Phony Purchases…Not Kid Stuff!

I have tried my hardest to keep Ventriloquist Central as a friendly place with a joyous atmosphere for anyone who wants to be involved with ventriloquism and wants to learn and be kept up to date with all things ventriloquile and I think I have accomplished this goal.

But every once in a while a problematic situation arises and I just felt I had to let this out since I was not the only one involved.

I am not going to mention any names because I do not want to have any recourse against me but I must impart this information to everyone because this has happened to me and to a few others that are collectors in the vent community.

I was contacted last spring by a young person who initially appeared to have a very strong liking for the old figures and wanted to learn as much as they could. I love this and was willing to share with them all I could.

They then started asking if I was willing to sell my McElroy and Marshall figures. Of course they are not for sale so this person asked what I would sell. I gave them a choice of a few figures and they chose one they wanted.

Here is where it gets real good. This person’s mother called me and verified with me that she was purchasing the figure from me for her child and we agreed on a price and she would send the deposit. I never received the deposit.

Of course she and her child came up with every excuse in the book but needless to say nothing ever arrived in my mail box.

Next I get emails from another youngster just before the holidays and the same type of action began. Boy, this seems familiar. I was dumbfounded that there would be a second kid doing the same thing. The first youngster was all over all the vent lists but I am not sure about the second.

I was contacted by a good friend of mine Chef Jim Willard because he had made a deal for selling his Figures and he just told me that he has been waiting over a month for the deposit and he too did not receive it. Sounds just like my situation.

So to sum up there is either one or maybe two out there that are causing people to think they have sold vent figures when in fact it is not true. Remember never send anything out unless you have payment in your hand and never think that you have made a sale until said payment is in your hand.

If anyone else out there has had contact with these supposed buyers and wants to leave a comment PLEASE do because I want everyone to be aware of how far it has gone.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. His collection of ventriloquist figures now numbers over 100 figures of which there are over 50 Frank Marshall figures. Because of his love for the art of ventriloquism, Mr. Willinger created the website Ventriloquist Central. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com

Copyright 2009 by Dan Willinger

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This entry was posted in Dummy Collecting, Frank Marshall Figure (Dummy), Personal, Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central, Ventriloquist Figures. Bookmark the permalink.

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