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



## Shawneen

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:[email protected]] 
*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:[email protected]] 
*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....


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## Shawneen

*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."*

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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


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## rider4life422

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


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## Shawneen

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????


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## stacieandtheboys

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!


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## smrobs

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


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## Whipple

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


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## LeahKathleen

Whipple said:


> 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?


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## Shawneen

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.


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## rdp98rlp

*2001 4 horse trailer scam*

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...


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## Shawneen

hahaha @ ear surgery!! The really bad part is that some people must have been (I won't say dumb) uneducated enough to fall for this, for them to keep doing it.

People will try to get over on you folks!!! Don't be the victim!!!


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## Siestasgirl16

Wow people are sooooooooo rude, we all work hard for our money and they just go around trying to scam people. I say to them GET A JOB!!!!


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## Hoofprints in the Sand

Wow...good for you for being smart enough to ask all the questions you did!  If more people did that, we'd be able to put these stupid scam artists out of business!

What I always say is...if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!!


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## Tennessee

What did the words in white font say? I missed the ad, and they deleted it now.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand

Yeah the ad is gone and I also want to know what the words in white said!!


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## lovemyponies

Just sent Gail an email... hope she gets a lot.


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## Sunny06

Whipple said:


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


What words in white?


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## wdfbozeman

AH! I almost fell for this scam, but something told me to ask questions! I have been in contact with "Gail" for a couple of days now. "She" told me her husband died in Iraq, she and her daughter are moving in with her sister, selling her house, and she really needs to sell the trailer! I have asked her several specific questions, but she won't reply to them at all; just keeps talking about how Ebay will contact me. She stated that the trailer is in New Jersey at the shipping center. Ebay doesn't have shipping centers! I found the listing on craigslist in Montana. I then googled the trailer and found that it has been flagged on almost every state's craigslist! This is a bad, bad person! Spread the word that it is a SCAM! I have contacted Ebay to inform the company of this scam as well!


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## speedy da fish

ive found scams on horse sale websites too, lame ones though...
e.g. in the pictures tab all the pictures were of different horses! simular looking i give them that but different. do they really think that a person buying a horse would know that little about them! or in fact buying in general.


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## BigGreyHorse

Similar scam was on horseclicks for a smaller trailer. We contacted them as the seller was from a town about 40 miles from us. When we asked to see the trailer, we were told it was in Indiana and the sale was through a brokerage company......total scam.


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## Vidaloco

I've noticed in a lot of these ads the seller almost sounds like english is a second language. The wording is just a little odd. 
I just feel sorry for the folks who fell for it and were out $3k


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## PaintsPwn

> I just feel sorry for the folks who fell for it and were out $3k


People have been reporting stories left and right about these scams. By now, if you have internet at all, you should be aware enough to know better.

I saw an ad for a really nice 6 horse with living quarters for 2,500. You know that was a scam as well!


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## Ladywantsahorse

LOL! I did the same thing to a Scammer that was advertising a motorcycle for sale on Kijiji near Ottawa in Ontario. I asked them if I could come and see it and they told me it was in Yellowknife NWT.

I emailed them back and said "oh that's great! My brother is up there working right now, give me the address where you have it stored and I will get him to go over and take a look at it."

Needless to say, that was the end of the correspondence. ****!!!


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## HorsePride

Scary...


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## DHenson

We have another listing for Little Rock, AR but it is for a different trailer. Below is the email info: Hi again,

The trailer is already at the shipping company in Houston,TX. sealed and ready to be shipped.
I will ship it from here on my expense through USHIP I want to take the opportunity to assure you that this deal is 100% legitimate. The financial part of this deal will be managed by the eBay's buyer protection program (They are acting like a third party in our deal). 
We will use eBay`s protection program for our safety. 
I have a purchase protection account with eBay and will not deal outside of eBay under any circumstances. I just need your full name,address and phone# so i can initiate a Case ID at eBay. 
All you will need to do is wait for the invoice and follow the instructions eBay provides in there. After you receive the trailer you will have 10 days to test, verify and do whatever you need to the trailer.
If you will buy, then I will receive the payment details from eBay so that I can pick up the money. If you wish to make the transaction, and if you agree with my terms please email me your full name,full shipping address and phone#, so I can start the official procedure trough eBay and they will invoice you and you will know how the shipping will work for our deal. The final price is $3,500.00. including shipping from Houston,TX to your home address. 

Looking forward to hear from you.
Debra Pierce


P.S.Here you have some extra photos of the trailer so we can take a better look at it:


















































These people are crooks... I just posted a big AD on Craigslist about this very ad warning people. I also informed Debbie Pierce that I would spread the word..


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## Indyhorse

The best idea with this sort of situation is to report them to the Federal Trade Commission, if you are in the USA. They will not do anything about individual cases, but they will take record of the claim and look into it, and give you a case number, and when you post things like this and find a bunch of people who have seen the same scam, by the same person, have them also call the FTA and cite the same case number. Keep copies of all emails exchanged with the people, and take screen shots of the ads when possible, or be able to give the FTA links otherwise - that gives them the best possible chance of actually tracking down the people responsible for these false ads and stopping them from doing what they are doing. 

I had to go through this process a while back - entirely un-horse related. I had a rental property available I made the mistake of advertising on craigslist. The ad got stolen and reposted all over the internet - fortunately the fools just cut and pasted my ad, including phone number and email address so I caught on quickly. These people were advertising a house - MY house - for rent at half the price I had advertised it, claiming it had all kinds of ridiculous features that didn't exist (like a mountain or ocean view. This house is located in flat, land locked INDIANA.) The people who sent responses through craigslist got a similar BS story, and claims to send the deposit and they would recieve keys from the UPS guy (seriously?). It took four months and many calls to get them all shut down and the fake ads to cease - that was two year ago, and even now I get the occasional odd phone call and have to go search for another ad.


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