Just wondering if any of you guys down in the Clear Lake, LaMarque, League City and Texas City area ever get approached about buying stolen stereo equipment. It never fails that if I am down in that part of the world working in a parking lot on my laptop, two guys always roll up in truck and offer to sell me home audio speakers... happens to me at least once a week... usually in the Lowes or Kroger parking lots in Tx City, Kroger in Laporte, Jack In the Box in Dickinson, Mall of the Mainland, Home Depot in Seabrook, etc etc....
Never the same two guys, but always have the same sales pitch about them finding them on a loading dock.... they get all scared when you mention whether its legal or not... had one dude get a little aggressive with me one day when I told him I wanted to check with the cops to make sure I could legitimately buy them.... hahaha.... just wanted to see their reaction... I got this new taser thingy since I cant carry my XD in any of the facilities and I REALLLLLLLY want to test it out... Any volunteers??
Been approached by them but not in the CL area in other parts of houston. I don't think it's stolen just cheap.
From Craiglist houston
Olin Ross OR860 Scammer in a Suv or a Van don't fall for it Scam (google "white van speaker scam" )
Reply to:
[email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-03-10, 9:37AM CDT
Olin Ross OR860 Olin Ross OR6050 Divinci D-710
Watch this Fox News report
http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=6186502
The speakers sold by the speakerfleas are of exceptionally poor quality,
typically obtained for less than $50 from a local distributor.
The speakers themselves have been reported as
potentially damaging to any amplifier they are connected to.
The risk of damage stems from an impedence curve that in some cases may drop
below 2 ohms, which may overheat, short out, or permanently damage an
amplifier not designed to handle such loads.
Guy in suv or van drives up to you has these $3000 speakers , extras ??
You can have em for a deal you can't pass up .
He will try to get you to give him $50 or more up to $1500.00 for these $40 china speakers.
Look out for the guy in the suv with the cock and bull story about
the extra home theater system he's got to unload.
He will tell you it's worth something crazy like 2000 or 3000 dollars
show all kinds of crap like receipts , invoices , magazines , ads sheets, etc.
He'll even point you to the company website to prove they are worth the 3 grand. Don't be fooled !
So when he lowers his price to $100.00 you'll think you got the deal of a lifetime. $3000 speakers for $ 100 bucks ,
no you got a crap set of $40 speakers and paid $100 or more for them.
Just do a search for "white van speakers" and you'll see that not only are
they worth only 40 bucks shipped from china , they may also be UNSAFE and damage your system.
Watch out for the speaker guys in suv's or pickup trucks and vans
selling home theater equipment.
Many of the sales take place in the parking lots of Best Buy, Home Depot, Circuit City , Banks ,
Carwashes , Gas Stations , Construction sites , etc
heck they will even flag you down while you are driving down the road.
If you see them, CALL A COP
let's get these scumbags off our streets.
Get your phone out , Take a PICTURE , get the PLATE number and
CALL the Local POLICE !!
Law enforcement WILL issue citations, as rarely do the speakerguys obtain the proper permits and license to sell "out of a vehicle".
In Pennsylvania, the act of selling white van speakers is punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a fine of $10,000 .
Here's one of many reviews I found ...
I've been involved in the audio industry for over 25 years, and have to say that these speakers have the worst components I've ever seen. As someone who has built and repaired speakers, and written published audio reviews well before the Internet came around, I am appalled at the chutzpah shown by
manufacturers and sellers of this junk.
The 'reviews' and 'guides' that speak positively of these things have undoubtedly been posted by those who stand to profit from the sale of these inferior items. Take the Kirsch, Theatre Research, Genesis Media Labs (Genesis PHYSICS was a good brand in the 1980's) and DiVinci speakers, with their glossy ads and websites full of meaningless techno-babble and claims of outrageous 'retail' prices - not that any reputable retailer would carry these dogs.
There are good reasons why they are mostly sold out of the back of white vans, and here, where comparison to good equipment is impossible. Most recently peddlers of the Genesis Media Lab and DiVinci's have trumpeted an ad taken out by the company, and purchase of a booth at an electronics show as evidence that this is an established brand-when you have the kind of profit margins based upon $ 50 worth of components in a "$ 3600" package, I suppose you can afford a booth or an ad.
Imagine if a peddler of fake Rolexes', or 'Rolex quality' watches posted a website claiming that their junk that cost maybe $ 50 to manufacture is worth thousands - that is basically the case we have here.
I've had the opportunity to take apart a number of these speakers, and all I can say is if you read Wikipedia and other search results you obtain from Googling the term "White Van Speakers' or 'White Van Scam' the conclusion that the components are of 'exceptionally poor quality' is well founded.
