Good Stuff Happens in 1:1 Meetings: Why you need them and how to do them well
An RV Buying SCAM - Look Out Motorhome Owners Who Want To Sell
1. An RV Buying SCAM - Look Out Motorhome Owners Who Want To
Sell
I actually have my RV for sale, at the moment.
The reason isn't important, really. I'm not getting out of the RV lifestyle, rather I am trying to move
down in the size of my RV.
We have a big Rig. A very nice, 42-foot, 4-slide Monaco Camelot, that is loaded with luxury options.
We started out last summer on what was going to be a 1-5 year run around the country. Our big
dream trip.
But you see, our bodies have started telling us that we just can't, physically, run like we used to, so
after months of traveling (loving every minute) we finally decided that we just can't do it.
And with that decision, we really don't need such a Motorhome if we are going to drop back to shorter
trips, in distance as well as in time-on-the-road.
And, if you are an experienced RVer, you know that the whole Camper sales industry is designed to
get you into a larger and more expensive Rig, rather than dropping back, as we want to do. They call
it "Trading Up!"
I have talked with dealers as we traveled across the country, over the past year, literally, from
California to Florida, and each and every one of them wants to "steal" my Motorhome from me.
It is actually shocking at how far they want to discount their offer on a Motorhime, if you want to either
"Trade Down" or OMG, outright Sell your Rig.
So, after a lot of research and conversations with old-timer RVers, I came up with a selling plan, and
the first step was advertising.
I immediately found that there is a large flock of "Selling Buzzards" out there, who want to help you
Sell your Rig..... For a Price.
They ALL will Guarantee you that;
1- they are the best RV Sellers in the country.
2- they will sell your RV at the highest price of anyone else.
3- they will sell your RV faster than anyone else.
4- and they Guarantee everything, Yadaa, Yadaa, Yadaa.
In reality, these Seller Buzzards, and I call them that because, just like the real respectable buzzards
in the world, that circle Roadkill for a while before they decide to land and feast on the carcass, these
Sellers, scan the WEB sites that have your RV for sale, and send you emails with their grandiose
offers of financial relief. JUST TRUST THEM!
And, if, in a moment of weakness, you respond, they pounce on you and start their sales pitch.
It will go something like this;
1- You Rig will be listed on over a gazillion sites, nationwide. (REALITY? They will list your Rig on
their remote site, and they will have ads for their site available for search engines to find with the
right search words.)
2- Your Rig will be listed in the top-15, 20, 26, etc. RV magazines in the country. (REALITY? They will
2. have their ads for themselves in those magazines with no direct listing of your Rig.)
3- They guarantee your RV sells, in 60, 90, 180, etc. Days, or your money is refunded. (REALITY?
Yeah, Sure, just try to get your money back from them.)
4- And, if you sign up right now and use the code provided, they will give you $100 off of their regular
price of; $249, $349, $399, etc.
Anyway, now that I have gotten that off of my chest, here is what i actually did.
I listed my Motorhome on two of the more reputable, and popular RV Listing sites, with pictures and a
detailed description of my Rig.
And, every couple of weeks I also list my Rig on eBay.
These three sites give my Rig pretty good exposure, and even though the market for larger
Motorhomes is pretty weak, I have been happy with my plan, so far, even though I have not really
come close to a real sale.
Oh, I get interested people, but there has been no closure so far.
When you put your contact information out there, and you have to if you are going to eventually sell
your Rig, you need to deal with a lot of different people, like: the dreamers, the Low-Ball Offers, the
bored talkers who don't really want to buy, and other strange personalities.
But, that is apart of the selling game and you have to sift through these different "just interested"
characters to get to that real Buyer out there, who is going to make you a reasonable offer, and can
actually afford your Rig.
Anyway, I received an email a couple of weeks ago, from a person in Kentucky.
He said that he was an Automobile Procurer for other people.
He also stated that he thought he had a buyer for my Rig, and wanted me to answer some more
questions about my Motorhome.
This is a normal part of the beginning of a Sale, so we swapped emails for several days until we had
gotten down to the particulars of an actual deal.
It was at this point that I got Warning Sign#1!
He didn't try to knock my price at all. He accepted the number i gave him immediately.
It was at this point that he sent me a number of stipulations that he and his Buyer, of course had.
They were;
1- They wanted me to accept an earnest fee of $500.
2- They would find an Inspector to check the Rig out professionally.
3- They would arrive at my site, and after the Inspection, they would test drive my Rig.
4- They would pay me with a "Bank Check" and close the deal.
Well, this drove us into another half-dozen or more emails, as i had these new steps clarified, such
as;
Requirement#1- I accepted the $500 earnest money but for only a 2-week period. That was OK with
them.
Requirement #2- You have to accept an inspection of your Rig, so this was OK with me.
3. Requirement #3- Of course a personal drive and even inspection is expected by the buyer before he
closes on a sale of this size..
Requirement #4- This one drove me back to my Bank, where I had a meeting with one of the
managers and learned several things;
A- The payment by the Buyer must be either Cash or a Cashiers Check.
B- the Buyer will give the Cashiers check to the Bank manager, and they will, in turn, contact the
other Bank and confirm that the Cashiers Check is 1-valid, that 2-it (serial number) was issued by the
other bank, and that 3-the specific check is backed by the funds listed on the check.
After notifying the Buyers, they accepted the Banks requirements for teh closing of the deal.
They said that closing at my Bank, as I had stated, was OK. So, at this point, I started to get more
confident that I might actually have a buyer for my Rig.
Then I received another, more detailed description of how they required to first check to be handled.
This was Warning Sign #2, and as it turns out, the real show stopper.
Their more detailed requirement was that they would send me a Bank Check for my Earnest Money
but it would also include the payment to the Vehicle Inspector that they selected.
And, I had to cash this check, take my money and also pay the Inspector within 3-days of receiving
the check.
This WAS the actual SCAM!
I thought a while, and i responded that, after talking, yet again, with my banker, I had learned that
when any check was received, it could take up to a total of ten-days for it to be processed by two
different banks.
Also, I told them that the normal procedure was for the potential Buyer to select, and pay the
Inspector at their own cost. And not, have the Seller handle this for them,
They responded that this was not acceptable, as they had already made plans for travel,and that I
had to process this check in their required 3-days.
I firmly replied that I had to follow the directions of my Bank, and that they could bring cash, or I would
require the 10-day processing time.
And, guess what? All communications stopped.
What was the actual SCAM?
Well, they never intended to buy my Motorhome.
Rather, they wanted me to cash this first check for the earnest payment and the mythical Inspectors
payment. Then I was to hand over this Inspectors fee to someone that they designated.
They would in turn disappear, of course before the 3-days were up.
Then, a few days later (4 to 10?) I would get a call from my bank that the check was rubber, and I
was responsible for paying the bank back, for my earnest money as well as the inspectors fee.
Sorry, I had a Bob Marley moment there:>)
So, Here I sit,
I still own my Motorhome. It is still listed on my favorite three sites for sale.
