AWESOME DEAL ON A TRAILER!!! - scam BEWARE!

Long post alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yesterday we were browsing through trailers while chatting in the horse chat and I saw this one:

01 02 2001 SUNDOWNER NICEST Horse Trailer with Living Quarters - $3014 - (Columbus) pic

If you click that link highlight the description and look at what words appear in white font: ODD!!!

My inquiring mind wanted to know... so I emailed and asked simply "Is this trailer still for sale?" :)

From: Gail Grenon [mailto:gail.grenon@msn.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 2:19 PM
To: Shawneen Estes
Subject: 2001 SUNDOWNER Horse Trailer with Living Quarters 4 HORSES

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in purchasing my trailer. The trailer is in perfect condition - like new! If you decide to buy it, you'll receive all the papers, owner manual, keys, a buy-sell contract already signed by me and the clear title. For this transaction I want to use ebay because I want to provide you a fast and very secure way. They will handle the transaction for me. You will make the payment to ebay and they will hold the money until you receive and inspect the trailer. ONLY AFTER you receive the trailer and you inspect it (you have 5 days for inspection) ebay will release the payment to me. The inspection time period will begin as soon as you receive the trailer at your address. Meanwhile eBay will hold the money into a trust account. So, this is not a blind transaction, you can see the trailer before you decide to buy it. This way we are both protected : i will know that i have a serious buyer who has the money to pay me and you will be able to see and inspect the trailer before buying it .
The trailer is priced to sell quickly and the final price that I'm asking for it is $ 3,000 including shipping and handling costs. My husband died in Iraq 3 months ago and I along with my daughter decided to sell the house and move to my sister. I can't afford to take days off my work for this sale so i'm trying to sell it online.
If you are really interested in purchasing the trailer please send me your full name, shipping address and your phone number. Ebay will give you all the details regarding the shipping and payment.

I will appreciate an answer as soon as possible.

Regards!

Gail Grenon

P.S. : The pictures i have taken for this sale are below . You will find the description also to refresh your memory. Please take a closer look before you decide .






WOW!!! I am SOOO fortunate to come across such an awesome deal!!!!


Reply:
Gail,
My husband and I are in Iraq right now. If you could give me your address, I can have my friend who is staying at our house come look at it and pay for it with cash. She can come any time on any day. If you have a phone number you can be reached at, either she or I can call you and set up a time. If you still want to have payment through Ebay that is fine. I would just like my friend to come see it first.

Thanks,
Shawneen Estes

Response:
From: Gail Grenon [mailto:gail.grenon@msn.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 8:10 PM
To: Shawneen Estes
Subject: RE: 2001 SUNDOWNER Horse Trailer with Living Quarters 4 HORSES

Hello again,
The trailer is at eBay's shipping center in San Jose,CA and from there it will be shipped to my buyer's address. The trailer was listed for sale in an auction on eBay but I have removed the add because of some 'serious' buyers . They promissed they will buy the trailer from me but they proved not to have the money to pay for it .I have registered the trailer with eBay's Vehicle Protection Program and they work only with das auto shippers, so a local pick-up is not an option.This transaction is covered by ebay's purchase protection program up to 50,000 USD and if something goes wrong in this transaction you will be fully refunded. In the invoice you will have the details on how to make a refundable payment and shipping back the trailer will be my concern. I strongly assure you it will not be the case for a refund. I have used the eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection in the past and all my transaction ended succesfully. You pay to eBay and they will transfer the funds to me only after you get the trailer. Shipping will be door to door, to your home address, somebody must be home when the trailer arrives.
I apologize if it seems like I'm pushing on this deal but I really want to be sure that everything is clarified before any further steps. Please let me know if some of the terms don't fit you or if you have other questions. I'm a serious seller and I prefer to deal with a serious buyer.
If you wish to proceed with the purchase, please provide me your full name and address so I can initiate the deal through eBay right away.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.



Continued to next post....

Reply:
You advertised for the trailer in Columbus, GA – why is it in San Jose, CA?
Would you mind giving me your ebay user name so I can look at your feedback? I didn’t know Ebay had “shipping centers” but it is an awesome deal and I would like to pursue it if at all possible. What do I need to do to purchase this and is there a number I can call to verify with ebay, or the shipping center that it is there? Pardon me if I seem a little leary, but I’d just like to make sure all the bases are covered.

Thanks,
Shawneen


No response.....
All this time I was looking up scams on the internet. So I was basically egging this on to see how far they would take it LOL


Here is a link to an Ebay thread:
Does eBay store large items at the San Jose Shipping Center to be sold? in Community Help Boards in eBay Forums

I guess this is an old scam and has been done with a lot of different items.


My final email to this "seller:"
You might want to think of something new… this is all over the internet – not sure how much “business” you are getting.
Good luck, you are disgusting by the way….

I will go ahead and post on craigslist that this is a scam, you can move on somewhere else J
A seller is claiming that the ATV's are at eBay...
"Hello again,
The 2 ATVs are at eBay's shipping center in San Jose,CA and from there it will be shipped to my buyer's address. The 2 ATVs have been listed for sale in an auction on eBay but I have removed the add because of some 'serious' buyers . They promissed they will buy the 2 ATVs from me but they proved not to have the money to pay for it .I have registered the 2 ATVs with eBay's Vehicle Protection Program and they work only with das auto shippers, so a local pick-up is not an option.This transaction is covered by ebay's purchase protection program up to 50,000 USD and if something goes wrong in this transaction you will be fully refunded."

----------------------------------------------------------------------
So just a little bit of fun to help show everyone to watch out for crooks. When times get tough, they get desperate!!!

PS It would be kind of funny for everyone to send ole Gail an email and tell them what you thought of them ;)

I found that same trailer on my craigslist in florida. I didn't even look into it because it was too big for me.

Well according to Ebay and various sites I googled - this same scam is ongoing all over the world with various items. You would think they could get a bit more creative????

Yeah I saw something like this in our area too. He was supposedly in the Marine Corps about to deploy and stationed at this certain base in Hawaii( although he got the name of the base wrong which was my first clue). Well my husband is a Marine, and we had just moved from Hawaii. So we told the seller we wanted to have a friend look at it before hand. Same response as you got. Actually those are pretty much the same emails I got.


Just remember if it looks to good to be true it probably is!

What is really bad is consider how many people have fallen for this and been out $3000. That is one way to make money }:(

Ok, whats with the words in white???? That kinda freaked me out a bit.

Same here! It creeped me out. What's the purpose of that?

LOL I'm glad I'm not the only one - was very weird!!!! It was just by chance that I highlighted them for some odd reason - probably just playing with the mouse.

I received the same exact e-mail from her in reference to purchasing the trailer. She then told me that she lost her husband 3 months ago in Iraq and she was moving in with her sister and she could not call and talk personally because she had had ear surgery and it sounds like people are whispering. I asked about paying thru paypal and she had an excuse for that too. She said she was expanding her paypal account and could not use it the next two weeks. Likely story. I also wondered why her address was in CA. and she advertised it in Kansas City. What a GAL...