Yesterday, I entered this website’s name into a search engine. I ran it through Google first, not expecting to see much. You might wonder why that is. Well, ole Doc is on their craplist. I’m a loudmouthed Trump supporter and hobbyist webmaster who has often been around the block.
Though I believe it’s mainly because the left is so worried about Donald Trump winning his seat back in 2024 that they’re crapping their pants! Google has hated the Good Internet Doctor since 2004 when I was selling used high-line automobiles. I stuck up for consumers buying online, which led to scammers ripping buyers off by selling non-existent vehicles. Google hated my eBaymotorssucks.com website. 😆
So, returning to this post’s title, I’ll share some memories from the used car business with Y’aIl. Most of us who love America either know or suspect there is thievery in our Government. Google is the gatekeeper, along with Facebook, also known as Meta, and Mark Zuckerberg, who spent $470M helping the democrats steal the 2020 Potus 46 election from Donald Trump. Associated Press and the usual bunch couldn’t wait to discredit Dinesh DeSuas 2000 Mules that used ballot stuffers’ cellphone geolocation to follow them making their rounds stuffing Mark Zuckerberg-funded drop-off boxes. The whole idea of this post was about my website and the Cheap Shot Google hit me with.
When searching my website name, Google, a caution box popped up and said there were few results. Just now, I got another screenshot of Google’s return. They reworded and took the warning off the returned result.
I started on eBay in 1991, before eBay Motors was launched. It was a new method of selling cars. I invented the fly-in drive-home program. Buyers in the Northeast could buy a nice garaged low-mileage car that is nearly in new condition. Those buyers also knew they could never find a Florida retirees trade-in unit in their hometown, considering that older cars were rusted out with the road salt and sodium chloride on the roads up there!
I sold them like McDonald’s sold breakfast: I picked the buyers up at TPA Airport, drove to the lot and did the paperwork, slapped a 30-day Florida temp tag on their new used car, and sent them on a road trip home. Those were the good old days.
Dealers at the auctions would say, this car will bring $$ on eBay. But by 2003, the scum of the car business was selling patched-up junk that was made to look good in photos. Then, the scammers, primarily out of Romania, burned a lot of buyers selling non-existing cars. Pierre Omidyar’s trust and loss of community values started hurting the venue; a quality car would bring more at a local dealer auction, leading to several listings.
In 2004, scams were everywhere. Once, I counted three pages of scammers’ listings sorted by the newest listings first. Ma Meg Whitman and Pierre Omidyar were bankrolling in the gold dust and laughing all the way to the bank. Now, no matter what Google says about me, I am a caring honest person. I registered the domain ebaymotorssucks.com and created a simple home school HTML website.
Soon, people were emailing, asking for help getting their money back. Those scammers would rinse the funds through several so-called eBay agents. Initially, it was a niche market, but none of the dealers I know offer cars on eBay Motors. I also exported a few vehicles and sent an AWD Volvo X90 to Moscow, RU. He loved the car and sent me several photos of him and his Rust-Free Florida Car in front of Red Square, and I loved his home.
Another was a three-year-old Lincoln Navigator Premium loaded with every toy a buyer could get. It still smelled new inside. This was during the last gas scam when gas was nearly $4 per gallon here in the Tampa Bay area. It was a lease turn-in. People were panicking, trading their gas guzzlers in for compact cars.
Those lease turn-ins were selling for 20% on a dollar. And the dealers know the leasing companies drop the hammer when the bidding is over. I was advertising them at 40% of market value. I said in my ads in big letters, “Now is the time to buy that big gas-guzzling SUV that you have always wanted but couldn’t afford. Prices on these will go up when gas gets cheap!”
About an hour after I listed it, a guy from a navy base in Hawaii called, wanting to know how much it would cost to ship it to Hawall. I got his number and called a shipper in California who said $1600. The guy bought it, and I faxed a buyer’s order to Navy Federal CU and had the check in a week. The shipper came the next week and picked it up. Communication skills were a must when selling long distance. I called him and said the shipper just picked your Navigator. About three weeks later, he called to thank me for such a beautiful SUV. I refused to sell junk. It’s refreshing to think back on my days in the car business, but I am glad I got out of it. I have never met more crooks than in the car business. Trust Me, I’m a used car dealer!
Visit my favorite political cartoonist, Ben Garrison, from the MAGA side of town. You can browse his MAGA-sized cartoon collection. And kindly leave a tip in the kitty on your way out. Ben also offers hand-signed originals!
Ben and Tina Garrison are talented cartoonists who entertain us throughout the DNC madness. Image credit, Ben Garrison
Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. I started blogging this post around 1:00 PM and just had to load the metadata, a few relevant tags, and the featured image. You will love my classic choice of Ben Garrison’s featured image!.
