• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Weeding out the scammers

My words:
"You sound like a guy with low self esteem if you believe this.
There will always be people that think that they are better than others."
YOUR words:
"Thanks so much Kern for the personality assessment. Your opinion is always highly regarded. (Hmmm.....maybe my theory has just been proven out?"

Christ, man...I was obnoxious before this "gold" membership thing and will likely be long after.
Me? I don't see it the same as you. I don't fall into the category of "victim" though. I might be reading YOU wrong but your tone does not come across as an alpha that is confident and in charge.
I don't look down on NON Gold members here. Anyone can dish out the $40 to do it.
I look down on people that use others, are self centered, never offer to help anyone, are dishonest, cheat and lie.
That does not sound like you, does it?
 
This guy is a perfect example of a member I highly respect. Mr. Cranium has a huge amount of experience and knowledge with B's, yet he rarely talks about it and when he does he is never boastful, yet he does try to help others with his knowledge when need be. I will admit, his usual approach to the forum is in jest, and his sense of humor is a bit off the wall but that just adds to his uniqueness. A really light-hearted down to earth type of guy I think.


tenor.gif
 
I'm fairly new here, but have been on FABO for years. Anyway, I don't think the admins here should have to vet sellers here. First of all, there's the time factor. But also that might open them up to liability (I'm not an attorney, but it seems to me that it could be possible).

As for my experience buying cars off the internet, I have done it twice. Both times, the car arrived in the condition I expected. My first transaction was with a guy on another Mopar site who was well known on the site, but not to me. The second time was earlier this year and I found the car on Facebook. I didn't know the guy at all. In both situations, I had enough correspondence and conversations with the seller to feel comfortable.

Bottom line is, it's on you, the buyer to do your best to "feel out" the seller to see if you want to proceed.
 
My only 2 cents is:
"Buyer Beware"
1. Purchasing a vehicle sight unseen is a very Risky decision.
2. The price of a flight to visit the car was much cheaper than the outcome.
 
My take on this is to keep honest people honest. It could be treated like some dating sites that have a confirmed status. It would be completely voluntary but you would give a picture of yourself, your ID, and phone number to the Admin. It could be kept in a database behind a firewall. I assume the site already has a firewall. You would then have a confirmed status as part of your avatar in say, green. People would know that your information is on file and that you are a real person not just some internet character. It would keep away some of the shady people because voluntarily submitting your information shows intent of being an honest seller and buyer. not submitting your information shows that you could be anything, good, bad, or anything in between. As always it is still up to the buyer to beware but the confirmed status is a step towards trusting easier. It still keeps the buy and sell section open to anyone, but knowing your information is on file keeps you that much more honest in your dealings.
 
It would be completely voluntary but you would give a picture of yourself, your ID, and phone number to the Admin.

and how do I verify such information is accurate? And how do I ensure the information doesn't change?
 
and how do I verify such information is accurate? And how do I ensure the information doesn't change?
Agreed. I started this mess out of a concern for our members and asked for opinions and there have been many. I appreciate all points of view but as the opinions and facts came out, I think it's clear that admin should not and cannot be responsible for either the seller or buyer. I never intended to heap more responsibility on them, they surely have enough on their plate.
Use the feedback, get references and if in doubt, just don't buy it!
Bottom line is this is a non starter.
 
and how do I verify such information is accurate? And how do I ensure the information doesn't change?

My first thought is to use Been Verified. I use it for just about anyone I deal with. It's mostly actuate with only a few exceptions that I have come across. It's one of the tools I use when buying from people on sites like this one. If they dont want to give me their information to look up, I pass on the sale. Most of my concerns are how the work would get done because we all know that you are just sitting around with nothing to do lol. There could be someone that you could get to volunteer to do it? creating a database is a pretty simple task, populating it is the hard and tedious part.
 
My first thought is to use Been Verified. I use it for just about anyone I deal with. It's mostly actuate with only a few exceptions that I have come across. It's one of the tools I use when buying from people on sites like this one. If they dont want to give me their information to look up, I pass on the sale.

ok so why do I need to do it if the buyer can do it themselves?

Most of my concerns are how the work would get done because we all know that you are just sitting around with nothing to do lol. There could be someone that you could get to volunteer to do it? creating a database is a pretty simple task, populating it is the hard and tedious part.

keep in mind, I have a number of sites, some even busier then this one. The amount of work your suggesting is enormous, especially when you consider the vast majority of sales go off without a hitch, and of the ones that don't, the vast majority are not scams but problems with communication and/or subjective. (think "I didn't know there was a dent in the part")

And -- lets say we have all this information in a database --- Now what happens when someone gets "scammed"? We call the FBI? Local Police? Then what? The "victim" and I have to travel to that place to testify?

There are privacy laws and regulations I need to follow, and then what if, god forbid, the site gets hacked and that database full of personal information is compromised?

And the costs for all the above? Who's paying for all that? Who's doing all the work?

In the end, there is VERY little true scammers that get through, and the minute I discover them I deal with them. I get what your suggesting, but really your ideas amount to a full surgical team to repair a paper cut. Nearly all the problems I haven't already prevented could be prevented by the buyer being just a little more cautious on their own.
 
....and then what if, god forbid, the site gets hacked and that database full of personal information is compromised?....
This is the thing that should make everyone realise that your own personal vigilance with buying online is most important.

We in New Zealand have regular occurrences of databases full of personal/medical details go missing in public. These are Govt Departments losing information. How do you expect a private enterprise to be more secure?
I think Bill is correct above - personal vigilance and asking of questions will serve us all well. :thumbsup:
 
...and can I just add that Mods are not immune to being pulled aside by the Site Owner. :D

No-one here is 'above the law' so to speak, and no-one is better than someone else. There just seems to be more trust placed in people with a regular contributory history on the site....IMHO :)
I just got out of jail the other day!! :D

I have mailed out many times before getting paid. Never had a problem and I have sent to Hawaii and Puerto. Post office lost money on those "if it fits it ships":lol::usflag:
Oh man....I've shipped a set of gears and other heavy parts to Hawaii using those boxes lol. Need to spend some time in packing them well and use plenty of tape but most of the stuff going there actually arrive in better shape (box wise) than stuff going to some of the states much closer to me! I'm pretty sure though that heavy duty parts probably do more damage to other's packages lol

All kidding aside, sometimes if someone is in doubt about a member, you can try and look up their usernames on other Mopar sites. I'm still a member of several other Mopar sites but not real active on them but try to use the same username and avatar if possible. One 'generic' but mostly GM site I go by Cranky440. Mostly try to help out the Mopar guys but they moved on because of low response. I'm also like some others in sellers that do not list their location raises a flag with me but communication is important. Ask them what other forums are they members of. I joined pelicanparts.com just to sell a bunch of Porsche parts I came across and explained my situation. Told them I was a Mopar guy and was selling the remains of a collection from a woman's husband that had passed on. One odd thing was most of the parts went to Denmark lol
 
I bought my 69 Roadrunner from a first time poster. Maybe a one time poster. Her name was “Rev it up” her husband had got killed, and she was trying to sell the Roadrunner. I know this is a unique situation, but I would hate to stop people like her from selling their cars to people who really appreciate them.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top