Cool Snap-On wrench story

[bluebolt]

Even though this is my story I think it's cool and figured I would pass it along. I have various Snap-On tools listed on the local Craigslist and since many of them were older I took the time to list part numbers and date codes. One of the tools I had listed was a Bluepoint B-1351-A 3/16 x 1/4 open end wrench used to adjust the brakes on old jeeps. I have ahd this ad up for a bit and no action. Then last week I get an email.

"Hi,
I'am interessed in the above tool you are offering on the internet.
How can I pay you and are you willing to ship to my country (Holland).
Thanks in advance for an answer and best regards,
Michel"

Well the first thing I thought was "scammer" but after some thought it looked legit. So I replied back saying I would ship. Asked guy if he had a Jeep and he said he had a 1945 Willys MB. Cool!

Also asked how he found my Craigslist ad, he Googled the part number and it was on the first page!

Shipping turned out to be fairly cheap at 8 bucks, wrench itself was $20. I have seen these wrenches hit more on Ebay but considering the fees I ended up making about the same money.

So shipped it off last Thursday right at closing time. After hearing some of the horror stories about shipping on here I wire tied the wrench to a a piece of cardboard which also had his address and telephone number on it as well as mine. Even if the package got damaged that wrench wasn't coming out and if the package was shredded they should stil be able to figure it out.

So today I got an email from him.

"Hi Brien,

The wrench has arrived today! It was well packed.

I’am very satisfied with this nice example. Those tools are not that easy to find in Holland anymore.

Glad we have the internet.
Here a picture of my jeep, it’s a Willys MB from 1945
just finished her a few days ago.
Thanks again and best regards from Holland ,
Michel."

 

[CD1]

Awesome, for both you and Michel in Holland.

Did you introduce him to this forum? I'm sure he'd find the info here invaluable.

 

[kered]

Nice story

But can I just ask, why the first thing you thought of was "scammer" ?

It seems from some past experiences I have had, that a lot (but not all it must be said) of U.S. based sellers are very reluctant to deal with overseas buyers & in many cases regard us as "scammers" & I've often wondered where this impression comes from !

 

[lbgradwell]

Cool story. Glad the wrench found its way to that Willys...

 

[Sancho]

Very cool story! Its great to see something come together like that from around the world.

Nice story

But can I just ask, why the first thing you thought of was "scammer" ?

It seems from some past experiences I have had, that a lot (but not all it must be said) of U.S. based sellers are very reluctant to deal with overseas buyers & in many cases regard us as "scammers" & I've often wondered where this impression comes from !

CL is rife with such scams from supposed people overseas offering XYZ. The most notable is blah blah blah we'd like to send you a check for $3k for the wrench, please take your $20 and send us the rest back via bankwire or western union. I would guestimate I get 1 in 4 of my listings hit with one of these emails.

The other side is mail tracking and being able to confirm delivery, I faced an issue with that where I lost a high end piece of audio equipment going into shanghai. It was a mess.

 

[RKSpeed]

Very cool story, especially involving a military jeep

 

[byoungblood]

It is usually pretty easy to distinguish the scammers from the legit people who need something shipped on CL. Typically most of the scammers (at least the automated ones) ask pretty vague questions off the bat (how much is it? Look in the ad!!) or when they reply back they claim to be buying it for a 3rd party and want to send some exhorbitant extra amount in shipping, etc.

I've just started asking people to cut and paste my phone number in the ad if replying by e-mail. Filters out about 99% of the scammers.

 

[north]

Cool story and cool jeep. If I recall correctly a lot of the Jeeps sold off by norwegian military in the 80's went to Holland.

 

[bluebolt]

Nice story

But can I just ask, why the first thing you thought of was "scammer" ?

It seems from some past experiences I have had, that a lot (but not all it must be said) of U.S. based sellers are very reluctant to deal with overseas buyers & in many cases regard us as "scammers" & I've often wondered where this impression comes from !

Too many people are just trying to get your email address. An interested party telling me a little more info helps me trust them better, in this instance for example mentioning he had a WWII jeep. I automatically delete the generic "is this still available" emails. If someone is serious about wanting it they will call, thats why I put my number in the ad.

 

[american lockpicker]

Awesome story.