distance buyer who superimposed unreasonable expectations on the trailer I had listed for friend. Long story...

Anyway... hang in there... as Mary wrote earlier, you're among friends here, and we look out for one another pretty well. Keep an eye peeled here and you'll undoubtedly find what you're looking for eventually at a price you're willing to pay.

Roger

Donna D. · 08-24-2006, 01:35 PM

Gary, I was close to being physically ill after reading your horror story...and it was horrible. While we as a group cannot help you get any funds back, you are among friends with the commonality of loving these molded fiberglass beauties.

Is there anything your insurance agent can do? You HAVE suffered a loss. And, don't forget to include this in the loss section on your tax return. Your tax preparer can give you more info.

Bigfoot Mike · 08-24-2006, 01:44 PM

From time to time, members have had other members living close to the RV for sell take a look at it.

We put together a [b]Check List to help the process.

Quote:

This check list is to help get neutral information from a fellow Fiberglasser. It should be better then the biased information from a profit motivated seller.

Remember, The buyer would have to understand that this is a friendly opinion, it carries no legal weight whatsoever. The basis for looking at the trailer would be to let the prospective buyer form an opinion of their own on whether or not to make an offer. In any case, the buyer should retain the right to reject the purchase after looking over the goods.

Gary R · 08-24-2006, 03:13 PM

Quote:

be true so i emailed them why they were selling it so cheap? they replied that it would be too expensive to ship the trailer to europe where they were moving..they are slick

They used the same line on me, but said that the trailer had been left to them by (her)
father-in-law. The irony is that I paid for it with part of my inheritence from my recently passed Mother's estate.

Gary R

Gary R · 08-24-2006, 03:20 PM

Another quick update:

I have reported the scam to the FBI, the local police and have sent emails to spoof at both Ebay and Square Trade.

The one good lead that I thought I had was shot down by the police; I thought that the LA Fax # might help, but the policeman said that it will be untraceable, because they use throw away cells as a trigger hookup for roving fax #s.
Yesterday someone here claimed that their photos had been lifted for use in a similar scam. These people are thorough and as has been stated before slick.

And thanks for the kind words and welcome to the community. My big question now is...when I finally get one of these eggs, will it be my first trailer or my second trailer? LOL

Gary R

John Perry · 08-24-2006, 10:34 PM

Is this Scamp ad a scam or for real?

It seems that a couple of weeks ago I read a post by someone stating they were going to have to sell their 02 13' Scamp as it was to small when they take their grandaughter camping. The only thing wrong with it was a small nick on the counter from a falling can.
This and a 2800 mile trip to Glacier National Park is in the description of this Scamp. It is item #130020575136.
Is this your add or has it been stolen by someone? I ask as the buyers are instructed to make contact at a non ebay e-amail address.
I have been looking for a 16 foot egg for my son when I came across this add.
John Perry

**Gina D.** · 08-24-2006, 10:45 PM

They are getting better... but..

the direct contact is the one thing they can't lose to make the scam work. The other items of concern are missing, but I would contact them THROUGH EBAY to see whats up.

My guess is:

I don't think "tequilachuck" sounds like the type to take the grandkids camping...
and if you email through ebay, he will likely tell you the same.

There is a 3 dollar bid on it. Hope they get it

**Gina D.** · 08-24-2006, 11:01 PM

it being listed under "Metal ware, Bronze" doesn't bode well for it either.

BuzzardsBurro · 08-24-2006, 11:49 PM

Gary, glad to see you still have a sense of humor about this. We have a friend that lives in Florida that owns a scamp. He has told us he sees many fiberglass trailers for sale in Florida in April and May which I guess would be considered pre-camping season. The guy we know lives in Sarasota. We wish you all the luck in finding an "egg". Hang in there and don't give up the search yet.