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Scams when buying a used mower: BEWARE!

#1

lawn mower fanatic

lawn mower fanatic

I saw this on another forum and thought everyone should see it. Buying a used mower online can be risky!

"Just wanted to update you all on the mower I was considering buying online. It turns out the guy I was dealing with was trying to pull a scam. This mower was found on Craigslist San Antonio.

He had sent me pictures, model numbers and a storage company that was suppose to be storing the mower for him, Said he had to move to the UK and had left the mower with a secured moving company called SafeTransports in Amarillo Texas which is over 600 miles from Houston.

He advertised the mower being in San Antonio. He said SafeTransport would deliver the mower to me and give me 7 days to have it checked out before they would release the funds to him. He even was willing to pay shipping free and free pick up if I decided not to buy the mower. All I had to do was send a Money Gram to a guy at SafeTransports in the UK. Yeah Right!!!

None of this was mentioned when I first contacted him and before I posted this message.

I am a retired police officer and this brought up a lot of red flags so I asked for the serial number. Told him the bank needed it for the loan. He stalled by sending me the model number but later sent me a serial number.

I called Exmark and they told me it was a 2001 model and not a 2007 model. Exmark provided me with the previous owner, US Lawns out of Wisconsin. I called them and they told me they had traded in a bunch mowers last year and all had over 1500 hours on them. None were 2007 models.

I contacted the selller with the information I had obtained and guess what? He quit responding to my email. Email has even been turned off.

So buyer beware when dealing with used mowers. Never buy site unseen and make sure you are dealing with the owner in person. Call the manufacturer and check on the equipment. they will help you determine the original buyer and any service on the mower they have on file.

I ended up buying a new Scag."

(Online lawn mower sales scams. Be aware! | Lawn Care Business Marketing Tips - GopherHaul Blog)


#2

M

motoman

Re: Buying a used mower: BEWARE!

I notice craigslist has red warning caps about any shipping and transport.


#3

txzrider

txzrider

Re: Buying a used mower: BEWARE!

exactly... the big scam is involving the 3rd party that you pay and will never be able to trace. He is lucky he did his due dilligence.


#4

J

jbgrass

had same issue when looking for an camper


#5

gfp55

gfp55

Thats good info to know, thanks for sharing.


#6

7394

7394

It pays to be paying attention.. I bet many get taken in scams like this.


#7

B

bertsmobile1

7394 said:
It pays to be paying attention.. I bet many get taken in scams like this.
Click to expand...

The other 10 sec test , particularly on evilbay is to hit the "sellers other items" button and see if they have a lot of different gear at too low a price.
Take note of the backgrounds.
Oft scammers will simply pull images off evil bay in a different country and offer them in your country so you see the same person selling 10 cars , 15 mowers 3 boats, a couple of excavators & several wardrobes full of designer cloths in multipme sizes all photographed in front of different houses.
And always check the joinnig date and feed back.
Some one who has been on line for less than 1 week selling $ 50,000 with of stuff for $ 20,000 with no feedback is a foreign scammer who has hyjacked some one locals computer.


#8

T

TommyAdam

You get informations there Best Self Propelled Lawn Mower Reviews Guide For 2015 - 2016


#9

J

Jim chapman

When buying a used mower, only buy one locally,where you can check it out personally. Used mowers zero turn are very expensive to repair .please pay close attention to hours used. Mowers posted having ,isay less than three hundred hours, most likely is a scam. I saw an add for a zero turn having over 2100 hours of usage. This mower is simply worn out. This is why it is for sale. Hustler states that their hydro gear transmissions are good for 1200 hrs. Ours failed with just over 900 hrs. They want $850.00 to replace each unit. We being mechanics, rebuilt our own units ourselves. Most people are not able to do this. All the used mowers I have seen for sale ,are being offered for far more than they are worth. You are buying others troubles, when you purchase these high hour mowers. Do be very aware of this. Be smarter than the seller.


