Funny. I saw two guys selling speakers in a Van.

[minye]

Today, when I was walking in the parking lot of a shopping mall, a van stopped beside me and 2 guys asked me if I want speakers. I know from this web site that there are those "Van Speaker" sellers...and I can still remember the brand might be "Pro Audio" or something like that. I laughed and, of course, said no to them. I feel funny that this also happen to me up here in Toronto. When I came our from a store, I saw them speaking to some other people and showing a brochure with " $1299.00 " "MTX"... The van ran around the parking lot, moved towards its "targets" for a while and then left.

[audio_dude]

yeah, i hate those @ss holes that end up tricking so many people, it just makes me sad...

[calegrant]

If your dumb enough to buy speakers from two chumps in a white van, and spend over a grand at that they're one of two things. Either stolen in which case you don't wanna get your hands dirty (in a mall parking lot, get them to follow you somewhere ) or they're a scam. Sometimes it takes a kick in the ass to smarten you up.

[Mike Anderson]

The white van thing definitely isn't an urban legend. In my college days, I actually bought a pair of speakers from a guy in a white van.

I only paid $100 for 'em though, and he actually let me listen to them first. They sounded OK, so I said what the hell. They were probably hot.

I still have them in fact, although they don't get much play.

[minye]

I think you made no mistake with $100 to buy it. But I believe many people would think it a steal to get a pair of $1299 listed speakers by $300. That is times what you had paid...

I really wonder how much those speakers would cost...

[Mike Anderson]

^^^ Oh I agree completely.

The encounter I had was kind of funny. The guy I ran into was on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, and he said he had this great deal on these speakers, literally in his white van. I still remember exactly what he looked like -- tall and skinny, with one of those stubby little Euro-style bicycle racing caps on his head.

If I recall correctly, he was implying that these particular speakers were very high-end, and his boss had given him several extra pairs by accident that he had to get rid of ASAP or return to inventory.

I didn't believe him for a second, but I actually got him to bring them back to my apartment and hook them up to my stereo!!! I switched them out several times with whatever cruddy speakers I had going at the time, and decided they sounded OK, so why not try to strike a deal.

So I hemmed and hawwed over them, "Jeez, I dunno man...", how do I know they're for real, are they stolen, said they didn't sound as good as the speakers I already had (I was thinking of putting them in another room at the time), going on and on. This whole process took quite a long time.

Finally the guy finally became completely exasperated and gave me the rock-bottom $100 price on it, and I said OK.

Granted, they're not the best sounding speakers in the world, but they have lasted > 10 years now, even though I've hauled them across the country in moving vans a couple times, yet they still work fine, so the construction wasn't all that bad...

The funny thing was that at the time I kind of felt sorry for the salesman after putting him through all that. Knowing now that he was a ripoff artist who sort of missed his mark, I don't feel bad at all.

Anyone wanna buy them? $100 and they're yours.

[basite]

I think you made no mistake with $100 to buy it. But I believe many people would think it a steal to get a pair of $1299 listed speakers by $300. That is times what you had paid...

I really wonder how much those speakers would cost...

or they end up with a Divinci 'system'

(and then they come to the forum and get laughed at...)