• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

The old white van scam!!

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech
Well, there's an old saying: "There's a sucker born every minute". With this being the case, there's plenty of customers for them.

Most people that buy stolen goods are just as dishonest as the thieves hawking it.
 
Over the summer, I was approached by the white van guy. He told me that he was an A/V installer and his company sent him down here to do an install, but had sent too many speakers. Then he went on to tell me that he hated his boss and that this screw up would cost the boss because he was going to sell the speakers .... bla bla bla. Anyway you all know where this goes. To make a long story short, I just kept telling him that I didn't have any money and that I wasn't interested, he eventually came down to 100 bucks for a set of surround speakers if I would go to my ATM and get the money out.

I hadn't heard of the white Van scam before but I knew the guy was full of sh!t because he kept telling me that these where great speakers and that Crutchfield sold them for 1600 bucks. I have received the Crutchfield magazine for dam near 12 years and the speakers he was selling had never been in there, so while he followed me to the bank I called the police, and told them that a guy was trying to sell me stolen property and that he was following me to my bank and that we would be there in 2 minutes. When I got to the bank I told the guy I was just going in to get the money and he said he would wait there. With in 15 seconds of me being at the bank the Police came. I don't know what all happened, because I just stayed in the bank until they took him away. I went down to the station a couple hours later to see if I needed to fill out a report or what ever and they told me that this guy lived near a 1000 miles away and was pulling this scam everywhere.

kd
 
My brother in law was bragging how he got a great deal on speakers from a white van and I just had to laugh...



Tom
 
Originally posted by: Vortex22
True story:
I was driving to school, and these two guys in a black explorer drive up next to me while im driving 50mph down the road. The driver waves his hands wildly signalling me to open my window, and I do, thinking that there is something wrong. Then the guy proceeds to yell to me, while we are both driving at 50mph, that he has some awesome "home speakers" that he needs to sell fast and he wants me to pull over and look at him. I laughed and drove off of course... But seriously, how ridiculous is that?


HAHAHA! That's gotta be the most hilarious thing I've read all day. I guess those stoners will go to any lengths to sell their stolen goods.
 
Originally posted by: Colt45
Originally posted by: troytime
i've been offered speakers from a white van...but i have yet to figure out the scam part

do they sell you blown speakers?
stolen speakers?
imitation speakers?
do they take your money and run without giving you any speakers?

do they kidnap you? assrape you?

is the white van speaker scam related to the bangbus dot com thing?

They're either or stolen, or bricks in a speaker box.

Completely wrong. They're not bricks and they're not stolen. They're real speakers of inferior quality, the kind of crap you can buy for $20 in those odd lot stores. The scam is to infer that they're stolen and untracable so that people think they're getting a really good deal. Do you honestly believe that thieves just park their vans in plain site in public parking lots and peddle stolen merchandise to everyone that walks by?

 
hmm....never heard of the white van scam, but it's good to know. is the "white van" just a generic term for speaker scams or is it actually taking place in a white van?
 
I got stopped by the white van guys at a post office once. He was trying to sell me DVDs for $10 each. It was right after Spiderman came out of DVD and he had that one. That's all I remember. I don't buy regular movie DVDs, so I just told him no and that I wished he would die of gonnorhea and rot in hell. Ok, so actually I just walked away...
 
I got "White Vanned" the other day! The Irony was that I was also driving a White Van full of Speakers, Amplifiers, and 2 Mixing Consoles (My Sound System). Seeing as I own a Sound and Lighting company I asked them if they wanted to maybe rent some speakers.....
 
i had a friend that (for a period of time) bought everything from crack-heads, they had some really good stuff i.e. North Face, Pioneer, etc... at well over half-off the only problem was that theey had a very erratic stock, and had random things (once i heard that a crack-head was trying to sell A (as in one) rim for like $50, another time one was selling a minifridge. Good deals from those crackheads.
 
