safest way to get paid for bike

[wolcott]

I have a New York gent who is interested in my '98 RT. He can not fly down and look at it. I sent him a bunch of pics and am sending him a few more of various scratches, etc. We will probably arrange for the local BMW dealer to look it over for him. I am wondering what is safest way to get paid for the bike is; I just got off the phone with my bank and a rep. His opinion may be different from the collective wisdom of the group. 1)Bank rep stated that a wire transfer would be fast and secure. The rep says he must have an account with the bank, and the money is either in his account or isn't. 2)Certified bank check. This is the one I worry about with the advent of the newest laser printers. The bank rep says most major banks have a check verification dept.,so if he overnighted a cashier's check, I could call that bank and verify with the bank that it was good.

3)What do you guys think is the safest?

[Richard_D]

Even with a secure check , I always wait for my bank to tell me the money is in my account.

[keithb]

Wire transfer or cash for completing transactions. I have purchased or sold three bikes with the wire transfer (99 Ducati, 04 RT, 05 RT) and prefer that method. Clean easy and no huge amount of cash in your hand in case something unsavory were to happen. Once the transaction is completed I sign over the title. I always put the time on the Bill of Sale in case the guy crashes on the way home so there are no insurance issues. One last thing, I photocopy all signed documents for my records.

[David]

The other option is a Western Union transfer, converted from cash at the sending end and to cash at the receiving end.

[Whip]

I brought a little brown bag with me......Paul's finance person seemed happy.

 

 

 

 

[Marek]

paypal

[Woodie]

I vote "no" on Paypal. They don't have a great reputation for fixing things if there's a problem.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Wire transfer, bank to bank.

Cannot be faked.

 

I have never used anything else nor will I.

[smiller]

Wire transfer would probably be best but fee may be $15-$25, maybe on both ends. I would consider PayPal as out, they can be tough to work with and the 3% fee could amount to a lot on the cost of a bike. And even the Certified Check is probably OK, if you call the bank and verify then the odds of getting stuck, while not absolutely zero, are probably very low.

[Marek]

Wire transfer would probably be best but fee may be $15-$25, maybe on both ends. I would consider PayPal as out, they can be tough to work with and the 3% fee could amount to a lot on the cost of a bike. And even the Certified Check is probably OK, if you call the bank and verify then the odds of getting stuck, while not absolutely zero, are probably very low.

 

I've been using PayPal sine 2001 - never had a problem - YMMV.

 

Mark

[smiller]

I've been using PayPal sine 2001 - never had a problem

Yes, they're fine... as long as you don't have a problem. But in any event the 3% fee would be unacceptable for a high-dollar transaction like a bike sale. Why pay PayPal 10x the cost of a wire transfer?

[mickey05]

I like cash, but I also don't live in an area (yet) that you have to worry. I also throw in the standard Tail light warranty with the sale.

[wolcott]

Thanks for all the tips! It's really stressing me out, trying to figure out all this stuff. Emails and telephone calls coming. Questions of all sorts. Trying to hang in there and reply to everybody and figure things out. When I sold my 1200 sporty, the guy showed up in a car with his buddy. The next night, he showed up on the back of his son's sporty. He handed me a pile of cash, I transferred the title to him, made out a bill of sale, made copies,and he and his son rode off into the sunset.

[Axe]

Once the buyer's bank wires the funds to your account it becomes the liability of the sending bank not the individual wiring the money. Because of this banks will generally not wire against anything but fully collected verified funds. In addition because of this, once the funds are posted to your account they are considered fully collected and immediately available for your use. During my 37 years in the banking industry I never saw anyone able to fake or fraud the Federal Reserve wire system.