Eccentric
Mister Wizard
Saw this ad on Craigslist in my area:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/tls/288608591.html
Stihl MS 440 Chain Saw 20 in. bar Never Used Brand New - $450 (san jose east)
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Reply to: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: 2007-03-05, 3:24AM PST
Here it is (minus the pics) in case Craigslist kills the listing, which they probably will:
We purchased this in March because we were buying a piece of timber to build a home on. However, the deal fell through and we ended up building in a development and didn't have any need for a chain saw like this. The saw was non-returnable from the dealer we purchased it at. It has never been used!
This is a Stihl 20 inch MS 440 Magnum gas chain saw. Included with the chain saw are a storage case, an extra $30 oilomatic saw chain, a gallon of BAR oil, a 6-pack of 2-cycle oil, the instruction and safety manual, a blade cap, and a certified warranty that lasts until March of '07! We payed over $800 for the package from a John Deere deeler. The photos feature everything included!
This would make an excellent Christmas gift!!!
There were several pics of a BRAND NEW MS440Mag, a chain in Stihl OE packaging, a Stihl hardcase, bottles of oil...
All in all an extremely tempting situation. I thought it odd that the ad had, "would make an excellent Christmas gift!!!" and mentioned a warrantee that expires in March 2007 when the ad was posted 3/05/07. However, people have cut/pasted their old ads to repost before, so I thought it was no big deal.
I emailed the seller three times trying to get them to send me a phone# or call me on my cell. They replied twice with the same poorly typed/phrased response:
Hello
First I want to tell you that all my units are brand new and come with The Manufacturer's International Warranty. All accessories included.
I'm selling it for 450 US dollars. It is very important for me to protect my clients. I have 3 units available .I have big discounts for buying more than one unit. About the shipping, what can I say...I want to be safe and i think you do to. For that reason I chose escrow companies because they protect the buyer and the seller…..I deposit first the package, you verify it and send the payment to the escrow company. I will not receive the payment until you get the package, inspect it and sign for it. That way we are bout protected. If you are not familiar with this shipping way i could give you all the info that implies it.
REFOUND ---After the package arrives you have an 15 days period in which you can send the package back for an full and NO QUESTION refund, but you will pay for the shipping and handling back to me.
If you are interested in buying my item please email me ASAP.
Thank you
DANGER DANGER DANGER.
Suddenly, a listing for San Jose, California (USA) was being handled by some international dude with "clients", multiple "units" (what happened to the ONE saw purchased but never used?), and "escrow" companies.
Ahah. Yet another international BS scam...
They probably coppied a legitimate ad (undoubtably posted sometime before Christmas), then pasted said ad into their new posting. They modified the price to a "throw caution to the wind" level and put in their own contact info.
I reported this scam to Craigslist, and the posting can no longer be found with a "Chainsaw" or "Chain saw" search. I saved the URL, so for the moment it still comes up. It'll probably be dumped shortly.
The other ads that chap my hide are the ones that say, "MS360PRO, LOOK" or something similar. There's no mention of price. You've gotta click on the "MS360 PRO" which brings you to an EBay brokering listing containing many many saws from many diferent sellers. Often the original saw in question isn't even there.
Then there's the people that put "not Stihl, Husky, Echo, Pruner, Engine, etc......." in their post to gum up my searches. ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!! :bang:
OK, time to burn the soapbox!!! :deadhorse:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/tls/288608591.html
Stihl MS 440 Chain Saw 20 in. bar Never Used Brand New - $450 (san jose east)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: 2007-03-05, 3:24AM PST
Here it is (minus the pics) in case Craigslist kills the listing, which they probably will:
We purchased this in March because we were buying a piece of timber to build a home on. However, the deal fell through and we ended up building in a development and didn't have any need for a chain saw like this. The saw was non-returnable from the dealer we purchased it at. It has never been used!
This is a Stihl 20 inch MS 440 Magnum gas chain saw. Included with the chain saw are a storage case, an extra $30 oilomatic saw chain, a gallon of BAR oil, a 6-pack of 2-cycle oil, the instruction and safety manual, a blade cap, and a certified warranty that lasts until March of '07! We payed over $800 for the package from a John Deere deeler. The photos feature everything included!
This would make an excellent Christmas gift!!!
There were several pics of a BRAND NEW MS440Mag, a chain in Stihl OE packaging, a Stihl hardcase, bottles of oil...
All in all an extremely tempting situation. I thought it odd that the ad had, "would make an excellent Christmas gift!!!" and mentioned a warrantee that expires in March 2007 when the ad was posted 3/05/07. However, people have cut/pasted their old ads to repost before, so I thought it was no big deal.
I emailed the seller three times trying to get them to send me a phone# or call me on my cell. They replied twice with the same poorly typed/phrased response:
Hello
First I want to tell you that all my units are brand new and come with The Manufacturer's International Warranty. All accessories included.
I'm selling it for 450 US dollars. It is very important for me to protect my clients. I have 3 units available .I have big discounts for buying more than one unit. About the shipping, what can I say...I want to be safe and i think you do to. For that reason I chose escrow companies because they protect the buyer and the seller…..I deposit first the package, you verify it and send the payment to the escrow company. I will not receive the payment until you get the package, inspect it and sign for it. That way we are bout protected. If you are not familiar with this shipping way i could give you all the info that implies it.
REFOUND ---After the package arrives you have an 15 days period in which you can send the package back for an full and NO QUESTION refund, but you will pay for the shipping and handling back to me.
If you are interested in buying my item please email me ASAP.
Thank you
DANGER DANGER DANGER.
Suddenly, a listing for San Jose, California (USA) was being handled by some international dude with "clients", multiple "units" (what happened to the ONE saw purchased but never used?), and "escrow" companies.
Ahah. Yet another international BS scam...
They probably coppied a legitimate ad (undoubtably posted sometime before Christmas), then pasted said ad into their new posting. They modified the price to a "throw caution to the wind" level and put in their own contact info.
I reported this scam to Craigslist, and the posting can no longer be found with a "Chainsaw" or "Chain saw" search. I saved the URL, so for the moment it still comes up. It'll probably be dumped shortly.
The other ads that chap my hide are the ones that say, "MS360PRO, LOOK" or something similar. There's no mention of price. You've gotta click on the "MS360 PRO" which brings you to an EBay brokering listing containing many many saws from many diferent sellers. Often the original saw in question isn't even there.
Then there's the people that put "not Stihl, Husky, Echo, Pruner, Engine, etc......." in their post to gum up my searches. ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!! :bang:
OK, time to burn the soapbox!!! :deadhorse:
Last edited:
