On Mar 13, 9:26*am, Doug Miller
wrote:
Spotted an ad on Craigslist for a power saw that I might be interested inhttp://indianapolis.craigslist.org/tls/3614407632.html
but ad doesn't give any details. It's clearly a DeWalt sliding compound miter saw, but what
size?

So I emailed the seller for more information, and this exchange ensued.

Me: What is the model number on this saw? Also, are you on West 71st or East 71st?
Him: West 71st and DW703 it's a double insulated miter saw type 3 5000 rpm

[Note: photo is not of a DW703 -- I know. I own a DW703. The saw in the photo is clearly a
sliding compound miter saw, but the DW703 is fixed.]

Me: Could I come look at that sometime Wednesday afternoon or evening?
Him: Yea Wednesday around 11 I cold [sic] meet you somewhere

[What part of "afternoon or evening" did he find confusing?]

Me: I won't be available until some time in the afternoon, probably after 1pm. Does any time
after that work for you?
Him: How about around 3?
Me: That would be great. Where do I meet you to look at the saw?
Him: Where could you? Do you have a phone number I can txt?

[Beginning to smell a rat here. Maybe he won't give his address because he's afraid of
being robbed -- but why does he want my phone number?]

Me: Just email, sorry. Pretty much anywhere on the NW side would work for me, I guess.
You said you're on West 71st St, right? Anywhere near Georgetown Road?
Him: Yea, do you wanna meet me by the Kroger on 71st and Georgetown tomorrow around
2:30-3:00

[Odor of rat is becoming more pronounced]

Me: Well, I think I want to look at it some place where I can plug it in and verify that it works
Him: Well I can guarantee it does.

[Rat stench nearly overpowering now]

Me: That's fine -- but I still want to plug it in and see for myself.

[many hours have passed with no response]

So what do you figure is the scam here? Since he proposed meeting in a public place, it's
probably not anything so crude as a strong-arm robbery -- but he obviously doesn't want
me plugging the saw into an outlet. And why does the model number so obviously not
match the photograph? *I'm thinking he shows up with a DeWalt box, taped shut, doesn't
want me to open it... and when I do, I'll find a couple of cinder blocks.

I would not completely discount the robbery idea. They
might know that one are of the parking lots isn't under camera
surveilance. Or they might call you at the last minute and
try to change the meeting place...... It's hard to imagine
anyone would be dumb enough to buy it with it in a box.
I guess that leaves the possibility that it has a bad motor.
But as you point out, it's very suspicious that the guy
has misidentified the model. If he actually has it, he should
know. It's also possible the saw works, but it's hot so
he can't invite you over to try it out and doesn't know a
place where it can be plugged in. All in all, this stinks and
I'd just walk for sure. For example, even if it runs, maybe
it craps out after 10 mins......

An interesting question to ask if you have any more
contact is if the photo is of the actual saw. A long time
ago I saw an ad on Ebay for original alloy wheels for late 70s
Mercedes. The guy had a pic of a nice looking wheel and
had 4 for sale that he described as in "like new" condition.
I asked if they had any dings, curb rash, scrapes, etc. He
said no.

After I had bought them, he then said he couldn't send them
for a couple weeks because they were on a car. I then got
suspicous that the pic was not of one of the wheels. I guess
I should have been tipped off by the fact that he only had a
pic of one, not 4. So, I start asking him more about the
condition and he tells me they are indeed "like new". In his
words: "twenty five years old, like new". Some elbow work
on your part is all that's needed.

So then I did everything I could to get the imbecile to not
ship them. They were covered by Ebay fraud for the purchase
price, but not the shipping. And to ship them from CT to NJ
wasn't going to be cheap. He refused and quickly resorted to
vulgarity. I sent all the emails
and my position to Ebay, they got an arbitrator involved. I
think he did his best to reason with the guy, but it did no good.
It took almost a month, but they finally showed up. They were
all in poor condition, full of dings, scrapes, dirty.... They
were far worse than the ones I was seeking to replace. None of
them was the one in the pic, you could tell for sure because
these all had wheel weights on them. And to ship them, he
just put two of them to a falling apart cardboard box. Then
he threw a couple pages of newspaper in. Not even crumpled
paper, just a few sheets on the top. The boxes had holes,
were in such bad shape, that I'm amazed that UPS accepted
them.

Out of the $180 or so total I paid I wound up getting all but
about $30 which was the shipping cost back after I filed
an actual fraud complaint with Ebay. It's the only time I
was scammed on Ebay and I learned from it.