For example, as I write this, there are at least 3 pairs of the "K803 Prodigy" speakers being posted on E Bay for $ 1500 or more, yet superior drivers (the speaker drivers -woofers, tweeters, midranges and the like) can be had for $ 15 or less per driver. The internal electronics such as the crossovers, are by far, the absolute worst I've ever seen in nearly 3 decades as a hobbyist.
The DiVinci hucksters have the nerve to advertise their 'high energy crossover', which is a $2 piece of junk - a good crossover is complex, not inexpensive, and is critical to sound quality. Even the glossy cabinets are made of cheap, lightweight wood, whose resonances distort the already awful sound, and lack the internal bracing you will find on quality speakers.
The drivers on the Kirsch and DiVinci "$ 3000 pair" (K803- DiVinci 1740-Dahlton- same speaker) are pretty much the same as on another set of these towers sold under an earlier "White Van Scam" name that a friend bought for $ 59 in a local pawn shop- one set of DiVinci's' is listed for $ 2500 buy it now - that is on line piracy.
Just for fun, we compared these Kirsch 803 beasts' to a pair of Infinty SM-255's bought off of E Bay for $ 300, using both analogue and digital sources, receivers and high end separate electronics. A sound level meter was used to ensure that the listening occured at the same volume level.
One of the girlfriends said it best : the Kirsch sounded like a clock radio compared to the Infinity's and one thought that a clock radio might sound better. Technical measurements confirmed what our ears told us - a ragged response curve that is the worst I've ever seen, bar none.
Maybe it was unfair - the Infinity's weigh 77 pounds versus 28 for the Klipsch... er Kirsch - but then the Kirsch is a $ 3000 speaker, the Infinities were $ 1000 new ... the weight alone should tell you just what junk the White Van Speakers are. We also compared the Kirsch with a vintage set of Klipsch KG-3.5's which you can get for around $ 200-250 - needless to say they blew the K-803 Prodigy away.
We've also performed listening tests comparing the "$ 2495"- oh please - Kirsch K3 home theatre system to a vintage set of Infinity Qb speakers dating back to the 1980's, which you can buy for $ 150 or so; a Samsung Home Theatre in a box and to Logitech Z-5300 and Klipsch Pro Media 5.1 computer speakers, hooked to a 5.1 receiver via the headphone jack ( a decent option for a small room).
Experienced listeners suggested the best use of the Kirsch's was as a boat anchor or firewood, kids unanimously preferred the other sets and as one eloquently put it - ' the fancy ones stink like poo.' You would be much better off with a used set from Energy, Polk, or another quality speaker company.
I also had the (dis) pleasure of listening to a set of the "$ 3600" DiVinci's often posted here - even the best electronics cannot make a silk purse out of these sow's ears. We compared the DiVinci 607 model to a Polk RM-6800 5.1 home theater set up that can be had for $ 400 or less- $3200 less than theDiVinci's so called retail value.
It was no contest-- as my 12 year old put it 'where did all the instruments go' - there was no category- NONE- imaging, detail, tightness of bass- you name it- where the DiVinci's were remotely competitive.
Not only are the speakers unspeakably bad, the 'receivers' included with the DiVinci, Theatre Research, Digital Research and other "White Van Brands' lack even basic AV functions such as Dolby and DTS processing, and HDMI and component video outputs -as well as measuring and sounding horribly - try watching "Master and Commander" with one of these pieces of 'bleep'- a used Denon, Yamaha or Onkyo at any price is light years superior.
With profit margins that would make oil companies jealous, I can see where they could now buy ads in magazines - one E Bay posting claims they are an 'established high end speaker' - you would have to be high to consider these anything but the low level junk they are. Scam is not a strong enough term, and these have earned their place on rip-off report.com
Some education about DiVinci, Genesis, VOKL & other speaker scams!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speakers
http://www.scamshield.com/Sighting.asp?country=none&state=Colorado&article=1
http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=6186502
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Zx1V6JpFRY
The White Van Speaker SCAM sales people even have their own board:
http://speakermen.usersboard.net/
Make sure you report this scam to :
1) Local Law enforcement
2) Attorney General
3) City and State Department of Revenue
4) IRS
5) Local TV or Newspapers
Most of these SpeakerFleas
1) Do not obtain proper permits to "sell out of a Van"
2) use lies, fraud, trickery and intimidation to make a sale
3) Most do not collect,report or pay their required by
law taxes for sales and income
Isn't it time we insist that our elected officials
put a stop to this scam.
Support a law that mandates a minimum
fine of $10,000 or 5 years prison
White Van Speakers Scam List 88
I really dont know jack about what to get so maybe you can hook me up!
