Buyer beware

[Andrew Buc <abuc@ibm.net>]

Phil Rose's story of his experience with Herr Scheisseleck prompts me to
relate the following story, which I saw a while back in _Skinned Knuckles_,
a magazine oriented towards DIY car restorers:

The author went to a swap meet for old car buffs and agreed to buy something
that someone else was selling. I forget what it was, but it was heavy and
bulky enough that the buyer had to walk across the field and drive his car
back to collect it. He went to get his car right away, w/no dilly-dallying,
and when he got back, the seller had gotten a better price from someone else
and sold it out from under him. It also didn't escape the buyer's notice that
the seller had set a terrible example for his grade-school-age son, who was
there.

So, a few weeks later, the author got a brain wave. He's pretty good at
disguising his voice, and it wasn't too hard to get the seller's phone # and
an idea of what parts would appeal to him thru car-collector circles. The
seller lived ca. 150 miles away. So the buyer called him with the following
cock-and-bull story:

"My uncle recently died and left me a bunch of old car parts. [He named some
specific hard-to-find parts.] I have no idea what they're worth, but I hear
you're an honest man, and I trust you to give me a fair price for them."

Naturally, this brought the other guy running, like a shark to blood in the
water.

Now, the author lived across the street from a city park, and it so happened
that his living room window commanded a good view of the cinder-block
restrooms. He gave the buyer driving directions that would steer him to the
men's latrine, and a bit before the appointed time on the appointed day, he
posted a letter on the door:

"This is the payback for selling [my purchase] out from under me. I hope this
has caused you lots of inconvenience. I don't live here at the public potty,
but I think directing you here is appropriate. Next time you hear of a good
deal on parts, it may be for real, or I may have decided to jerk your chain
again. Have a nice day."