The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

So a forum user JMK3 send me a message stating he knows a Thomas Clera that has a Nifty Nirona parts machine. I emailed Thomas and he said he has one. I offered $60 and he said thats fine. He insisted on Paypel Send to Friend option. I even offered to pay the 5%. So investigating the photos he emailed me, I found them here:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... bSJ7MCvtAE

JMK3 also sent me a message stating Thomas had a Victor horn elbow as well!

NEVER ever pay with the Send to Friend option. Ive been burned before but not this time!

So if any of you receive a similar message from JMK3, its a scam!! And if someone can report him that would be great!

S

PayPal F&F is a great option, but only to people you actually know and trust. I use it frequently with people here on the forum, but I would be very hesitant with strangers.

Thanks for sharing
Andreas

We've talked a bit here about this kind of thing. One way to beat it is to ask meaningful questions or ask for photos that require the seller to definitely have the item in front of them. The other way is to ask meaningless questions to show that the seller really has no idea what they're talking about. Stuff like, "Does this have the original copper flange gasket?", or "Does this have the correct 5 indentations in the turntable?"

Same thing here. JMK3 said a friend of his "Thomas" has an Eclipse cabinet for sale. I communicated with a Clera Thomas ([email protected]) who said he lived in New Orleans and wanted 5K for an Eclipse and sent pictures. When I researched Edison Eclipse on the internet, I saw the exact machine. It sold at a Donley auction for 7K in 2018. He wouldn't answer any of my questions except for repeating word for word the descriptions and pictures from the Donley auction. I knew right away it was a fraud. I think JMK3 and Clera Thomas are the same person.

Andersun wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 5:21 pm Same thing here. JMK3 said a friend of his "Thomas" has an Eclipse cabinet for sale. I communicated with a Clera Thomas ([email protected]) who said he lived in New Orleans and wanted 5K for an Eclipse and sent pictures. When I researched Edison Eclipse on the internet, I saw the exact machine. It sold at a Donley auction for 7K in 2018. He wouldn't answer any of my questions except for repeating word for word the descriptions and pictures from the Donley auction. I knew right away it was a fraud. I think JMK3 and Clera Thomas are the same person.

Yes they could be! Wow! I sent a message to the Admin. Thanks for sharing your story! Unreal how people are!

52089 wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 5:19 pm We've talked a bit here about this kind of thing. One way to beat it is to ask meaningful questions or ask for photos that require the seller to definitely have the item in front of them. The other way is to ask meaningless questions to show that the seller really has no idea what they're talking about. Stuff like, "Does this have the original copper flange gasket?", or "Does this have the correct 5 indentations in the turntable?"

I too seem to recall a similar post regarding a scam and a "Thomas" using our PM system to rip forum members off. As mentioned, better to deal with members you know and have a history on this forum.

I got a PM from the same person, same email address last Sunday regarding a want listing I had posted for a Victor R crank. Didn't seem right so I didn't follow up. I will definitely ignore anything else from this person. Thanks for the heads up!!

Steve

ChesterCheetah18 wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 9:15 pm I got a PM from the same person, same email address last Sunday regarding a want listing I had posted for a Victor R crank. Didn't seem right so I didn't follow up. I will definitely ignore anything else from this person. Thanks for the heads up!!

Steve

Glad I can help you and others before you get burned!!

In the future, please use the [!] button (top right, above the message) to report the PM. It should look like this:
JMK3 can no longer send PMs or look at profiles, and has been warned—I didn’t want to ban them without having any PMs reported.

Regards,

David

Funny. He send me a PM yesterday to an item I was looking for in an ad that was months old. I did notice he had 0 posts but directed me to Thomas. I got and email today from "Thomas". Now the price he was asking was too high for the part but after I saw this thread, I messaged him and sent him a link to it.
Just to reiterate, Only deal with people you know or who have a good reputation on this board. Glad I saw this in time.

Mike