Kirby theft rings??

[got2bjennyg]

So, there was a FB marketplace ad for a $30 Kirby Avalir with attachments. My first instinct was that this was a typo and they meant to make the price $300, so I sent them a message alerting them that they might have a typo in the price.

They replied, "Nope. Just don't use it anymore. I work for a warehouse facility and I won a new Dyson that i love better. So I'm just offering this at a cheap rate. Even if I paid a ton for it"

Really a warehouse worker that is willing walk away from something worth a few hundred dollars because they won a Dyson?? Seemed pretty sketchy to me.

I started doing some internet searching and found this local article from 2015. So, is stealing vacuum cleaners really a "thing" in other area too?

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...-freight-in-cleveland-over-past-several-years

 

[kirbysthebest]

Been going on for years.

This is why Kirby started etching the serial number into the case in a visible location.
Thefts from warehouses, dealers from distributors, customers from the finance company. All are possible when you see a machine worth $$$$ selling for $.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Harley,

That practice of putting the serial number on the front of the fan case first started with the Classic III in 1976, although that only applied to the domestic (USA) models; the Kirbys that were produced for the export market (UK, Europe, South Africa and Australia) did not adopt this distinction until the Tradition came out in 1979.

Speaking of Kirby dealers with theft rings, some of them defaced the original serial numbers and replaced them with different ones; this happened with one dealer on a batch of unsold Traditions (produced in the 1980-81 season)... and he was eventually caught in the act.

~Ben[this post was last edited: 1/17/2019-02:01]

 

[huskyvacs]

Notify the Kirby Co of the ad, and hope they can do something about it in time. This person has gotten access to one, they won't stop there. They were so stupid enough to mention they "work in a warehouse facility" it's just so obvious.

Now there is nothing wrong with owning a Kirby that "fell off a truck" - I'd love to have a brand new Avalir for $30. I was happy to get a Sentria for $40 on eBay last year when the seller goofed on the shipping.

I'm sure the only time they'd catch you is if you went to get it repaired and the serial number popped up in Kirby's watch list, and as long as you prove that you bought it on a legitimate sale site and not from some random guy in a back alley then you're in the clear. Seeing as the MSRP of a Kirby is over $1,000, for the person that originally stole it, you can do jail time for stealing it.

It's priced so cheap because they need to get rid of the evidence fast so they can likely buy drugs with the money.