White Van Speaker Scam

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some 15 years ago

they have been around as long as I can remember, maybe 25 years now...
some 15 years ago they were everywhere in Belgium.

always the same sales pitch, cash only and no time to rethink

there is even a guy on the web who explains what is right and what is wrong about these speakers, they do sound pretty good and they did buy them form a Hungarian factory which names ends in -ton
really not bad for the price.


Jean-Pierre
 
This happened to me today. Walking with a friend on a path next to a busy road. All of a sudden a battered old Transit pulls up and starts trying to talk to us(holding up traffic). Thinking he wanted directions I said hello and was asked if I wanted any speakers. Knowing this scam quite well I quickly replied(with something I think was pretty damn good) with "What are they? Wafdales?" He looked bemused and said "Don't you mean Warfedale?"
And with that we walked off. I obviously had to explain to my friend what just happened. Well I think it was the scam, the circumstances couldn't point to anything else.
 
BTW, ever open one up? We did. A capacitor to the mid and tweeter, sum total of the crossover. No padding at all, and loose panels where the hot glue didn't get in there. The woofer? I'm guessing all of 10 watts truthfully.


I have seen the white van guys but....

The description above sounds just like some of the low end stuff we sold when I worked in an Olson Electronisc store (1971-1973). Lafayette Radio and Radio Shack stuff in the late 60's and early 70's was similar. If you hooked a pair of the 100 watt speakers up to your 100 watt stereo nothing would blow up because BOTH were really 10 to 20 watt units.

I liked the little Symphonic branded unit. It said 72 watts IPMP (Instantaneous Peak Music Power) on the box. The output devices were little TO92 transistors which in 1970 could make about 1 watt going down hill floored!

Remember the old JC Whitney catalog. 100 WRMS means model #100 With Real Mean Sound. I called and asked because it was $19.95.
 
I had the scam offered to me twice within a couple of months a few years ago. They had the Genesis brand, the magazine ad, "overstock" story, SUV instead of a van. But you could pick up the speaker box with one hand. I figured the receiver contained a brick instead of a PCB (which would probably improve the sound...).
 
It is amusing when they pick the wrong people who actual know a brand or two. Do people really fall for it though? Why would you ever hand money over to some people you've never met nor the 'company' and what about warranties etc? You must be pretty stupid to.

I do wish I had said "yeah all right, lets see them." As it's the way he responded with "don't you mean Wharfdale" implying that he's not all stupid and may have been genuine.
 
Wait a minute here. From 1975 to somewhere in the 80's I drove a white GMC Vandura. I made and sold HiFi and guitar amps and yes....speakers. Does that make me one of.......them? Does a real White Van Speaker come covered in Naugahyde with crushed velvet grill cloth? Yes, I actually made these...remember it was about 1974 when I made them. The interior of the van was done in the same material only it was black and blue, shag carpet of course.
 

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I had this happen to me, Yesterday... I said 'Yeah, let's see what you've got' he took me around the back of the van and it was packed with assorted HT in a box stuff (my guess, snatched from a "Best Buy" dock) . I took out my phone and called a friend who is a cop. The "salesman" asked who i was calling and I told him ' a friend who is looking for speakers". When he heard the sirens off in the distance the "salesman" said "gotta go" ... and was off like a flash. they nabbed him about 1/2 mile away.

Yes, the van was white.
 
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