My friend fell for this, spent $600 on these speakers and called me over to hook them up to his home theater. They were all crap with wires hanging in the boxes and the sub was shorting out on power up. Needless to say they are all sitting in the garage.
 
i've seen a variation, a guy in a benz tries to sell to people at a gas station near a mall. says its his bosses car etc.. i overheard while i was gassin up.
 
Got "white vanned" in a Wendy's parking lot outside Boston a few months back by two displaced surfers (heavy on the dudespeak) in a 1st gen Grand Cherokee. I was standing next to my 525i talking on my cellphone, and they approached me; I thought it was for directions since they didn't have the hallmark white van. Nope; turns out they went to pickup their audio equipment, and lo and behold, they received quantity 2 of every line item in a "distributor error"! Since they were just looking to make some beer money, would I be interested in taking some of it off their hands at a great discount?

...they hightailed it after I identified myself as an off-duty officer who was in a good mood. Bullsh!t of course, I just know a white van when I see one, even if it ain't white 😉
 
Originally posted by: Slappy00
i had a friend that (for a period of time) bought everything from crack-heads, they had some really good stuff i.e. North Face, Pioneer, etc... at well over half-off the only problem was that theey had a very erratic stock, and had random things (once i heard that a crack-head was trying to sell A (as in one) rim for like $50, another time one was selling a minifridge. Good deals from those crackheads.

Word.

Most interesting thing I ever bought from a crackhead was a Creative 3D0 Blaster card back in '96. Basically it was an entire 3D0 videogame system (remember that horribly expensive early CD-based box by Panasonic with all the FMV games like Mad Dog McCree?) on a full-length ISA card. I was like oh sh!t, I had never even knew that piece of gear existed, and I became the only kid I knew with one for $7!

http://www.heimcomputer.de/eng...konsolen/3doblast.html

lol
 
My friend bought these a couple of years ago. I dont have the heart to tell him he got scammed. He was so excited when he bought them.
 
Originally posted by: AStar617
Got "white vanned" in a Wendy's parking lot outside Boston a few months back by two displaced surfers (heavy on the dudespeak) in a 1st gen Grand Cherokee. I was standing next to my 525i talking on my cellphone, and they approached me; I thought it was for directions since they didn't have the hallmark white van. Nope; turns out they went to pickup their audio equipment, and lo and behold, they received quantity 2 of every line item in a "distributor error"! Since they were just looking to make some beer money, would I be interested in taking some of it off their hands at a great discount?

...they hightailed it after I identified myself as an off-duty officer who was in a good mood. Bullsh!t of course, I just know a white van when I see one, even if it ain't white 😉

Sounds like you were the only one committing a felony.
 
been asked a few times. in fact, if i ever get asked again, ill cut the guy off mid-spiel and finish the pitch for him.

leftover speakers, getting new car wont need em', blah blah blah.... i always get asked at either the mall or at gas stations. chevron's to be exact.
 
Originally posted by: AmericasTeam
Originally posted by: AStar617
Got "white vanned" in a Wendy's parking lot outside Boston a few months back by two displaced surfers (heavy on the dudespeak) in a 1st gen Grand Cherokee. I was standing next to my 525i talking on my cellphone, and they approached me; I thought it was for directions since they didn't have the hallmark white van. Nope; turns out they went to pickup their audio equipment, and lo and behold, they received quantity 2 of every line item in a "distributor error"! Since they were just looking to make some beer money, would I be interested in taking some of it off their hands at a great discount?

...they hightailed it after I identified myself as an off-duty officer who was in a good mood. Bullsh!t of course, I just know a white van when I see one, even if it ain't white 😉

Sounds like you were the only one committing a felony.

Thanks, I'll add that to the list of accomplishments I'll never be tried for. Catch me if you can... 😀
 
I remember when my roommate bought a pair a couple of years ago. he was all excited to get them. they didnt sound too bad but werent worth the $250 he paid for them
 
Back
Top