Too good to be true?

[JLinOK]

Please comment only if you’ve had direct experience with this type of Facebook marketplace ad. They say that their prices are low because they are brokering repo machines. Of course, they want a wire transfer.
View attachment 4307487

Scam. Tests: Ask if you can go see it or send a local Kubota dealer or attorney to come check it. If they reply, they will either send a message ignoring that request or some other reason why you can't. Nobody does that.

 

[4570Man]

Scam. Tests: Ask if you can go see it or send a local Kubota dealer or attorney to come check it. If they reply, they will either send a message ignoring that request or some other reason why you can't. Nobody does that.

I’d probably ignore that too. I’ve sold multiple piece of equipment and more vehicles than that and I’ve allowed on sight testing every time but getting an attorney involved sounds like a red flag customer.

 

[paulsharvey]

I’d probably ignore that too. I’ve sold multiple piece of equipment and more vehicles than that and I’ve allowed on sight testing every time but getting an attorney involved sounds like a red flag customer.

With work at least, the rule is, as Soon as anyone had legal representation, we are no longer allowed to talk or deal with them, without ours present. It actually normally brings a screeching halt to something, that likely could have been worked through with some minor compromises. So, yeah, if I was selling, and someone wanted their lawyer to talk to me, I'd block their number immediately.

As a Buyer; couple things you can do, check their profile; if they have listings in multiple cities, probably not real. They have never listed anything before, likely not real. Anything that lists venmo, likely not real.

 

[airbiscuit]

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook Marketplace

 

[grsthegreat]

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook Marketplace

I have hate hate. When intried to sell my 1994 Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel last year, i hade easily 100+ responses to my facebook marketplace ad…

All said “ is it still available “. Id respond “yes”…
Dead air. In 3 months not a single second response. I ran a paid add on craigslist, i had it sold in 3 days. Cash.

 

[Wagtail]

The Facebook AI kicked me off, with NO recourse, months ago.

 

[garry1p]

I have never used it, for my son it's his go to for bargains.

 

[George2615]

I stopped using marketplace. Site seems to be the slowest loading around. Also, 9 out of 10 people you send a message to asking about an item do not reply.

 

[4570Man]

I’ve sold hundreds if not probably thousands of things on marketplace. Here’s a few tips. Take good pictures of what you’re listing. This one seems obvious but half the listing on there were taken in the dark and rain. Take pictures of every data tag you can find. Take applicable measurements of what you’re selling. I like to write the measurements on an index card and take a picture with the item. That’s more for me because often Im listing a bunch of stuff at once. Put the actual intended selling price on the listing. That one seems obvious but then again you’d be surprised how many people don’t. Write a good description and mention everything you can think of. That really cuts down on the messages. Some people can’t read and are going to message the same questions anyway but it at least helps. Make one listing per item you plan on selling. None of that crap when you post 10 different pictures and a notebook sketch with prices then you never update the list as it sells. And no matter how good you make your listing you’re still going to get stupid messages. Just reply yes and move on with life. I used to ignore them completely but I’ve actually sold a lot of stuff to people that send the generic is this still available thing.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I don't do fb, but occasionally look a cr . . . No price, means "skip to next one"!

 

[paulsharvey]

What 45-70 said. Now, another thing, that is frustrating for sellers, but think like a buyer. As someone scrolling, you probably save 1000s to 10,000s of ads. You might be interested in an item, but only at a certain price. You might only be interested in the item, at their price, if its a certain size/make/model.

So, lets say I want to look for a bushhog; less than half (probably more like 25%) of ads list the size, make/model, or include more than 2 pictures. If you dont know anything about it, thats fine; take more pictures, take a picture of a tape measure on it, maybe weed eat around it, so I can see more than the very top. Yes, you might get insulted if you post at $1200, and I message and ask, how about $750; but maybe thats what im willing to pay. Include stuff like "I can load on your trailer". Spend more than 30 seconds putting the ad together will have hours of responding to the Same questions from people.

 

[paulsharvey]

Here is a perfect example; Bush Hog $500, "used, dont know anything about it". You didnt even tell us what brand of bushhog, a size, or blow the leaves off so we can see it. We dont know the size; but some of these sellers get made if you dont offer full price. When you expect me to do All of the leg work, yeah, im gonna try to beat you down on price.

 

[paulsharvey]

Oh, drifting off the thread, but Auctions often aren't any better, or even worse. 1 or 2 pictures, and "rotary cutter"; maybe "shaft stored in shop", no size, often no model, and generally very low effort to tell you anything.

 

[FriendwithTractor]

I've had similar experiences to what's been described here. They always want you to send cash first "for taxes" or "Need to get it out of storage" or "Holding". I'm sure it works on some people, but not on me. I see these types of ads on Craigslist all the time too, even from "reputable" businesses, but then you google the company and they have 1 star reviews and everyone is screaming that it's a ripoff.

 

[Paystar]

I just saw an add on my local Marketplace for a brand new 3 ton Kubota excavator for $17,000. It was orange but had no Kubota decals on it at all.
And the picture of the yard it was in, looks nothing like the actual yard of the posted address, LOL

 

[texaswren]

Ads like that, I'll do an image search on the picture. Nine times out of ten, I'll find a hundred ads using exactly the same picture, selling the same item in a whole bunch of different places, all for similar prices!

 

[Shawn T. W.]

do an image search on the picture

I've heard of doing that, but don't know how ... How do you do it?

 

[Oz_Kioti]

I've heard of doing that, but don't know how ... How do you do it?

Put in Google Image, then Click on "Search By Image", and in the window which pops up, either drag in the image you want Google to search for, or just select the image from your computer (wherever you put it):

 

[dodge man]

I’ve had positive results on Marketplace, both selling and buying. A lot of the stuff I sell is cheap, $20 items although I’ve sold maybe $500 items. Maybe the most expensive I’ve bought is $800. The key is just to meet face to face. After a while you learn the serious buyers.

 

[JLinOK]

I have hate hate. When intried to sell my 1994 Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel last year, i hade easily 100+ responses to my facebook marketplace ad…

All said “ is it still available “. Id respond “yes”…
Dead air. In 3 months not a single second response. I ran a paid add on craigslist, i had it sold in 3 days. Cash.

I have hate, hate, hate relationship with Facebook. Nothing but scammers, "...My father is on a 6 month submarine deployment in the Pacific, if you will take a PayPal check and ship it...blah blah blah..." 3 Different versions of that scam. The ad read "In person transactions only." Somebody from about 50 miles away was going to put an Australian Shepherd puppy on a plane with a handler for $250 bucks. I replied that I would just drive up there and get it. They ignored that comment and just kept asking for the $250 check. Different experiences, I guess.