Truck Flippers are scum.

[shp4man]

Most of these flipper jackasses don't even bother to clean the empty beer cans off the floor. They just say it's a "barn find". that "ran when parked".
They apparently don't have enough mechanical ability to pour some gas down the carb and hook a battery up to see if it even will start.
The sad part is some inexperienced but very enthusiastic buyer won't realize what a money pit this type of vehicle can become.
So ya. Flippers suck.

[abig84]

the world is infested with them, weather it be cars, trucks, houses, whatever. the local flea markets are full of them, you cant ever find good deals cause if there was any the other sellers bought them all and up'ed the prices. as much as i hate them im sure if i found a insane deal on a good truck i didnt want i would do the same thing. the few fixer upper's ive done in the past i at least went through the trouble of fixing the minor things and cleaning it up a bit

[bs46488]

I agree. Flippers are annoying.

But I run into a lot of people that are selling stuff (Craigslist) that are annoying and a pain to work with.

[hewittca]

I agree, straight up flipping is frustrating and takes away from others who genuinely want the truck but now can't afford it because you've tacked on your "finders fee" for pulling it out of someones barn and throwing it on Craigslist.

On the other hand, I am fine with those who find these trucks, fix the essentials, and then throw them up for sale. There are 3-4 guys who do this full time on GM trucks in my region. I admit though, they do make it difficult to catch a good deal on a truck because they snap up all the deals within days of being posted. Basically I've learned that if you are serious about buying something, you have to check CL every day or so and be willing to take a day off from work immediately to go check it out if a really good deal presents itself.

In my area, two of these flippers usually repair a few things and relist the trucks at fair prices. In fact, I bought my truck from one of these guys. I saw the truck first on CL for $3000 and wanted it bad, but this guy grabbed it before I could get out to see it on the weekend. Then what do you know, about two months later there it is again on CL, this time with a few things repaired and an asking price of $6000. To be fair, the original price was a steal (being sold by a widow), so I was okay with the new price coupled with the repairs. So, it can work out if you're still willing to give these guys a chance, go out to look and draw your own conclusion on the value of the truck, and realize that these guys are just trying to make a few bucks like the rest of us.

[shp4man]

Well I'm thinking the only way somebody can monitor Craigslist and the other ad sites 24 hours a day is if they don't work for a living, so in effect, you and I are supporting these douchebags.

Once again, flippers suck. They need to get a real job.

[leddzepp]

95% of these trucks you see for sale now are being flipped. Some don't even bother taking it off the trailer when they list it. Some relist so quickly that the original ad from the first seller hasn't even been deleted, so you can see how much the price has been raised. If I am seriously interested in purchasing a truck the first question out of my mouth is "How long have you owned it?" The response is usually "Just a couple weeks, my wife won't let me keep it" or some other cleche excuse.

[Spartan]

My experience with flippers is that they suck.
I can't fault them for finding a deal and reselling but if they are doing it full time they should stop skirting the law and get a dealership license.

In Oregon it's called title jumping and it's illegal.

[franken]

I search CL for project -ford and see tons of junk I want at the price I want to pay (not much). Luckily the garage, driveway, bedrooms are full so I can't buy anything big, but I still look.
I've bought a few things from CL that were obviously priced low and resold them but its rare.
Sure some posts are playing up the supposed rarity or barn find angle, but it takes seconds to notice.
If you don't like the price or the post, don't buy and move on. Why whine about it?
As far as reselling a vehicle w/ a signed but undated title, yeah, its sketchy, but lots of junk around here is no title at all. Facts of life.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by franken

I search CL for project -ford and see tons of junk I want at the price I want to pay (not much). Luckily the garage, driveway, bedrooms are full so I can't buy anything big, but I still look.
I've bought a few things from CL that were obviously priced low and resold them but its rare.
Sure some posts are playing up the supposed rarity or barn find angle, but it takes seconds to notice.
If you don't like the price or the post, don't buy and move on. Why whine about it?
As far as reselling a vehicle w/ a signed but undated title, yeah, its sketchy, but lots of junk around here is no title at all. Facts of life.

Right on!! Why cry about the guy that's able to make a buck? Quit hating. I have done it forever. Do it till I die.

[franken]

Ok, this is a first. Someone agrees with me...

[In The Ten Ring]

We could pass another law to address this........ Oh wait, apparently Oregon has....well more more law won't hurt then.

I have noticed the same panel on three craigslist pages, each time for more money.

They used to call them "traders," and these were guys where buying and selling was a hobby for them. Mostly I've noticed this with guns but this is a truck site so ya, you'll run into that.

What about the guys that flip houses? Should that be illegal too? Think about that for a moment.

