I am inquiring to see if anyone has dealt with Farm and Harvest Machinery LLC in Del Mar, California. There prices seem to good to be true. Just trying not to get scammed. Any input on this is greatly appreciated
I hope your read this before you lose money. The company is a SCAM!!! I lost almost $10K on the scam. I saw the ad for a JD tractor on FB and asked for a quote. Did everything thru email. Emails, quote sheet, contract...everything was professional. Not like the Nigerian prince scams of a few years ago. Company website is VERY professional. Great family business story. VERY convincing to it's legitimacy. I did several web searches to see if the company was a scam. Came up empty. I was convinced it was legit. So convinced that even when I started to get clues that it was a scam, I didn't believe it. I wired the 50% payment. A couple hours later they emailed and said the payment didn't arrive. THAT IS WHEN I KNEW I WAS SCAMMED! TOO LATE!! Call them a few times and ask questions. Ask the same question a few times. You will hear a voice with a cadence that is a little off and the replies to your questions will be the EXACT SAME PHRASES. Ask to speak to a supervisor. They are always out of the office. Wish I had recognized the clues before I lost a chunk of money. Scammers are getting better and better all the time. A I is making very convincing websites and emails. They don't have the voice down. Yet, but that is coming. Then we're really in trouble. BTW, your post was the first time I saw anything questioning the company. Hopefully this helps you and others from getting shafted. Too late for me though. Ugh.
Thank you very much. I did not do anything yet. But this is greatly appreciated.
You're welcome and I'm happy you didn't get scammed like I did. One other thing that I didn't think of at the time...their bank. It is NOT a traditional brick and mortar bank. I didn't think anything of it at the time because internet banks are a thing. But one thing you CAN'T DO, is call them and ask them about an account holder. You can email them and wait several days to maybe get an answer. So look at who the bank is for online vendors. I'm going to drive 90 minutes to a Kubota dealer and an hour to a Yanmar dealer to see their wares in person.
Got more news for you. I still think this is a scam, BUT, I got my money back. I entered a wrong digit in the account number, so the bank returned my money. Farm and Harvest called me this morning, and the A I voice is pretty good. Always says things to make you think they are legit. I think I'm going to head over to Del Mar next week to check it out in person. Then I'll know for sure. Yes, the deals they advertise are really good. And maybe too good to be true. I'll let you know what I find out.
Why does the Kubota have John Deere green arms on their front page - Other pictures are obviously AI. The one with the Cat mini-excavator is clearly not in Oregon. The hair on the back of your neck should be standing up on this one. Buyer BEWARE. Side note - we have had some major issues with DOS attacks from fake websites selling equipment on this forum so if anyone posts a link to their website here this thread will be zapped. Thanks in advance - CM.
Didn't even notice the arms on that one. FYI, the business the OP and I are discussing is in CA, not OR. Yes, there is a business in Lakeview, OR of the same name. I did some searching for more info on that business, like a phone number, but came up empty. Couldn't find anything to connect both businesses to each other, but not being able to find a phone number on goo-gle is strange, right? I did a Tineye search on several pics. Only 1 was found...from Craigslist in Anchorage. Couldn't get goo-gle reverse image search to work. IDK if that is good, bad or indifferent.
Did not say they were. There is a picture of a Cat mini-ex they supposedly sold to a customer in Oregon that is clearly not in Oregon if you look close enough at the picture.
K. Didn't understand your meaning when you said OR. Thought you meant the other business. Appreciate you clarifying. And now that I looked at that pic, it looks kinda odd, right? Or is it my eyes?
I think this picture shows a John Deere 5090EN in Brazil rather than a 5060E in Springfield, MO as claimed... The more I look at the website the weirder it feels...
Here are the original images from their reviews.
That's real smart, you buy a tractor and then stand with the sales person under a fully raised loader. Doesn't seem too smart.
When the prices are too good to be true, it's always a scam. Buy what you can go look at, and place your hands on. Every piece of equipment is for sale on the Internet, and all the dealers know what market value is, none of them are leaving money on the table that they don't have to. No one should send money without looking at the equipment, or paying a third party to inspect it. I do purchase some things without looking at them, but only if I know the seller. Google satellite the physical location, and call a local dealer to perform a inspection if you can't physically go look. If the seller says you have to put money down to hold it, you know it's a scam.
Lakeview Ore? probably isn't even incorporated with a population of 2,100 or so. It's wide spot in the road.
Good find. Yep this is a scam site. The little Cat mini is in Tasmania. One cannot buy that Toyota Hilux in the US.
It helps a lot to post these things on here but if it is a scam would you please contact law enforcement to at the very least get it recorded. When enough complaints get made at least there is a pattern identified in a legal data base so that criminal and civil proceedings have enough evidence to hold criminals accountable.