#10

C

cashman

One way I've always used to verify on-line sellers that are business's is to get their fax number and send and receive a fax from them. Most legit business's will have a fax machine and land line phone numbers are more easily traced. Ask them to take a picture of a particular part of the mower and send it to you. No way is it 100% foolproof but it makes me more comfortable dealing with them. I personally don't buy anything without a visual inspection. Unless it's a real killer deal, it's best to buy local on garden equipment. The first thing I look at is check the oil in the engine and look at the belts and blades. If the engine is very low on oil and it's dirty and the belts and blades are incorrect or badly worn, it's usually best to look on somewhere else or at least use that info to talk them down on price


#11

J

johnathanRyan

That's good information, Thank you so much. I always prefer agrisupply store to purchase, reliable and good service


#12

F

fynschina

Thanks for information!


#13

K

Kial

Good to know. This guy probably has a bunch of other appliances in his "storage unit".


#14

A

alinawatson342

Be careful that's true


#15

D

DennisRSmith

Nice read!
Thanks for sharing!


#16

M

MAINTMAN

I have repaired mowers for 40 years and my suggestion is to buy a new mower because many used mowers have been abused and have not received proper maintenance.


#17

G

Gator325

lawn mower fanatic said:
I saw this on another forum and thought everyone should see it. Buying a used mower online can be risky!

"Just wanted to update you all on the mower I was considering buying online. It turns out the guy I was dealing with was trying to pull a scam. This mower was found on Craigslist San Antonio.

He had sent me pictures, model numbers and a storage company that was suppose to be storing the mower for him, Said he had to move to the UK and had left the mower with a secured moving company called SafeTransports in Amarillo Texas which is over 600 miles from Houston.

He advertised the mower being in San Antonio. He said SafeTransport would deliver the mower to me and give me 7 days to have it checked out before they would release the funds to him. He even was willing to pay shipping free and free pick up if I decided not to buy the mower. All I had to do was send a Money Gram to a guy at SafeTransports in the UK. Yeah Right!!!

None of this was mentioned when I first contacted him and before I posted this message.

I am a retired police officer and this brought up a lot of red flags so I asked for the serial number. Told him the bank needed it for the loan. He stalled by sending me the model number but later sent me a serial number.

I called Exmark and they told me it was a 2001 model and not a 2007 model. Exmark provided me with the previous owner, US Lawns out of Wisconsin. I called them and they told me they had traded in a bunch mowers last year and all had over 1500 hours on them. None were 2007 models.

I contacted the selller with the information I had obtained and guess what? He quit responding to my email. Email has even been turned off.

So buyer beware when dealing with used mowers. Never buy site unseen and make sure you are dealing with the owner in person. Call the manufacturer and check on the equipment. they will help you determine the original buyer and any service on the mower they have on file.

I ended up buying a new Scag."

(Online lawn mower sales scams. Be aware! | Lawn Care Business Marketing Tips - GopherHaul Blog)
Click to expand...


#18

G

Gator325

Buying anything used seems to be you are buying someone else's problems. There always seems to be that one thing the seller forgets to tell you.


#19

khr76

khr76

thanks dude for this information , dont love to lose my money on scam


#20

G

gsim

Tried shopping for used comml mower on Craigslist and finally found one here in my home town. Was looking at one in Savannah, GA and another one in E. Kentucky. Former guy was straight up, but pulled to give to his son after we had negotiated a price. Big Toro diesel, 72" deck. Latter guy was honest too. We negotiated price, but he was mowing his place for last time before I was to come get it, and PTO clutch burnt out. Uh oh! John Deere. Bend over. Heart attack price for new one @ over $450. Sale fell thru. I bought locally, Kubota diesel powered Grasshopper 930D. I prefer front mount deck, long chassis comml mowers for ease of access to deck, less crowded design. Scarce everywhere, due no doubt to higher new prices, and larger storage area needed. Hard to find any good ones, most have high hours.


#21

PTmowerMech

PTmowerMech

When I sell a used mower, the customer has to look at it & test drive it before any money changes hands.


#22

RogerFisher

RogerFisher

Thank you for sharing, I agree that you should not take the product through an intermediary.


#23

SirMowzalot

SirMowzalot

I hit a lot of them when looking for a used pickup some years ago. Many of these clowns are sitting in places like China, Romania, etc. I don't even get angry anymore. I look at it as an opportunity to create comedy by driving a criminal clear up the wall and back. Like when they ask for the Western Union number send them the phone number, lol. "But you said you needed the number. Did you try to dial it? Did you speak to John? He's a nice guy. Very helpful. His daughter is getting married next week y'know!"


