I do not buy online much but have been looking for a tractor. I found one on Craigslist and the seller has listed it through a 3rd party seller called Directive Consignment Store. There is quite a bit of info on them online. all positive.
They do not answer their phones based on lack of staff.
After reading lots of reviews on multiple websites I felt more comfortable with them and made a bid. I negotiated with the seller and he eventually accepted my offer. DCS needed a picture of my Drivers License to verify my identity and address.
They requested a bank to bank to xfer, so I went to my bank today and they are saying to be careful. I have not wired the money but I supposedly have a “contract” to purchase.
They claim to have about 12 warehouse locations around the country and some in Canada. When I look up the location addresses they list, they are all malls or different businesses other than DCS.
Did I make a huge mistake sending them a picture of my Drivers license? Anyone know this company?
What are the terms for Delivery?
Apparently you are being asked to pay in advance??
Will you go to inspect it. Are you buying sight unseen?
I have never bought a tractor… I imagine you are talking over $20,000
For that I would go there inspect it… see who you are dealing with, arrange for shipping and pay upon pick up.
There seems to be many things that can go wrong here.
An aside: I purchased a new John Deere tractor and flail mower a decade ago but bought it through the dealer. I probably would have gone with a used tractor but JD had a deal (which has been brought back on various models) where you allow them to deduct from your checking account each month. Although that sounds a bit scary, in reality you end up with a 0% loan over the period. Here is their current rate: 0% APR fixed rate for 72 month.
You might look at various deals from new sellers to see if the total deal may be within your price range. Also, local tractor businesses may now of someone wanting to sell something local to you.
Now another aside: I am not on the mainland, so we have issues with shipping and costs of things. I went to the local JD dealer to buy an expensive group of parts. Their quote for the OEM parts brought to their store on island was $1500. I checked online and founds a parts store for less. I did my due diligence and found that they too were JD dealers in the mid west. I reviewed their site, reviews from customers and had my tractor expert friends help. We all agreed that the company was well respected and so on. I paid by credit card for the same list of parts and shipping. Because of the total cost I also got a free hat. Anyway, same parts, same delivery to the island (in one case to the local dealer, in the other by truck to my farm). I saves 1/3 the cost! $1500 vrs $1000. The local dealer has multiple stores and I guess we may be supporting the rest. In any event, I saved $500 for the same parts and delivery. Both companies have salesmen and stores and so on, but jacking the price up by $500 just caused me to never buy the parts locally unless there is no other way.
So besides checking prices and quality of a tractor, also see who can service it and how difficult it is to get parts.
By the way, my tractor was $13,000 and then about $3,000 for the mower.
Yes, indeed it is a scam. Unfortunately, I fell for it by trying to buy a Honda Pioneer 1000-5. I should have seen the warning signs. They had a bank account in Coral Gables, FL at BMO Harris Bank.