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FINALLY!!! it finally happened to me!! (1 Viewer)

Philip_G

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I was going to home depot tonight around 6pm to look at BBQ grills when this jeep grand cherokee pulls up, the guy leans out and goes "HEY MAN!" so I figured he was lost and needed directions, I saw him sitting in the driveway looking sort of lost...
then he's like "HEY! you need some speakers? for your house?? they overloaded us for a delivery"

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

FINALLY!!! after years of reading about the white van guys it happened!

and yes, I'm very pleased with my new dogg digital speakers.

I kid...
 

Kyle McKnight

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It happened to me a couple years ago when I was by Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville, Tx. I told the guys I didn't carry cash on me, so they asked me if I had a debit card that I could just go hit up an ATM. Priceless.
 

Philip_G

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someone on another board I read had a similar situation, only they loaded the speakers in his truck and followed him to the ATM, he lost them in the process. :laugh: right or wrong, it just makes me giggle.

I should have stuck around to watch them work, and see if they sold any. It looked like they only had about 4 speakers in the truck
 

Holadem

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Nov 4, 2000
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Well, you can't join the club till it's an actual white van :D

--
H - yes, it happened to me too last year, and I felt the same way. AND it was a white van.
 

Darren Davis

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Oct 9, 2001
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Hah, I got the Van Speakers pitch for the second time last Monday. I was walking out of a Publix and this Ford Explorer slams on the brakes and almost hits another car, just so the guy could yell out the window, "Hey man, you want some speakers?" I feel kind of bad that there are people trying to make a living this way, driving around all day looking for potential customers. I also feel bad that they must be somewhat successful because the scam has been going on for so many years now.
 

Chris Moe

Screenwriter
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Jun 12, 2002
Messages
1,087
This happened to me many years ago when I was in my teens and the crazy part was they were parked in my driveway.

I saw this big white van parked in our driveway (we share our driveway with another house) so I went out to see what was going on. They told me the typical story, overstock that there bosses told them to unload and they could keep the money. They even showed me an invoice and I totally fell for it, luckily for me I couldn't get the money though.

This scam has been going on for years and years, this was at least 12 years ago.
 

Shane Bos

Second Unit
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Jun 15, 2002
Messages
256
It happened to me in the Costco parking lot it was a white mini-van. I had the windows down and the music up, maybe that's why I got the pitch.
 

Chris

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I went to go pick up a check from a major client a few weeks ago, but unfortunately they are in the trainyards, so not the best area of town.. anyway, I get out and we're on our wayhome.. stopped at a light, someone approaches my wife's window and yells at us "hey, I got some tamales and some roast beef in my car.. but I need a ride. Wanna trade?"

The guy was visibly shaking and we'll just say.. unless that food was made of crack, he probably didn't have any. We sped off and I turned to the wife to tell her "see, honey, you thought when we moved to KC you'd miss all the joys of Miami. But there you go, an honest to god crackhead." :)
 

Carlo_M

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Oct 31, 1997
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I'm with Holadem. It's gotta be a white van. :D

Oh, and it's bonus points if the guy speaks with a surfer accent. Back in the mid-90s when I was in college a guy in a white van pulls up and says "Hey bra, you want some speakers?"

And all I could think of was "why the hell is he calling me a bra?" :crazy:
 

brentl

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May 7, 1999
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"Oh, and it's bonus points if the guy speaks with a surfer accent"

So I'm not eligible because I live in Toronto? What aboot a Newfy accent?

Brent
 

Scott McGillivray

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 20, 1999
Messages
932
So, has anyone actually bought these speakers? Are they the real deal or knock-offs? Obviously they are stolen, but is there more to the scam or just some guys fencing hot goods?

Oh, Brentl, I believe it is spelled "Newfie". We don't want to piss off the islanders! :)
 

Leo Hinze

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Jan 15, 1999
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I can't find the link right now, but they're not usually stolen. They are just REALLY cheaply made. Say, for example, the speakers cost $25 to manufacture. The 'salesman' in the white van then represents them as being a really expensive brand of speakers, that retail for around $1000, but you can have them for only $250. If they get you to buy, they just sold their product for 10 times what it cost to make.

Edit: Here's a link: White Van Scam
 

BrianW

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Jan 30, 1999
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Real Name
Brian
I know a guy (Not me! Really!) who bought some of these. Leo's right. They were made from 3/8" flake board, masonite, and hot-melt glue. I could have built a similar pair for less than $25. For another $25, I could have used real veneer instead of wood-grained contact paper.

I was approached in a Home Depot parking lot by guys in a white van about ten years ago. I told them that I could buy a similar set of speakers right there inside Home Depot in their Home Theater department for similar cost and get six months, no payments/no interest if I put it on my Home Depot account. One of the guys said, "No ****!" and went in to check it out. :laugh:

Am I in the club?
 

Lee L

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 26, 2000
Messages
868
A few years ago, some white van guys approached a staffer from Home Theater Magazine and he bought a couple. They did the usual tests and then took them apart. They pretty much concluded that they were about as cheaply made as any set of speakers they had ever seen, but they would make sound that was recognizable as music. I think they didn't even have a crossover in there, just wire everything back to the spring clip terminals.
 

Dave Poehlman

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Mar 8, 2000
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Ahhh... the White Van Speaker guys... it must be Spring time!

I've been hit up twice... once in a Home Depot parking lot. I remember saying "no thanks, I like to build my own". The guy looked at me as if I were from Mars. "Build your own!??!" he said. Then they drove off. I suspect the driver probably said something to the effect of, "stay away from those guys"

They like to make you think the speakers are stolen, so you think you're getting a good deal.
 

brentl

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May 7, 1999
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"I believe it is spelled "Newfie". We don't want to piss off the islanders"

You're right, I stand corrected EH!

Brent
 

James T

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 8, 1999
Messages
1,643
They're always across the street from where I work. And one time, one of my co-workers was asked about it and he(stupidly) screamed at the top of his lungs that he doesn't "want any stolen speakers". Then a week later, his brother was asked(probably by the same van) and he was actually considering it, then he realised he had no money. They then told him he could get money from the ATM. He was smart enough to refuse at that point.
 

Scott McGillivray

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 20, 1999
Messages
932
Well, to be technically correct it would be "Newfoundland and Labridorian" since the province changed its name.

Newfoundland Name Change

But hey, what do I know? I am just a banjo-playing stubble-jumper! :D

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread...
 

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