#24

H

hlw49

Buy from me I go over mine and they are in top notch shape. Most get bearings idlers belts and blades. I never got but one complaint and it was an ignition module.


#25

S

SHB

Had the same experience with a backhoe. Deal was pretty good, but the more I interacted with the seller the odder it felt. I asked the seller to take a photo of the hoe controls, he sent me a photo, they were from a different model. I was able to trace the sellers IP address to Russia. Pointed out the problem, seller vanished.


#26

redneck mechinics shop mi

redneck mechinics shop mi

lawn mower fanatic said:
I saw this on another forum and thought everyone should see it. Buying a used mower online can be risky!

"Just wanted to update you all on the mower I was considering buying online. It turns out the guy I was dealing with was trying to pull a scam. This mower was found on Craigslist San Antonio.

He had sent me pictures, model numbers and a storage company that was suppose to be storing the mower for him, Said he had to move to the UK and had left the mower with a secured moving company called SafeTransports in Amarillo Texas which is over 600 miles from Houston.

He advertised the mower being in San Antonio. He said SafeTransport would deliver the mower to me and give me 7 days to have it checked out before they would release the funds to him. He even was willing to pay shipping free and free pick up if I decided not to buy the mower. All I had to do was send a Money Gram to a guy at SafeTransports in the UK. Yeah Right!!!

None of this was mentioned when I first contacted him and before I posted this message.

I am a retired police officer and this brought up a lot of red flags so I asked for the serial number. Told him the bank needed it for the loan. He stalled by sending me the model number but later sent me a serial number.

I called Exmark and they told me it was a 2001 model and not a 2007 model. Exmark provided me with the previous owner, US Lawns out of Wisconsin. I called them and they told me they had traded in a bunch mowers last year and all had over 1500 hours on them. None were 2007 models.

I contacted the selller with the information I had obtained and guess what? He quit responding to my email. Email has even been turned off.

So buyer beware when dealing with used mowers. Never buy site unseen and make sure you are dealing with the owner in person. Call the manufacturer and check on the equipment. they will help you determine the original buyer and any service on the mower they have on file.

I ended up buying a new Scag."

(Online lawn mower sales scams. Be aware! | Lawn Care Business Marketing Tips - GopherHaul Blog)
Click to expand...
happend to me lost 500 on a non running exmark pioner


#27

F

freedhardwoods

lawn mower fanatic said:
I saw this on another forum and thought everyone should see it. Buying a used mower online can be risky!

"Just wanted to update you all on the mower I was considering buying online. It turns out the guy I was dealing with was trying to pull a scam. This mower was found on Craigslist San Antonio.

He had sent me pictures, model numbers and a storage company that was suppose to be storing the mower for him, Said he had to move to the UK and had left the mower with a secured moving company called SafeTransports in Amarillo Texas which is over 600 miles from Houston.

He advertised the mower being in San Antonio. He said SafeTransport would deliver the mower to me and give me 7 days to have it checked out before they would release the funds to him. He even was willing to pay shipping free and free pick up if I decided not to buy the mower. All I had to do was send a Money Gram to a guy at SafeTransports in the UK. Yeah Right!!!

None of this was mentioned when I first contacted him and before I posted this message.
Click to expand...
To start with, I only deal face to face with strangers.
Secondly, anyone dumb enough to believe that load of crap must lead a rough life getting screwed all the time.


#28

F

Forest#2

No way would I buy a mower on-line, especially a used one.

Bad enough trying to buy one while doing face to face asnd inspection and asking the previous owner questions.
When doing such I'm checking out the seller more than I am the mower/equipment.
We all have heard this line, It was running good when I parked it or it was running good until i installed a new belt and it quit working.

But I'm a paranoid type of person and do not trust anyone. I even get more nervous/cautious if someone gets behind me.


#29

StarTech

StarTech

There is more idiot suckers out there than I care to think about. They are always looking for something for nothing and always getting burned.

And they then bring in the equipment and start telling me how to fix it. I just tell them if they know some much about how to fix it fix themselves and I walk away. I no longer care to listen to them whine about getting ripped off. They get what they ask for. They pay for the correct repairs or go somewhere else.


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