help...scam??...figuring out if it is too good to be true

Hey guys,
my father in law forwarded me an email he got...
he found a tractor on craigslist - JD 4310 '06 with 65 hrs. and sno blower, blade, backhoe, fertilizer spreader etc...
$5800
he emailed back and forth with the guy.
here is the text from the emails

From him to FIL: Hello,
I appreciate your interest regarding my John Deere 4310. I will sell it for $5,800. The price includes shipping and insurance to your address. Let me know if you are interested.
Thanks

FIL to Guy:
Donald,
I am interested. Could you e-mail the pictures they are not on craigslist anymore. If you wouldn't mind would like to come see the tractor in person if you are not to far away
At that time can give a cash payment an balance on delivery.
Thanks,
Jack

Guy to FIl:
I live in Regina, SK, Canada and the tractor is here with me. It has clear title cleared of any obligations or fees (no lien) and it it registered in US, I've just moved here. It will be shipped from Regina and I'll pay the delivery costs.

I want to close this deal through eBay. They will keep the amount paid until you'll receive, inspect and agree with the tractor. I'll start the delivery process in the same day with the payment's confirmation. It will arrive at your address in 5-7 days. I will give you 3 days for inspection.

Tell me if you are still interested and I will contact eBay regarding our transaction. Then they will send you the information about the purchasing.

Thanks!

FIL to guy:
I'm still interested in the tractor. Will eBay contact me to set up the payment to them directly? I may have to set up an account, have never bought anything through them. Sounds like the best way to protect both of us. If still avalible will let you know by this Saturday. I live in Broadalbin, New York.
Jack


so...this is way to good to be true...i think
where is the scam? how does ebay hold funds? or do they not do that?
some help here would be great, don't want to see him make a mistake...and i know you guys know scams better than anyone.
or should he run with this...

thanks!
steve

First,the price should tell you it's a scam.They prey on people wanting something for nothing.
Second,Ebay has nothing to do with private sales,only stuff auctioned through there site.

UUUHHHHHH......yep....to good to be true. The Language used gives it away....you dont register tractors in the US!!!!!!!!!

If it sounds too good to be true, it is! Dave

I did not that tractors were registered,sounds a bit scammy to me,can you look the seller up ? sounds like its priced at about 10 percent of what it is worth? so I would be carefull,cash on delivery is the best way to go,can you get the serial numbers and check to see if it is stolden?

Scam. Run.

$5800 for a JD 4310?

That machine new is $15k or more.

It has to be a scam.

The only way to be sure and not get screwed is to have the guy personally drive it to your FIL's house and if it is the real thing then buy it. But I would think you are buying a stolen piece of property.
Lots of scams on Craigslist.

It's a scam, cash at the time you can pick the tractor up is the only way to go!!! Ebay does not hold money until you inspect the tractor either, it will go directly into his account.

Like the others said, it's a scam. If you do an internet search for that JD model with that price, you'll probably come up with other forums talking about how it's a scam.

Ebay doesn't hold funds. The scammer sends a link to a site that looks like Ebay (but isn't) that will ask you to send funds via Western Union. Once you wire the funds and send the scammer the information codes to collect the money, he goes to his local Western Union (Nigeria, eastern Europe, etc.) and cashes in. The scammer stole the pics (and probably the serial number) from someone else's ad.

Lots of people have gotten burned by this.

Been doing that for 2-3 years now, see it every once in a while.

Total scam.

1. Mixing CL & eBay????

2. They will ship it on their dime?

3. It's not currently in the USA.

Any of those by themselves says it's a scam.

The low price, the known fact that such ads _are_ scams, they won't let you see the item, the rather generic emails.....

Pure total scam. A common one.

Do internet search on:

cheap tractor scam craigs list

and you will likely see your ad word for word....

--->Paul

Thanks for all the responses...
i followed what was said and advised him to ask for the serial# and offer cash on delivery...
what i was unsure about was the ebay part, i did not know if pay pal did have a way of holding funds...
thanks again! you guys are the best.

Absolute scam.

First clue is Hello. Most all scams start that way. Most Americans do not get real formal in a response email. Second is the price, like others have said, too good to be true. Out of country, likely in Nigeria. Pictures are probably pirated from another legit CL listing, when in doubt, print copies of pics, hidden text shows when printed. Ebay has its rules, and they never "hold" money for anyone. CL also has rules, on one of the pages, it says all cross border deals are scams. Run like the wind, from this one!

To give you an indication.
There is one on here [search jd4310] 2003 model
$12900. no attachments included.

That is so far over the edge, it is hard to understand anyone answering that scam.

SCAM! SCAM! SCRAM!

hahahahahahahahahahahaahahaha

ebay owns Craigslist, and Paypal, or is it Paypal owns them, anyways, thats nothing out of the orinary for me, I buy on Craigslist using Paypal often.

