I see ads like this and despite immediate doubt, wonder if any way this can be legitimate? I sure could use some extra cash but sounds like scam. Does the hive know how this works?
“Company Information We are an automotive dealer looking to purchase brand new vehicles for resell. Job Position We are recruiting procurement or buyer position to help you with the purchase of cars. Job Responsibility The successful candidate is source vehicles for us throughout Canada, negotiate vehicle, and coordinate and purchase the required cars. The candidate needs to be mobile and can work from home. Compensation This is commission-based position, and the commission ranges from $500 to $20,000 depending on make model color and price. Qualification The candidate should have (1) a driver’s license, (2) a working vehicle, (3) good negotiating skills, and (4) good credit/income but not required..”
mtn
MegaDork
10/15/21 10:51 a.m.
Google the phone number. If it is legit, it will go to an auto dealer/dealer network.
One man's scam is another man's interesting opportunity.
In reply to fastoldfart :
They need the applicant to have good income?
This sounds like even if legit they will be asking you to find and buy cars below market so they can sell at market. Potentially with your own credit/income.
A. That sounds hard
B. That sounds risky
mtn
MegaDork
10/15/21 11:12 a.m.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to fastoldfart :
They need the applicant to have good income?
This sounds like even if legit they will be asking you to find and buy cars below market so they can sell at market. Potentially with your own credit/income.
A. That sounds hard
B. That sounds risky
Whoa, I jumped over that. It could still be legit - for instance, it is a requirement that I have good credit for my job because it is a requirement that I have a company credit card, even though it is the company card and they're paying, in the cardholder, and from a risk perspective they need me to have good credit.
But the way they phrased it with the income part would make me very wary. I'd move on.
I am suspicious of anything with multiple grammatical errors.
"Betteridge's Law of Headlines" states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."
I very much believe that something similar can be said for "Is this a scam?" questions. If you have to ask, then yes, it is!
Their attempts at the English language make little sense to this English-as-a-third-language-speaker. Even if they are legit, I wouldn't want to risk them filling in my commission checks.
Not to mention that if they're looking for a purchasing agent, "to help you with purchase of cars" makes about zero berkeleying sense to me in the alleged context.
What are the chances they're asking you to buy the cars for export to somewhere and pay you with rubber checks?
I wonder if these are the people that would show up to take away my car if I ever fell for one of those "I'm buying this for my uncle's-cousins'-sisters'-dog who is currently deployed overseas right now currently" deals that are always around when I'm selling a car?
If it is legit (which I have serious doubts), I wonder if they are looking to buy high end cars and export them. As I understand, people can usually buy a few before they get blacklisted by dealerships.
Seems like a scam or at least shady. Agree with the folks above its likely an export thing.
Why would they need you? Imagine you own their business. You go to a new car dealership and say "Hey, I wanna buy ten new cars." You think the new car dealership would say no? No, they wouldn't. They shouldn't need you. I say scam.
The grammar screams scam.
If you were to respond to the ad, I suspect they would somehow demand money from you as part of the job application.
NOHOME
MegaDork
10/16/21 6:29 a.m.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:
I am suspicious of anything with multiple grammatical errors.
This^
The prose set off alarms such that I would keep walking. It might be the same deal as the Nigerian scam letters where the weird English is meant to be a filter for people who are too smart to fall for their E36 M3.
My other thought was that if you are able to perform all of the job requirements, why would you not just sell the cars yourself and make all the money? If you can buy, you can also sell.
The use of English sure does scream scam. The only part of it that could be right is the "buy in Canada" part. Pretty much every late model pickup truck that gets traded in up here goes on a transporter and heads south. Between exchange rates and market forces, there is a $3 to 5,000 benefit to selling south. And that's at wholesale.
gearheadmb said:
Why would they need you? Imagine you own their business. You go to a new car dealership and say "Hey, I wanna buy ten new cars." You think the new car dealership would say no? No, they wouldn't. They shouldn't need you. I say scam.
If it is a gray market sales scam (buy cars that aren't supposed to be exported due to dealer/manufacturer agreements), and export them somewhere where MSRP is way higher than their cost in Canada+shipping+duties, they'll need a continuous supply of buyers, because after the dealer finds out what is going on, the buyer gets blacklisted, and finds it difficult to impossible to buy the same brand car anywhere in the country.
It seems that there is a huge demand for high end cars in China. Because of export restriction by manufacturers they need a Canadian straw buyer. Besides the obvious potential dangers,I discovered two new pitfalls, OEMs have started fighting back and suing buyers, and many of these transactions appear to have money laundering implications. So as long as you dont get burned in the initial transaction, get sued by the OEM, or end up investigated as an accessory to a Triad money laundering scheme; you could make a $1k commission. Definite Pass!!
https://www.drivedetroix.com/exporting-luxury-autos/
https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2017-2021/2019AG0042-000885.htm
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bmw-export-money-laundering-1.5153224
I'd always be sceptical by default reading something like that...
You definitely have to do a little digging and see if they are legit, but its not unheard of, i mean some of these ads have to be true right :D (right!?).
