New Scam??

[turboetech]

This is very common I buy and sell classic cars and do the same but tell the seller they only get 20 mins to reply with picture of my name and classic for sale… never lost yet

 

[Modman]

As others have noted, this is pretty common now to ask for a picture of the item with the current date etc. Far too many scammers out there now for people to go to on hope. Just borrow your wife's / kids cell phone and take a photo of the date and time with it on a home screen so they can see its a current photo (just a generic home screen background).

 

[bobsledder]

Can't be too careful with this stuff. I have a good friend who's nephew was murdered by a guy he sold a truck to. Guy returned to his house with a complaint about the truck or something and stabbed him on his driveway.

 

[lilduke]

Ya exactly. Thats why I sell chit at my shop and not my houses. Cause there is no warranty on this crap, and I don't want to have to murder someone
in self defense when the motor blows up 2 years after I sold it to some random clown.

 

[smokinD]

Glad I could help.
As a seller, the only risk you're really taking is getting paid. Cash effectively eliminates that issue.
However, as a buyer of a rather big ticket item, you're taking many chances. Is it stolen, have a lien, concealed damage, unauthorized seller, etc? If someone is trying to conceal their identity as seller, it's a huge red flag. I think it's completely reasonable for buyers to be sceptical. For those that say they would never give out their address, it's on the paperwork ffs. Anyone driving down the street can see your address and the $100k of junk sitting in the driveway. It's not a secret. Would you buy a $20k item from a stranger in a parking lot? I'd want to see some ID. As @Ghfalls said, it's been done like this for decades.
Most of the marketplace scams involve fake ads. They recycle the ad or photos and post in many locations. A reverse image search, or keyword search exposes these pretty quick. Another obvious thing is the background of the photos not matching the sellers location. Unreasonably low prices, overly enthusiastic descriptions, or cut and pastes are common on scam ads as well.
Shipping containers, trailers and garden sheds are all rampant with fake ads. I bet you could find several in your area right now.

All good advice here GT, i went to buy a Quad and went to view it all was good until i found out from the owner that it was not paid off and still under financing. I asked him to get the finance Co on the phone, after talking with finance Co they said they would release it after they got there $$ and that it would take a week for the paperwork. He asked me for the money and he would give me the quad and the paperwork in a week, i laughed and and said that's illegal to begin with, secondly you could report it stolen and double your $$, do i look f'n stupid. I got in my truck and said good luck, maybe he could find another sucker. After checking he had still never paid that quad off in 7 years ffs.