Every Canadian knows that is a scam, the short form for Saskatchewan is Sask. and not SK...of course a Nigerian wouldn't know that.
And...do you really think a tractor like that and all the attachments would be advertised for $5800?...Really??

Yea, tell him you're planning a trip to "SK" next week and can inspect the tractor when you're there. See how fast he tells you it's already sold.

For a postal code or address the abbreviation is SK. I guess not every Canadian knows that? I still think it's a scam though. Dave

flagged another one today..please do the same..

Same guy is doing it all over Craig's list. He has been in Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana listings.

Hi Dave,
Sounds alot like you, TO GOOD TO BE TRUE

You can be one hundred percent certain that:

1. There is no tractor.

2. This guy does not live in Saskatchewan. Or, for that matter, anywhere in North America.

3. When you FIL is contacted by "eBay", it will NOT be eBay.

4. If your FIL sends this crook any money, he won't get a tractor and he won't get his money back.

The kicker is you had to email...Craigslist is the same way if they don't provide a contact number its usually a scam..

Ebay does not own craigslist. They do own a small percent. One of the original partners sold out and Ebay bought thier shares.

In one word:
SCAM

If it sounds to good to be true ,,it usually is . Best way to weed these out is tell them you will be in the area and want to look at it in person and pay cash then . They disappear when they hear that . Red flags? Language , spelling, shipping , escrow , holding co , western union , e-bay. It's cab be a lot of fun to play with these scammers . check out 411 eater site .

The scam is very clear in several ways. First of all, unless it is a widow woman that has no clue of tractor values, no one is going to sell that tractor with all of those attachments AND cover the shipping for that low price, you are dreaming if you even think that could be real. (they do not know where you live at this point in their scam)
They prey on several known factors, one of them is that if we think we have caught someone low balling, we tend to jump on it before it gets gone.
Next, Ebay has nothing to do with these transactions, but would love to catch these scammers. Check with Ebay, they do not "hold funds" and all that crap. What you would get is a link to a wire transfer company but it would have "Ebay" in the link to make the unknowing think they were dealing with Ebay.
You cannot get the money back once you have made the transfer, it is like handing cash to a stranger.
Other than that, what person in their right mind is going to offer to pay shipping to any destination for something large and heavy, and give you time to decide if you like it or not? NO ONE! Then they say they will pay the return shipping if you inspect the tractor and do not like it?
If we stop for a moment, it is clear that these are scams, no matter how they write them.
Just for fun, I replied to one that was listed in TX. I asked where and he replies "Dallas". I told him I lived in Denton and could be there that day see the tractor. Suddenly, the same tractor was in an "Ebay warehouse" in CA. (I checked with Ebay, again, they do not do business like that, there is no warehouse)
He pressed me for my information, I pressed him back. He stopped emailing.
If anyone still believes that these are legitimate deals, send me $10,000 to my Ebay account, they will ship you a brand Corvette and I pay the shipping! They will not release the funds to me until you have approved the car. If you do not approve it, I pay shipping back and all cost and you get your money back.
Ready to jump on this deal before someone beats you to it.
Clue, NEVER EVER use PayPal or other online payment plans unless you know that it is an Ebay auction that you JUST won. NEVER give anyone any of your personal information until you are certain that you know who you are dealing with. NEVER try to buy site unseen unless you know the sellers.

I saw that same tractor deal on craigslist in Syracuse. You know it's a scam when you see them & I always flag them. One big clue is when the pictures have palm trees and green grass in the background.

If you and your father can't see this is an obvious scam, neither of you should be buying things from strangers on the internet.

If you or your father can't see this is an obvious scam, neither of you should be buying things from strangers on the internet.

Lots of clues- another is "registered in US". Tractors get registered and licensed in most European countries, don't know about Canada. But they do NOT get "registered" in the US.

Gotta use your common sense on these things- Free shipping anywhere in US, and if you don't like it, they'll come back and pick it up? Are you kidding? Have you priced shipping lately? Hauling from Sask. to Florida would eat up most of the price- and if you told them to come and get it, they'd be in the hole.

There's no Santa, and no Easter bunny- if the price is such that the nearest machinery dealer would have paid them cash on the spot, its a scam.

As it's been said, scam for sure. I ran into a similar situation when I found a 2008 SRT8 Jeep Grand Cherokee on craigslist with 6,000 miles for 11k. It was posted on the Toledo Ohio craigslist, and was worded almost exactly like yours. The price included delivery of the vehicle, and I couldn't come see it because he "just moved to Washington" a month prior. I replied stating that was fantastic because my Dad was only a county over from where he claimed to be in Washington, on FBI business orders, and he would beable to look the vehicle over for me. So I asked for his address and phone number. Needless to say he never wrote back.

i just did not know where the scam was...i was not sure about ebay holding the money...
don't be a DB.