One of the smartest audio purchases I have ever made was a Yamaha DM2000, however, how I went about getting it bordered on one of the dumbest stunts I have ever survived.
I knew I wanted the DM2k when it was first advertised, however getting one proved to be extremely difficult in the first year. It seemed that only a handful of dealers had them and were selling them ABOVE retail by almost three thousand dollars. So one day, you can imagine my surprise and glee to see one for sale on Ebay!
I outbid everyone ($14,000.00) but did not make the minimum. So, I sent an email to the seller asking to know how much he wanted for the console. He said he would take $14,500.00 and I said, deal. I had experienced a few small issues on Ebay before that and wanted to make sure that I was not getting ripped off by this person. I had him send me two phone numbers, his mailing address (no post box) and a copy of his driver's license. After getting enough info on the guy to feel safe, I cut him a check for $14,500.00.
Then the fun began.
Everything went hunky dory until the day that the console was supposed to arrive via UPS. No console. I called Jason (his real name) and asked what had happened. He said we had a problem, in that the console was slightly damaged by UPS and they were holding it temporarily to file an insurance claim. Oh boy. I told him to send me the UPS documents for the claim and he did. I waited patiently for a couple of weeks, calling him every couple of days to stay in touch.
Things then started to get hairy. Another shipment did not arrive and he started getting harder to get in touch with. I told him to send me a check for $14,500.00, I would hold it until the console arrived and then I would send it back to him. He sent me a check. But another couple of weeks went by and no console.
I started getting very suspicious. I called the bank the check was made out from and they never heard of him or his company. Shit. I scanned his documents into Photoshop and blew them up. They were forges. Every time something like this happened, he had some kind of semi plausible story about why this thing or another was delayed or didn't work. At one point, I received an email from his wife saying he had been in a car accident and would be in the hospital for a few days. I called and a female confirmed that story. Finally he told me that he had been paid by UPS for the console but that they had kept it. He said he was going to buy another one from Sweetwater and mail it to me the next day.
I was about ready to take things into my own hands and had called the Indiana State Police to report a potential Internet fraud case. I filed the info and waited for a return call from a detective. I filed a case with the FBI for interstate fraud. I also called Sweetwater and talked to a manager. They don't sell DM2000's at Sweetwater. Damn.
I was going out of my mind and my poor staff was taking the brunt of the damage. Something had to be done.
Jason kept swearing that he had bought the console privately from a Sweetwater salesman, and it was in route to me via UPS. I checked the tracking number and sure enough, there it was, in Indianapolis on it's way to Maryland. Ok, now were getting somewhere. The next day it was in Pennsylvania on it's way to Hunt Valley and everything seemed to be fine.
On the Wednesday that it was to arrive, I kept the UPS tracking page open on my computer throughout the day, checking on it every half an hour or so. While I waited for it to arrive, I got a call back from the Indiana State police detective. He told me that while I might think that $14k was a lot of money, in reality it wasn't! If it was fraud, it would probably never get pursued. In any case my money was gone if so.
Meanwhile, the package arrived in Hunt Valley and was on the truck to be delivered to my door. Yes!
Then, all of a sudden, the tracking software said, RETURNED, Wrong Address! Damn!!! I jumped in my MR2 and flew to Hunt Valley. I stormed into the UPS office told them they were holding evidence in a FBI fraud case and I needed it and all information regarding it immediately. They looked at me like I was nuts, but there was a room full of people who now all wanted to know what was going on. A manager came out with a puny little box and handed it to me along with printouts of all their data relating to that shipment. My heart sank. I truly was being ripped off. There were two little computer speakers in the box.
I called my wife, who was in Philadelphia for the week and told her I was going to Indiana and would call her in a day or so. I then went home and packed. I did a Yahoo map to the guys house and it was 14 hours. I would drive through the night, sleep one hour between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM and arrive at dawn. I would catch him in his jammies and scare the living crap out of him. I would either get my money or deliver him to the local police.
I took no weapons. I don't like jail.
When I got to his house, there was a nice Infinity QX4 sitting in the driveway with Michigan plates. I knew I was in the right place because Jason's drivers license was from Michigan. I blocked the SUV in with my car and cleaned out the road trash from the passengers side. I then took out my video camera and made a movie of the front and back of his place. I looked for escape routes and when I was ready, I knocked on the door.
When the guy finally came down, in his jammies and rubbing his eyes, I told him "Jason, you know who I am, get out here". He was about 25 years old and about thirty pounds heavier than I but I knew I could take him if I had to. He came outside and I explained a few things to him. I won't go too far into the details but he knew that I was not talking shit. He had two choices, my money or jail. He went back inside to get dressed so we could go and get the money. I waited outside, walking back and forth from his front door to his back door in case he tried to bolt.
When he came out he was holding a stack of papers and looking white as a sheet.He said he did not have the money, but would I please take his car?!!! He had used mine and someone else's money to but it with cash and was trying to sell it to pay me back. More stories. I told him no, but he eventually convinced me that we could take it to a dealership and sell it to get my money back. He had paid $21,000.00 for it.
Se we went to a dealership. It turned out that all the buyers from all the local dealerships were in Chicago buying cars at auctions. My next option was to try to drive it back. Jason offered to drive the Infinity if I would get him a plane ticket back to Indiana. That was cheaper than trailering. So I went to a hotel and slept for one hour. I met Jason and we left for Maryland. We stopped for one hour in Ohio and otherwise drove on though. When we got to my office, one of my staff, not knowing that Jason was sitting around the corner, made a comment about what he would like to do to Jason's face. Jason waited outside.
I then put him on a plane. Between Wednesday morning and Friday evening, I had three hours sleep in three, one hour increments. My mental stability was in question.
My wife loves that car.
I then bought the DM2000 for $17,500.00 from Manny's in New York... like a good boy. I love that console.
Best Regards,
Bill