To scam or not to scam... (Boston: price, bars, rich)

[LongIslandEddie]

God! So many posters, so little time! Looks like I'm facing a barrage of super-humans who are more robotic in their responses,
than human in their capacity to understand! Actually, I really didn't need to write, to post that comment and reveal my vulnerability,
as another long islander willing to do his part to entertain the other lifeless people who come here to city-data between masturbation,
taking their meds and sitting on ( or in) the toilet for the tenth time in the day.

Yes, I'm an old fool, I entertain myself by "playing" on the internet, a candid guy as I am, never giving two hoots about, either what
I type, or how my thoughts are received. It's more a venture of entertainment for me, as it is an opportunity to incite a few of you c-d
"know-it-all lurkers", to rebut my text, to admonish me or just to allow themselves to laud their own particular prowess and ingratiate
themselves in what I perceive as a personal chance to triumph over my stupidity and to trump my offerings by puffing themselves up,
adding another comment, groping for reputation points and languishing in self-importance.

Truthfully, I don't really care, life is good for me. I'm retired now, making my ends meet between unemployment and Social Security!
I give a damn less about Obama, the GOP, Steve Levy, Mangano or the rest of this failed system. I like to two-finger type and spent
a half-hour providing some of you readers a bit of a glimpse of my day, a mere moment in my life, an experience in a parking lot with
a guy in a van with a stereo for sale. I wasn't looking to hear how smart the rest of you are, not hoping to hear about someones
sub-prime meat, falling off of the back of a truck, really, I hadn't counted on a firestorm of negativity, I posted my comment with the
thought that perhaps there were others out there that I might be able to help in some way or another.

None the less, party back! Roast my errant ass! Sit there at your desktop and gloat over the fact that it isn't you who is that proverbial
"ugly duckling". I encourage you to raise your post count, to glean those reputation points that are so tellingly indicative of your wisdom,
I'm more than happy to be your goat today, in fact I'm almost humbled at seeing the various faces of my fellow man, at least I had the great
chance to entertain some of us Long Islanders tonight!

[LongIslandEddie]

Gypsy Mae-

Originally Posted by Gpsma

Smug? Gee gpsma, I never intended my comment nor my ordeal with that home entertainment unit to be smug.
In what reference, might I interpret the smugness? Did I "beat my chest" or did I declare that I'd "gotten-over" on someone?
Did i engage myself in any self glorification as though I had gotten the better of someone else in a deal that you saw as larcenous?
Do you ever "deal" in cash? Would you benefit by avoiding taxes in order to"get a deal"? Would YOU be willing to benefit if your
bank credited you with 2 or 3 thousand dollars in a clerical error? Stolen? Look at your pay stub, look at the deductions and then
give me a dissertation on "stolen". Dude, it's a dog-eat-dog world and whether it is a guy selling "prime" meat off of the back of
a truck or some guy out on Sunrise Highway selling lounge chairs or coffee tables at "discount", what would it matter to you?
Tell me what planet you are on, is it earth, here in 2010, a time when we're all being screwed by our leaders or are you still
reading your grandmother's dog-eared copy of Marx's Utopia?

And, as to your reference to things "stolen", our very country, America was "stolen" from a bunch of savage redskins.
Sure, we're pretty "expensive" by today's standards. Tell me, have YOU benefited, I see that we are both Americans, on the same
"loading dock". Take a deeper look at the nature of man and grab a handy-wipe (or your depends), and wipe off that self righteous
smirk from your face................................ No, the other face...

Y'know, I'd have given my left nut just to see YOUR face too! But- If we can meet (meat) at your favorite beer-serving meat market,
I just might invite you home to have a drink with me and the family and let you lay back to my very awesome stereo, it's a new
Kinetic KA4210! Really an audiophile's dream!!!


dgsfh

[NickDG]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O58MvTWAI_M

[ENFD240]

i think you need to play some calm, soothing music on your new stereo

[jackinyc]

Wow-
a little harsh on this board.
Eddie, these scammers are everywhere- look at this as a lesson learned

[useasdirected]

Originally Posted by LongIslandEddie

I'm posting this for the benefit of Long Island holiday shoppers, in mall parking lots.

Yesterday, at the Sunrise mall in Massapequa NY, we were approached by a guy in a maroon Chevy van who asked us if we were interested
in getting a fantastic deal on a home entertainment system. Although my wife (a wiser person than myself), gave me advice that I obviously paid no
attention to, I agreed to look at the guy's equipment offer. He stopped the van and opened the rear door and then showed me a sealed carton of a
"Kinetic Loudspeaker" home entertainment system. It was model no. KV-4210, a 1500 watt, 5.1 channel system with (5) satellite speakers and a
sub-woofer with built-in AM-FM digital receiver, and clearly marked on the 50 lb. carton, was the MSRP of $3,495.

