edwinr Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 My father, in his 70's but still working, went to the local shopping mall the other week. Whilst there he was approached by a man allegedly having completed a delivery of hi-fi gear to the local department store. He said the order had been made up incorrectly so he had a spare surround speaker system left over. Yeah, you guessed it, my naive and gullible father accompanied the man out into the carpark to to view the speakers. He was told they were 'high-end' and 'digital ready' and 'all electronic' winning the European speaker of the year award for three years running. He bought them. But not having enough money on him the man accompanied my father to the bank and he withdrew, wait for it......... $3000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and gave it to the man, who claimed the speaker system was worth over $10,000! As an added incentive, the man kindly delivered the speakers to my father's apartment foyer. Being rather busy though, the man said he had more 'deliveries' to do so he couldn't help my father carry the boxes up the three flights of stairs to his apartment (a*sehole). Anyhow, a few days later my brother rang me and said I'd better come and have a look. So when I arrived at my father's apartment. the speakers had been unpacked. They consisted of four little floorstanders, a center channel speaker and two little rear speakers. No subwoofer. Opening the box up because one of the floor standing speakers that didn't work revealed a very cheap low grade mdf cabinet covered by a quite good vinyl finish. There were two 'bass drivers in the cabinet and one tweeter. There was a resister between the tweeter and the bass driver and the bass drivers were wired in series. No Crossover at all. The drivers were cheap pressed steel with rough edges and they had the smallest magnet I have ever seen on a driver. I pushed one of the lugs back onto a terminal and the speaker worked - sort of. To cut a long story short, I hooked the speakers up to my father's receiver. They sounded like crap. His older speaker system was better. My father was over the moon. He had bought a new 42 inch television to go with the speakers - at least that was half decent. My brother and I elected not to say a word to him. We left him happy in his ignorance. To take the matter further woud unduly upset my father - he's already had one triple bypass. I'm usually a physically placid kind of guy. I only k*ll when I have to. But can I say that this is one of those rare moments that I could wring someone's neck. Maybe the driver of that white van... [:@] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I hate to hear about these types of criminals preying on people!! Next time it happens to me I'm saying no thanks walking away and calling the cops to find out if there is anything they can do. I hate to say it but I don't think the cops will be able to do anything unless they are in the parking lot but I may be wrong. I think you did the right thing leaving him happy in his ignorance much better than upsetting him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liebherr954 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Wow I am sorry to here the bad news, I remember a colum in HT mag about speakers bought from the white van...They had the same things to say about them. You should go to the same mall as your father on the weekend and see if you can find the white van, bring a few liters of gas and a match[6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 He said the order had been made up incorrectly so he had a spare surround speaker system left over to sell. I have heard this pitch too.. I ALWAYS say, "So your selling stolen merchandise.. I am calling the cops now.." I then dial 911 and watch them run evrytime! Give them the plate number too. hahahahahahaha Its a scam.... http://www.scamshield.com/Feature.asp?id=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speakers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Edwinr, Thanks for posting. I am very sorry to hear about your dad being taken like this. The white van people really are sorry people. One thing, I think you did well by not saying more to your dad. You have chosen the most caring approach for your dad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 Wow I am sorry to here the bad news, I remember a colum in HT mag about speakers bought from the white van...They had the same things to say about them. You should go to the same mall as your father on the weekend and see if you can find the white van, bring a few liters of gas and a match LOL! Yeah, I was thinking the same thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted March 30, 2009 Moderators Share Posted March 30, 2009 Selling junk is one thing, many stores do it, but to con an older man with straight out lies is much worse. Really sorry to hear this, but It was nice the way you handled it, no good would come from making him feel bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I see a lot of the White Van speaker brands for sale on craigslist around here. I've never been approached by someone myself but I would sure have fun with them and waste as much of their time as I could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 That was an extreme case of fraud! Back in the early Nineties, the white van guys were active in the Toronto area and I was approached by them in a parking lot a couple of times, as were some of my co-workers (it seemed a lot of us shopped at Canadian Tire!). Back then, they were looking for $300-500 for a pair of their "stolen" speakers. You probably handled your dad in the best way in those circumstances, but I'd be out there looking for those losers if it were my dad. Sorry to hear about his loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Sorry to hear about your Father getting taken. A guy at a local building supply depot recently tried this scam on me and my brother. I just told him as I laughed 'dude, if you can fit a complete HT system in that van, I've got a BIGGER system at home'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Sorry to hear about this. 3k is a lot of money in these times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Thanks guys. I don't think any of us mind spending $3000 as long as we get value for money. It's a lesson that we should stick to proper retail outlets and reputable sellers. I did remind my old man that next time he should only buy from a proper retail store - just in case of warranty issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 You can't cheat an honest man. I always say, "So your selling stolen merchandise" That's would be true if it was the actual situation. The people that think they are getting something for nothing deserve what they get..........nothing. The only reason this scam works is because of all the dishonest people out there (the so called victims). Fundamentally, the 'white van' scam is no different than the 'Nigerian 419' scam. Would I be upset if this had happened to one of my parents? You bet, I would be disappointed that they were dishonest enough to fall for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 ...I'd be scoping out that parking lot for a few days...somebody would be getting a baseball bat thumpin'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 you did the right thing not upsetting your father. my brother in law fell for the same thing--he thinks he got the deal of the century and i didn't want to tell him that he could have gotten twice the system for half the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 The thing that bothers me the most is this... Even though the story is not true.. "We have extra speakers on a delivery" etc., etc.... It would be worse if it was..... They are, in fact, setting a scenario that we have this extra shipment our loss is your gain... Maybe a good semester of a ethics class might help... Think about it this way... If you sold anything that is not rightfully paid for by a customer order and your keeping the cash..... Your really cheating your company, your fellow employees, ruining your reputation as a salesman, and could go to jail. (If the story was really true..) Can you imagine a kid at Best Buy doing this with Klipsch or Martin Logan speakers too? He would get caught, eventually , lose his job, go to jail etc., etc. Were teaching a whole generation of kids to lie and sell sub par stuff out of a white van is the key to success? No wonder were (America) is so messed up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Putting the dishonesty aside, assume for a moment that their story is true...What they are revealing to you is that their cost to provide and distribute the stuff to you is zero! So what price should they ask for something that they clearly reveal cost them nothing (except the cost of their souls)? Why does this sound like it belongs in the FED/Treasury discussion thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BizmanJoe Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 Sorry to hear of the ripoff. I actually sold stereo gear out of a white van in my early years. However, I bought my gear directly from OEM manufacturers and wholesalers based out of Southern California and sold them for typically $50 markup depending on the brand and suggested retail. They were cheap brands such as Fisher & BSR. That just about covered my gas and rental expenses, so I didn't stay in business for long since it was eating into my savings (I couldn't compete with "White Van deals."). I ran into several of those guys in the "white vans" yelling out, "Hey guy! Wanna BIG pair of speakers?" and I'm afraid to say my business got mixed in with theirs in the public's perception. I've examined many of the speakers being sold out of those white vans, and most were pure SCAMS with a markup of $250 - $1500 over cost. I learned that those speakers are sold by the manufacturer at $75 - $125 a pair depending on quantity to scam businesses hawking them through white vans. Definitely BEWARE of anyone touting extra pair of speakers due to overflow, delivery error, or whatever - it is a scam (even if they show invoices, which are typically FAKE). Buyer Beware! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 These wothless motherless POSs got my buddys wife for a bundle- all she could withdraw from the ATM. I relish the day when I hear of somedody opening up on these scumbags with a 12 ga or beating them to death with a baseball bat. Slow death is too good for them. Anybody who would scam an elderly person like that deserves torture. These are not human beings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 These wothless motherless POSs got my buddys wife for a bundle- all she could withdraw from the ATM. I relish the day when I hear of somedody opening up on these scumbags with a 12 ga or beating them to death with a baseball bat. Slow death is too good for them. Anybody who would scam an elderly person like that deserves torture. These are not human beings. Don't hold back Chris, tell us how you really feel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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