Good to Go or Warning?

[Secguru]

I don't know what to think of this guy! I found this beautiful 1987 Avion 34V (rear bath and twin beds) in excellent condition on ebay, listed for $17,900 (buy it now price).

Exceptional Vintage 1987 AVION 10.6 Meter Airstream Aircraft Travel Trailer Exceptional Vintage 1987 AVION 10.6 Meter Airstream Aircraft Travel Trailer | eBay

It is listed by Vintage Airstream Classifieds | New & Used Airstream Trailers For Sale However he has figured out how to manipulate ebay listings so that he never has to show bids! He simply declines all bids! This assures that only his "Buy It Now" price is ever shown. And, boy are his "Buy It Now" prices high! I tracked this unit for 2 weeks to the end of its sale and found that it closed without ever showing a bid.

Does anyone know anything about Vintage-Airstream? Is this guy legit? He has some beautiful units, but I seem to remember hearing that some Airforum members have had bad experiences, though maybe I'm getting him confused with somebody else. I'd like to buy a unit from somebody who does a good "quick finish" job to an otherwise pretty good condition Airstream or Avion, but I don't want to be burned by a bad seller.

Any thoughts on this guy? No flames on him please, I just would like to be encouraged or warned, whichever may be appropriate.

BTW, the seller simply relisted the same Avion at the same "Buy It Now" price after the listing ended. Holy Cow!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=180907413881

And, he declined $17,500! (A fact which was not disclosed until after the bids closed.)

http://offer.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/...m=180892021392

So, he declines all bids lower than his "Buy It Now" price and does not have to disclose his bids until after the bids close. By that time, he has a new listing at the same price on the same unit on ebay, so no one is likely to ever see the bid history. Very tricky!

[AWCHIEF]

How about this one by the same broker: 1967 Airstream Caravel For Sale | Vintage Airstream Classifieds asking $69,995 for a 1967 Caraval.

[Secguru]

I think the price depends on the trailer and its condition. I understand if he has put significant time, materials and effort into a restoration. But the Avion does not look restored. The most he has done appears to be tires, some possible repairs and a really good detail job.

This price is about double what others in nearly as good condition are going for.

My concern is doing business with him. Something seems tricky about the way he does business, not transparent at all. To me, a lack of transparency could indicate a willingness to deceive. And that is a character trait that I think would imply itself into all of his dealings, not just how he prices the trailers.

I don't know. This is a really good trailer, but... Somehow I think the saying on my avatar to the left gets to the heart of the problem.

[Splitrock]

It's an ad not an auction.

[Secguru]

It certainly appears that he is using ebay (an auction site) as an advertising venue. I'm just concerned that everything about the way he does business seems to be disingenuous.

I have no dog in this. I want to buy a primo Avion 34V at a fair price from a reputable dealer or private party. This price seems very high and I'm not so sure about his ethics. That worries me if I should buy a trailer from him.

[purman]

It's a buy it now offering. I don't believe any offers are shown when someone makes one. And it is up to the seller to accept them or not. And he doesn't even have a make offer tab. So it's a proper listing and I don't think he is doing anything funny. Just asking way to much.

[Secguru]

OK, I don' know why this was gnawing at me, but I looked into him further. Here's what I found:

Vintage Airstream - Fraud and scam on vintage - airstream dot com

and

http://www.scambook.com/report/view/53763/Vintage-airstream-LLC----vintage-airstream.com-Complaint-53763-for-$20,000.00

and

Vintage-airstream.com Complaints, Reviews - Scam and fraud

and

Vintage-airstream.com. SCAM and FRAUD

There are many more reports. These are just a few. So, apparently, he is a well known scammer. I just had a feeling. I'm glad I didn't go for this trailer. It's beautiful though.

[AWCHIEF]

This is the contents of an e-mail I received from the owner (apparently) of the site in question:

"Dear awchief,

You have received a new private message at Vintage Airstream Forums | The Airstream Information Resource from cortés, entitled "exposure".

To read the original version, respond to, or delete this message, you must log in here:
http://forum.vintage-airstream.com/private.php

This is the message that was sent:
***************
Just a bit of friendly advice.....

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f495/good-to-go-or-warning-92516.html#post1161535

This is an ad placed by a private party, listing their own private property for sale.
Private individuals have the personal freedom to put whatever price they want
on their own property when they choose to sell. It has nothing whatsoever to do
with me.

I would be very careful with what/who I got involved in over there because there
is very clearly a disparagement agenda being pushed.

This entire thread and its contents have been turned over to an attorney.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f318/greg-gibson-lawsuit-wbcci-air-forums-36-individuals-89375.html
***************

Again, please do not reply to this email. You must go to the following page to reply to this private message:
http://forum.vintage-airstream.com/private.php

All the best,
Vintage Airstream Forums | The Airstream Information Resource"

Sounds like a threat to me.