The fact of the matter is, as long as items can be resold, you'll have this (there was a movement a couple of years ago to make reselling an item, ANY ITEM, illegal. Imagine that for a moment too). What do we do? Look harder or be ready to pay. I think it's just the "nature of the beast" or "can't beat 'em, join 'em." Become a title jumper yourself. I think pawn brokers come to mind along with gun stores and car dealerships. They take in items for very little (especially in the case of car trade-ins) and then sell those for much more.

[franken]

Spam

[shp4man]

None of this changes the fact that flippers suck. Accept the reality.

I can only hope this thread prevents some unsuspecting enthusiast from falling victim, and puts one these pirates out of business.

[Chevyland]

I personally don't mind guys who are flipping.
Yes they might buy low and sell higher. That is a good bussiness plan.
Most of the time they know what is desirable.
And all the power to them if they have the time to devote finding desirable stuff.
I have personally bought several Cheyenne Supers from flippers
Yes I paid more for them than they did.
But they found them, and were able to pass them on to me.
I would not have ended up with these trucks otherwise.

Another thing that comes to mind
Ticket scalping. I used to always do it in the 80''s-90's
Just stand in line, buy a bunch and resell at a markup
Now StubHub does it
If I want front row seats at any venue.
It is possible
Just go online and pay the price


FREE MARKET

The American way

This came from a flipper
He delivered to me, after he buffed out the original paint
I actually liked the guy
He's even nice enough to keep sending me more pictures of other cool stuff

[ebaccm26]

Nothing wrong with making a buck. No reason to call someone you don't know scum just because you are jealous.

[GR8-68]

Yep, pretty harsh statements, you do realize there are flippers that are on this site right ? My personal opinion is this post should be removed

[special-K]

I try to not make such blanket statements, everybody this, they all that. That's ain't me. The world ain't black & white, brudda. They's a wholotta grey in between.

I remember when flipping meant you got such a good deal on an opportunity to buy something you know is well worth more money you bought it to resell. It all depends on the personality type, and there are predatory types out there who only see others as someone to get something out of. Those are the bad flippers and the ones driving the cost of these trucks up every bit as much as Barrett-Jackass. "Hey, they wanted $XXXXX.xx for that old unrestored thing on craigslist. Look at that beauty on the block. Heck, it's worth $50k by the time you buy on and do it up like that".

I like flipper

[flashed]

I wish I could be a Flipper instead of a collector .I have bought some good cheap trucks before and I opted to sink a lot of money into them and keep them instead of flipping them .I would have more $$$ in my pocket if I flipped them but I would not have all my cool old trucks .

[leddzepp]

[Grumpy old man]

Every business you buy anything from can be considered a flipper , So some guy finds a deal on a truck , Loads his trailer ,buys it and hauls it a few hundred miles home ,Cleans it up ,makes it run and puts it back on the market for a reasonable $ amount considering his time and investment and that's a bad thing ?

Time ,fuel , equipment (truck and trailer ) Experience and tools to get all this done and their not entitled to make a profit ?

Let alone the considerable amount of time it took to find those deals ...

Be it that you owned it for ten minutes or ten years your still flipping it to the next owner . Every truck and part I own are for sale if you have the right amount of $

And then I'll just go buy a bunch more flipper deals with that pocket of fresh cash !

[slomotion]

The only thing that really bugs me about it is the guy that tries to low-ball me on my price telling me "...well, I have to make a profit too you know." I just tell them "not on my back you don't...." and thank them for stopping by.

[FleetsidePaul]

I guess I'm a reverse flipper...I buy high and sell low.

[ghalperin]

Caveat emptor

[100%Chevy]

Like said above-Everybody is a "Flipper"!
There are plenty who give it a bad reputation.You just have to decide who it is and don't deal with him.The cheaters really don't last long once the word gets out!
My best friend makes his living flipping cars/trucks/tools,just about anything.
He stays in business by being known for his honesty.
I've also gotten a few good deals from him myself.Usually something he doesn't want to spend too much time on,I get it cheap.
I have a Buy,
Sell,Trade account at the auto parts store because I trade a lot.
Gets me a small discount on parts.
It helps you a lot just knowing the value of what you're buying.Every car can be a different price according to many variables.
Depends on what you are wiling to pay for it!
Mike.

[71meangreenc10]

Two thoughts from me on this subject.

I don't mind the flippers, but the greedy ones are the ones I don't deal with. I see adds on CL here all the time and just a month ago there was a truck for $400 here with no engine and trash in it. Dude removed the trans and cleaned the trash out, now it is listed for $1800. What a country.....

The scammers are the worst. I have dealt with many who "can't remember" or "don't know" that the short bed they listed was a cut long bed or that they have no idea why the title is wrong or doesn't match the vin tag/ frame vin. The nerve of these folks to get mad when I start poking holes in their story....

The old saying "To good to be true" is alive and well in this industry. Get educated on these trucks or you will lose and spend a lot of unnecessary $$$$$$'s.

Smitty