Forgot to add these last night. Street View · Google Maps Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps. maps.app.goo.gl Google Maps Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. maps.app.goo.gl
Noticed something in the photo of the guys standing under a loader . Why does that tractor have what appears to be a PTO and part of a 3 point hitch, under the front end? Hummmm??
here's a link for it. Zuidberg zuidberg.com
John the sad part is it probably would not matter as these scammers are more than likely located overseas outside US jurisdiction. This is a multi-billion dollar scam ran by thieves located all over the world. They pick a unsuspecting equipment dealer or remote location or in this instance an office building in Cali. They launch a website with great deals and only deal over the phone or via email. They block calls within a days drive in order to keep people from dropping in to see the fake equipment they don't have for sale. They breed on peoples greed and the "man I'm getting a great deal" that is always too good to be true. They keep a victim on the hook long enough for them to wire some money that ultimately ends up in a foreign bank account and gone for ever. After they get the victims money they cut off all communication. I'll say this every time one of these sites come up - Wiring money is a one and done - once it's gone, it's GONE, GONE with no recourse of getting it back. As others have said if you cannot put your hands on the iron or have someone you really trust put their hands on it NEVER send payment, a down payment or a deposit fee - EVER.
And they will continue to operate because no one does anything about it. The case I worked had a scammer in Florida who was eventually convicted of fraud. I filed the police reports for the people who were scammed. People assumed nothing would get done and might have just let it go on and on. The guy didn't get the punishment that he should have gotten and I don't think anyone got their money back but the guy is no longer advertising rebuilt Cat engines all over the world. Has any of this made it into the people who write law? No because no one actually reports it. It doesn't get into the news and there is no public outcry and no leverage put on law makers and the pimple just keeps getting bigger. The worst of all this is that it happens most to the people who can least afford it. At least get the incident on the record somewhere.
I asked a well regarded member of a motorcycle forum I'm on to visit the Del Mar office today. Here is a pic of the company office. It is actually an art gallery. So, yeah, I'd say it is a scam. According to the ladies that work in the gallery, the police and FBI told them until someone loses money, LE and the FBI can't do anything. BTW, the guy I asked to visit was the second person today that went to check these guys out in person. View attachment IMG_6633.jpeg .
Would you mind sharing how you found those? Tineye didn't do much for me when I used it to search the pics.
That’s pretty common in Europe. It would appear at first glance to be an AI error but it’s a real thing. My new holland tractor has a provision for a front PTO but is not equipped with it.
Could be for front mounted snow blower, not many of them in your backyard.
Did you not believe it was a scam earlier? It was pretty obvious.
What did you see that makes it pretty obvious? The incredibly low prices? I did everything I could think of the check out the company. When I thought about it afterward, I think I wanted very badly for it to be real. Even with all the clues I mentioned above, I still didn't want to believe it was a scam. Now when I see a price too good to be true, I just keep looking.
First you said you were scammed, then you seemed to try and forgive the fake company. After it was confirmed to be a scam you still didn't believe it.
I hope that isn't what I wrote, 'cause once it was conformed, I definitely believed it. That's why I filed a report with my local PD the day before my money was returned and followed up with them when I received the pic of the office. Do I wish it wasn't a scam? Yes,'cause the prices are great. But it is fake. I'd really like to know what made it so obvious to you. Or do you mean it was obvious after you read thru everything in the thread?
Sorry, but it is a trade secret ...
Dave like I learned before you're next to godlike with your scam detection. But once again it is good that he posted that image so other, less experienced, people can see what they are up against.
^^^This right here is what they are counting on to screw people out of their hard earned money. Everyone thinks they've found the deal of lifetime and all they see is the money savings. There is a reason this is a very old saying - "If it looks to good to be true it probably isn't." As far as the website goes it took me less than 5 minutes of going through the site to tell it was a scam. It's not hard - just go to the pics of the equipment for sale and pay close attention to what's in the background.
It sounded like a scam from Gotscammed's first post, the 2nd in the thread. There's been enough scams revealed on the forum it's not very hard to recognize new ones. When equipment is half the price it's very rare for it to be legit. Maybe I've read more threads about scams than others so can see the same pattern that scammers use. I hate seeing people get scammed.
Farm & Harvest got me for $18300.00. The day The tractor was supposed to be delivered I got an e mail that the driver was in a wreck and the tractor was damaged. Said my money would be refunded but it never happened.
Holy crap, that really sucks!
Same thing happened to a guy used to work with. Delivery truck in a wreck, tractor damaged, BUT for another $3000 he could upgrade to a shinier, bigger John Deere tractor... He made another wire transfer.......One born every minute.
Wow. Now that's dumb. My own father who is a very smart man that was a very successful business owner almost fell for a similar scam because he is such a tight wad. He was telling me that he found a Milwaukee 18 volt set, forgot the arrangement but ya'll know the type. Normally this set would sell in the $600 range however he "found" a "new" one on line for less than $300. Fortunately he doesn't buy things online himself so he told his girlfriend to order it. Thankfully she looked at it, said something is not right and did not buy it. A few days later he was telling me about it and showed me the website. I told him that's a scam. He replied "but it's 1/2 price!". And that's why the scam still works over and over again..
This guy was not the sharpest crayon in the box, but was so convinced this deal was legit he convinced another guy, the head of maintenance at the feed mill into "buying" a tractor as well, same result. First clue of a scam should have been the "no sales tax" deal in New York State. Once again If It's Too Good To Be True...........
All this discussion is why I don't bash too much on Ritchie Bros and their massive organization. While RB has its issues, I'm fairly confident if I buy something from their website, it's legit. I can't say that for Honest_John's_Equipment.com.