Maybe Everyone Knew This But Me

[FRR]

Friend of mine decided to sell his Wing on Craigslist. Listed it on Thursday. Got a text within an hour. Agreed on price. Buyer said he would send CERTIFIED CHECK for sale amount plus shipping info. My friend checked with his bank. Bank employee said do not do it because IT IS POSSIBLE TO CANCEL A CERTIFIED CHECK. It may cost 50 bucks, but it can be done. Bank said once the hauler picked up the bike and called the news owner with delivery date, new owner could cancel check and seller would be stuck trying to find his bike in Alabama somewhere. Be aware of this. Too many scams out there. I had no idea a certified check could be cancelled after it was cashed. Thought some of you didn't either. Just an FYI

[PosseRider]

Thanks. I did not know this either . Good "Heads Up"

[FRR]

Thanks. I did not know this either . Good "Heads Up"

You're welcome

[lgjhn]

Yes...it's a scam and a common one. I sold my FJR on Craigslist and had several of these "deals" presented to me. My response: "Until I have "cash in my hand", the bike isn't going anywhere. Finally, sold it to a guy, face to face with cash in hand. By all means, your friend should not allow the bike to move from his possession untill he has "cash in his hand" and the deal is done "face to face".

[paws]

Appreciate this info. So, I am wondering how to safely do these deals.

Don’t accept personal checks. Don’t accept bank-certified checks. Don’t accept money orders. Don’t do direct-wire to your bank account. Don’t do cash because it might be counterfeit...not everybody has one of those little hand-held markers that is used to test each bill. How do you do cash when the buyer is 1000+ miles away. If he is standing in your yard with cash on Saturday afternoon how do you check the bills if you don’t have a little bill-checker thing. Where do you get one of those bill-checker things? ????

I am not trying to be sarcastic with this post - I am truly wondering how to be safe with this as I have some things to sell and don’t want to get scammed. Thanks guys!

[rhino 2]

Appreciate this info. So, I am wondering how to safely do these deals.

Don’t accept personal checks. Don’t accept bank-certified checks. Don’t accept money orders. Don’t do direct-wire to your bank account. Don’t do cash because it might be counterfeit...not everybody has one of those little hand-held markers that is used to test each bill. How do you do cash when the buyer is 1000+ miles away. If he is standing in your yard with cash on Saturday afternoon how do you check the bills if you don’t have a little bill-checker thing. Where do you get one of those bill-checker things? ????

I am not trying to be sarcastic with this post - I am truly wondering how to be safe with this as I have some things to sell and don’t want to get scammed. Thanks guys!

Yep.....And people are scammed every day by that trick....But thanks for reminding everyone...

[desertclassic]

Appreciate this info. So, I am wondering how to safely do these deals.

Don’t accept personal checks. Don’t accept bank-certified checks. Don’t accept money orders. Don’t do direct-wire to your bank account. Don’t do cash because it might be counterfeit...not everybody has one of those little hand-held markers that is used to test each bill. How do you do cash when the buyer is 1000+ miles away. If he is standing in your yard with cash on Saturday afternoon how do you check the bills if you don’t have a little bill-checker thing. Where do you get one of those bill-checker things? ????

I am not trying to be sarcastic with this post - I am truly wondering how to be safe with this as I have some things to sell and don’t want to get scammed. Thanks guys!

Easy, I sold a house and never saw a check, mo,or anything like that, the buyer was in CA and I was in NM.

Bank to bank transactions, wire. I notified my bank about the transfer, the buyer had his bank contact my bank and transfer the funds. The only thing I had to do was provide a phone number to my bank. Everything was completed in 2 days. My bank notified me the funds were in my account and I released the deed to the property.

[Jack Klarich]

Good reminder

This scam rears its ugly head quite often

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Appreciate this info. So, I am wondering how to safely do these deals.

Don’t accept personal checks. Don’t accept bank-certified checks. Don’t accept money orders. Don’t do direct-wire to your bank account. Don’t do cash because it might be counterfeit...not everybody has one of those little hand-held markers that is used to test each bill. How do you do cash when the buyer is 1000+ miles away. If he is standing in your yard with cash on Saturday afternoon how do you check the bills if you don’t have a little bill-checker thing. Where do you get one of those bill-checker things? ????

I am not trying to be sarcastic with this post - I am truly wondering how to be safe with this as I have some things to sell and don’t want to get scammed. Thanks guys!

I've always preferred face to face, and cash ... In God we trust, all others pay cash.

[ultrafxr]

Did not know a certified check could be stopped but I do know they are counterfeited. Friend sold his bike several years ago to an over the road long haul trucker who came to pick it up and gave him a certified check. Check bounced and bike lost. A few months later police contacted him with the news that his bike was at a Harley dealer a couple states away. Long story short the dealer had to give it back to him so the dealer was the one who lost out. A happy ending for my friend . . . but one of the few once you've been scammed.

Like someone else said bank to bank wire transfer is the way to go. Or if both parties want to be protected for a long distance sale an attorney could hold the title and the funds in escrow until the bike was delivered, inspected and accepted. Might add a few $$ for the attorney's fee but better than losing everything.

Another problem with cash is the $10,000 limit not only for the one who deposits the funds but also for the one who withdraws. Most likely not a problem but I for one do not want my name being recorded like that . . . even for something that is totally legit. Just sayin'.

[ultrafxr]

..

[vwbug72501]

I've had good luck with PayPal. They have some protections in place for buyers and sellers. I even bought an expensive part from Brazil through PP. They handled the exchange rate and acted as an escrow agent for the deal. There are fees involved but you can build that into the price. Most straight up people understand the price of doing business and are OK with this. Also lucky that the guy in Brazil was a straight up guy.

[Marc H]

Appreciate this info. So, I am wondering how to safely do these deals.

Don’t accept personal checks. Don’t accept bank-certified checks. Don’t accept money orders. Don’t do direct-wire to your bank account. Don’t do cash because it might be counterfeit...not everybody has one of those little hand-held markers that is used to test each bill. How do you do cash when the buyer is 1000+ miles away. If he is standing in your yard with cash on Saturday afternoon how do you check the bills if you don’t have a little bill-checker thing. Where do you get one of those bill-checker things? ????

I am not trying to be sarcastic with this post - I am truly wondering how to be safe with this as I have some things to sell and don’t want to get scammed. Thanks guys!

The pens can be had at the office supply for one.I have I bought whn we had one to share between 5 of us and I wasn't gonna be slowed down waiting on a pen.I have heard there are simple ways to trick the pens and process is on you tube.I would really only trust the bank to bank thing or take my losses and trade it or something like that.I took several hundred dollars less than I would have on my V star to sell to someone I knew rather than deal with an out of towner.

[1dn5up]

Site unseen ? Beware . Always let the bank do the wire transfer. Give your bank the info. It’s then guaranteed if they mess up.