Indexes
February 8th, 2010
February 6th, 2010
February 5th, 2010
February 4th, 2010
February 3rd, 2010
February 2nd, 2010
February 1st, 2010
The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.
- Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
- Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
- President Obama's first year (45)
- Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
- Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
- Writer comments on Neely column (42)
- The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
- Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
- We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
- Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)
ADVERTISEMENT
My estate sale was an eye-opener
Saturday, August 29, 2009 7:19 AM PDT
My recent estate sale was an eye-opener to scams.
I don't sell anything that does not work or is torn. This was a sale of all my aunt's worldly possessions to help pay her care for Alzheimer's.
The first scam included a Craftsman leaf blower I sold in good working condition for a very reasonable price. Two hours later, when I was busy handling other customers, the man returned the blower saying it didn't work. I didn't question it or look at the blower closely — I just returned the money. Later, when it had slowed down, I looked closer at the blower and discovered it wasn't the one I sold. This person exchanged the blower with one that looked similar and didn't work.
The second scam consisted of a lady pushing a stroller and her four children. They came up into the garage and blocked my view of my more expensive tools with the stroller. She proceeded to nickel and dime me over a complete set of sheets and a Jansport backpack while her four children were under tables and getting into everything. After deciding to buy the $3 sheets, she paid with nickels, dimes and quarters she had to dig out of the stroller — bent down in front where I could not see what she was doing. When she paid with the coins, I counted the change while she is stood by the table with the jewelry. When she left, an expensive new set of tools was missing right where she had kneeled down in the stroller, and an antique watch was gone.
The third scam: A dealer purchased an excellent condition tarp, which I measured to be 12'x11'4. This tarp didn't have a size tag on it, so I laid it out on the driveway to measure. While I was packing up to close, she brought it back in a big ball saying it was torn in the middle. I gave her back the money and carried the tarp to the back yard confused and wore out from the heat. Later, when I examined the tarp, it was not the one I sold. This tarp was shredded and had a tag on it saying the size was 12'x12'.
No more strollers in my driveway, and no more returns to anyone.
Karen Martin
Lodi
Search for Ads 
Today’s Print Ads 
RSS Feeds
Reader Feedback
shaggy wrote on Aug 30, 2009 10:34 AM:
And good advice 'Election Year'! I don't take anything over a 20 bill. "
sven31 wrote on Aug 30, 2009 9:43 AM:
They're probably sitting on their stolen couch watching their big stolen LCD widescreen (1080), cooking up a nice roast stolen from Albertson's in their big new stove purloined from an abandoned foreclosed house, driving around in a car they never registered, and using it to dump their lawn cuttings, home remodeling waste, and unwanted pets on to some farmers property rather than living their life right. You can be poor and have class or you can be these people. I'd rather be poor and buy your jewelry than steal it. "
edumacation wrote on Aug 30, 2009 9:03 AM:
election year wrote on Aug 29, 2009 9:48 PM:
It is always best to display items for sale outside of your CLOSED garage because is a prime opportunity for the dishonest individuals to see what valuables you have. "
max stanfield wrote on Aug 29, 2009 9:16 PM:
alf wrote on Aug 29, 2009 10:23 AM:
judy wrote on Aug 29, 2009 6:59 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.