The guy driving the van had a clip-board with a stack of mimeographed invoices, the company which I noticed that he represented was over on
Otis st. in West Babylon and the driver told me that he had a friend at the wholesaler's loading dock who owed him a favor and gave him two "extra"
units when he loaded up that morning and although there were at least 8 cartons in the van, that he needed to offload two of them before showing
up at his company and because he had to report in to his boss within the hour, he had to make a quick deal or his boss would profit by what would be
called, a "paperwork" error on the warehouse's part.

Because the driver saw that I was interested (to some degree), he offered to give me one of the units for $900.00, a major savings over the market
price of $3,500 but I told him that I was among the long-time unemployed, I really couldn't swing a deal like that, especially since it was the Xmas holiday
season, as well as heating oil season, and my money was too tight. He then asked me what would be my best offer for the system and I told him that I
had no cash with me but if I did, I'd be willing to pay $250.00. He then said that he'd let me have the system for $300.00 and that he would be willing to
come to my house and install the system for me. I asked that he open the carton and that if everything which was included on the carton content label
was there, that I would go back into the mall to the ATM and get the cash.

After coming back out to the parking lot with the money, I reinspected the carton contents, and after determining that everything was there, the guy
loaded the carton into the back seat of my car and I counted out the $300.00 dollars, and we shook hands and I even thanked him for his willingness to
"give me a great deal" and that I appreciated his offer to hook it up for me but that I would be capable of doing that myself. The last thing that he asked
me for was $20.00, "lunch money" as he called it, a goodwill gesture on my part. I gave him the 20 and we drove off and almost literally, I was laughing
all the two-mile, way home!

Once I completed the setup and was satisfied that everything worked correctly, I called the wife and daughter into the living room and boomed it up
to it's full decibel capability and rattled the window panes while I patted myself on the back for being such a shrewd businessman. After programming the
remote for the 10 station, FM radio memory, I decided to google the name of the manufacturer and get some technical data as well as checking up on the
real (fair trade) value of the equipment in hopes of reaffirming that I had made the "deal-of-the-century". I typed in the model number (KV-4210) on the
search line and was horrified to see that several of the listings came back as a "scam-alert"! I checked a few of the sites which had information on this
"scam", and although there were variations on the particulars, the premise was clearly the same. These deals could hardly survive, were it not for a few
simple and basic premises or principles, firstly, our sense of greed, the chance to get something for nothing, an opportunity to "get over", or to score a
home run in a game that we feel lucky to be able to play. The other thing that has a hand in helping these scams exist, is this belt-tightening economy and
the fervent hope to be able to get a bargain, whether you really need the item that you buy, or not. That is why dollar stores make their money, they all
realize that you'll buy anything and everything on their shelves or racks, simply because it is certainly affordable at $1.00, personal need, not withstanding.

The wind-up to this story? I found the Home Theatre system on several sites. Amazon was offering it for $275.00, it was offered on Ebay for $595.00.
Funniest (most ironic) thought of all was that for a year or so, I've been wanting a sound system in the worst way and most probably, would never have
gotten one by any other means. I'm not feeling totally scammed, but I'm getting a deeper understanding of my basic high school Latin teacher, who always
seemed to overuse that famous quotation, caveat emptor...

Any time someone on Long Island wants to sell you something out of their van, that is a major red flag right there. If something costs $3000 and he's willing to give it to you for $300, that is another major red flag.

Did the van have any windows in it? A person who is trying to sell something legitimately will not be driving around with it, casing parking lots for potential buyers.

I agreed to look at the guy's equipment offer. He stopped the van and opened the rear door and then showed me a sealed carton of a
"Kinetic Loudspeaker" home entertainment system.

You made a grave mistake here. You put yourself and your wife in danger. Never approach a running van of someone wanting to show you some equipment, no matter how nice and honest they seem. You are very lucky that he didn't grab your wife or you or hold you at gun point.

If you think I'm paranoid, I'm not. This is not your old Long Island anymore.

Please be more careful in the future and please listen to your wife.

[chetstash]

These guys approached me at the Mobil Station on Jericho and 110 about two weeks ago. It was a brown or Maroon van. I acted like I "no speak English" and they went away.

[dman72]

I was approached in the Shoprite Parking Lot on Hauppauge with the same scam ..crappy min-van, green I think..or maybe it was maroon. Guy driving had one of those "spacer" earrings with a buddy on the passenger seat. Guy starts running his pitch to me, and he's basically blocked my way as I was cutting through aisles of cars to get to mine with my groceries.

I just shook my head and walked around, but then I realized I wasn't in a good mood and I yelled out "f off and get a real job, a hole" which was probably pretty stupid as he had his window still rolled down, and he slammed on the brakes about 20 feet ahead. Reverse lights go on so I'm ready for fight or flight..but then he goes forward again and zooms up to some other guy. As I'm loading up my trunk I see him zooming around from person to person.

I remember this similar scam with stereo speakers back in the 90's, guys pulling up to me at stop lights asking if I want to by some really good speakers. Please tell these guys to f off if you encounter them.

[tcba]

If somthing sounds too good to be true - it probably is not true !! thats what I live by. Happy Holidays everyone

[Gpsma]

So Eddie...your system still working...your $3,000+ system..