Verdict
TriStar Auction Group at 155 Legends Drive, Suite M, Lebanon TN 37090 is assessed as a scam after a buyer reported wiring $5,200 by bank wire to purchase a 2019 Kubota KX080-4S Mini Excavator advertised with 1,636 engine hours and never receiving the equipment.
Company details
These contact details appear on tristarauction.com and are presented as the operator's published information.
| Detail | As published on the site |
|---|---|
| Trading name | TriStar Auction Group |
| Address | 155 Legends Drive, Suite M, Lebanon, TN 37090, US |
| Phone | +16153011600 |
| info@tristarauction.com |
Registration record
The domain tristarauction.com was registered on 2020-05-08 through GoDaddy.com, LLC. The WHOIS record shows the registrant hidden behind a privacy service. Nameservers are ns69.domaincontrol.com and ns70.domaincontrol.com. HTTPS is enabled and the homepage returns an HTTP 200 response with the title TriStar Auction Group.
Listing and buyer report
The published lot advertises a 2019 Kubota KX080-4S Mini Excavator with 1,636 engine hours and an asking price of $5,200. According to a buyer report received by this publication, the buyer wired $5,200 by bank transfer to complete the purchase and did not receive the excavator.
Identity signals and assessment
The site displays a U.S. street address and a local phone number while WHOIS registration details are hidden behind a privacy service. The presence of a published physical address alongside a privacy-protected registrant record reduces the ability to independently confirm who operates the site. Nameservers at domaincontrol.com indicate GoDaddy name hosting, which is common for many legitimate and illegitimate sites alike; that fact requires further verification rather than serving as proof of legitimacy.
The site lists no visible industry licensing or carrier registration number on the listing pages. The detected signals flagged the registrant privacy and the lack of published licensing as low-strength concerns, but combined with a buyer report of a completed wire transfer and no delivery, the identity records warrant a cautious assessment.
Red flags you can check independently
- The listing shows a Lebanon TN street address while WHOIS registrant details are hidden behind a privacy service; check WHOIS.
- No industry licensing or carrier registration number appears on the site; search Tennessee state and federal registries for the trading name.
- A buyer reported sending $5,200 by bank wire for the listed unit and receiving no equipment; wire transfers are difficult to reverse.
- Nameservers resolve to ns69/ns70.domaincontrol.com; confirm hosting and whether contact email domains match registration records.
- The homepage title matches the trading name but matching titles do not confirm legal registration; verify corporate records.
- HTTPS and a 200 homepage response confirm the site is reachable but do not validate ownership or physical premises.
- The listing includes specific engine hours, but documentation linking that machine to a verifiable seller is not published.
What to verify before paying
Obtain verifiable identity evidence for the seller and confirm it independently: search the Tennessee Secretary of State business registry for TriStar Auction Group, verify any dealer license number with the issuing agency, and confirm the published street address through a business registry or a third-party mapping service. Check WHOIS and hosting records for consistency with the published contact email and phone. Request clear, dated title paperwork and a bill of sale for the specific 2019 Kubota KX080-4S and confirm the machine VIN or serial number matches the paperwork before releasing funds. For payments, prefer rails that offer recovery options and confirm escrow or auction-house protections in writing prior to sending any bank transfer.