Buying off CL and the buyer wants cash

[caver]

I'm talking about something your interested in off CL or FB Marketplace that's maybe 150+ miles away and they want cash. We'll say an asking price of $10K+ I've been looking into replacing my camper with a used one and dealers around here have nothing I want.
I have been telling the sellers up front that I'm not carrying that kind of cash to meet a stranger. There's also a possibility of legal issues if any have seen the YT video from a lawyer. The rules here want us to avoid legal discussion so I will leave it at that. So far all have been unprepared for me asking that question but have entertained the alternatives. One kid said he would accept a cashiers check. Another would take a personal check after I suggested we draw up a bill of sale and they hold title and camper until it clears their bank. The most recent one was he suggested a bank transfer which I'm cool with since my CU charges a nominal fee and I could take trailer home that day since it was over 300 miles away. If a seller said pound sand, that's their choice. The one kid that wanted a cashiers check (surprised me) was because we would have to go to the bank to pay off his loan and get the title. I'm curious how others approach this.

 

[TnAndy]

IF I were the seller, it would be cash, or hold the whatever until your check....personal OR cashiers.....clears my bank. Cashier checks are way too easy to fake anymore to trust them.

 

[RNeumann]

Meet at the bank. Do the transaction inside- cash, cashiers check etc. It’s not a big deal.

 

[Rock Crawler]

When I sold my BX, it was US paper money... green cash only. No green, no sell. That is typical of how I do it when selling online. If that offends a person, I don't care at all. They are free to buy something else from someone else.

 

[rgr33]

The method RNeumann describes above is the way I have always done it, but it must be the buyers bank, so there is less chance of nsf after the fact

 

[Motorboatin]

I sold a SXS for cash a few years ago. The guy showed up with over 9k in $100 bills. It felt like a drug deal and I was happy when the machine rolled down the street on his trailer. I did this transaction at my office and I was the only guy here and there was two of them. If I ever do that again I will be doing the transaction in a police dept parking lot

 

[AWSubie]

Meet at the bank. Do the transaction inside- cash, cashiers check etc. It’s not a big deal.

Exactly what RNeumann says. The sellers bank will confirm with ur bank that whatever financial instrument u and seller agree upon is valid and the deal is done. If there is a lien against the item then u would complete the transaction at the lenders office instead of the bank.

 

[ovrszd]

I sold a SXS for cash a few years ago. The guy showed up with over 9k in $100 bills. It felt like a drug deal and I was happy when the machine rolled down the street on his trailer. I did this transaction at my office and I was the only guy here and there was two of them. If I ever do that again I will be doing the transaction in a police dept parking lot

Yeah, this has always been my concern. Or flip side, I'm the one with the cash. Especially when the seller doesn't want to meet at their house.

 

[TractorNH]

Always cash (checked with a money pen to make sure it's real) or might meet at the buyers bank to get a cashiers check but the check would ride back home with me, it wouldn't be left out of my sight. Paranoid? Maybe, but I work too hard for what I have to lose it by being scammed.

Several police departments in my area have a camera monitored parking spots in their lot for transactions or they will even allow you to do your transactions inside the PD.

When I sold my truck for over $10k the guy who was buying it thought it was wierd that I was checking the cash with the pen. He told me he was a police officer in a nearby town. I told him I already knew that from finding him on Facebook but I have my own rules for selling my stuff. He wasn't offended and totally understood my point. He originally wanted to use a cashiers check for $10k and the rest in cash. Before he came I told him if I can verify it is real then that would be okay. He had given me a picture of the check but even when I called the bank branch it was drawn from they said the only way to verify it was real was to deposit it. They couldn't even verify to me that the check number was issued to him if I gave them his name. Needless to say, it ended up being a cash transaction.

 

[oosik]

Last year I sold my smaller rear blade. I asked for cash only. The buyer had no problem with that. It was for $800. However - if I sold something for $10K or more - I would feel a lot safer doing the transaction in the bank.

Come to think about it - two great big guys did come in a pickup to get the rear blade. We still needed my tractor and FEL to get the blade in their pickup. It's not like they were going to grab it and run. There is a lot good to be said about a mile long driveway being the ONLY way out of your property.

 

[MossRoad]

As others have mentioned, our police department also offers an area in the parking lot to do transactions. Heck, they say if it's raining, to come on into the lobby. If it's a legit sale, neither party should object to that.

 

[dfkrug]

...but even when I called the bank branch it was drawn from they said the only way to verify it was real was to deposit it. They couldn't even verify to me that the check number was issued to him if I gave them his name.

I have never heard that before. I accept cashiers checks during banking hours so I can call the bank and verify the check. It has always worked and the banks or CUs are always cooperative. Sundays, cash only. I do have one bogus BofA check copy that was sent directly to my CU. I called the bank after it was rejected and all they would say was that it was not a real account. The "buyer" was out of the area and got nothing.

 

[caver]

Meet at the bank. Do the transaction inside- cash, cashiers check etc. It’s not a big deal.

The one that's been the farthest away was talking about doing that. I was glad he wasn't weirded out by a bank transfer. a guy bought my four wheeler last year and was surprised when I took out a counterfeit pen and checked the 100 bills. I told him businesses around here will check bills as low as 10$. There have been some counterfeit bills in the area off and on for several years now. I found too those pens aren't always reliable.

 

[fruitcakesa]

When I sold my snowplow, the buyer showed up at my place with a personal check with his company name on it. It was only for $500
He was from a nearby town and appeared to be a straight shooter. I took the check with his address on it. He took the plow. No problem at all.
When I sold my tractor, the buyer came with bank banded $100 bills. He also was from a nearby town. I did not think to pen the bills but they seem to have been ok. Again no problems.
Working with small town people, at least around these parts, is pretty safe since most folks either know each other or someone close to them.

 

[4570Man]

I’ve taken 2 cashiers checks for a sizable amount. Both pieces were insured so I was getting my money either way so I wasn’t worried.

 

[shootemup604]

Did a $44,000 deal last year, all 20's. Buyer runs a cash business (bar) and actually gets charged a service fee by the bank for processing his cash deposits, so he saved there. Brought me the money in a shoebox.

 

[ovrszd]

That's a LOT of counting!!!

 

[Jstpssng]

The one that's been the farthest away was talking about doing that. I was glad he wasn't weirded out by a bank transfer. a guy bought my four wheeler last year and was surprised when I took out a counterfeit pen and checked the 100 bills. I told him businesses around here will check bills as low as 10$. There have been some counterfeit bills in the area off and on for several years now. I found too those pens aren't always reliable.

Those pens show that the local newspaper is legal tender. I lost all faith in them after seeing that.
The guy who bought my backhoe asked up front if I would take a check, as it was Sunday so he couldn't get cash. I agreed, but looked him up before he arrived and found that he was a straight shooter.
Had he waited until he got there to ask I would have declined.

 

[caver]

Here's my counterfeit pen story: I wanted about 400 in cash and the local bank asked how I wanted it? 5-20's and the rest 100's is fine. Crisp new bills too. I go about a block away to fill truck up and for some reason decided to just pay cash. Gas prices were high then so prepay was required I hand her a $100 bill. As I'm heading back to my truck the clerk hollers at me. It had failed the pen test. I go back inside and say I just came from the bank with that money. She swipes another 100$ it fails. I then say here try this $20 and it fails. I think your pen is junk. She grabs another pen and the bill passes.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I can see it now, on the news. Dope deal gone bad in Cop Parking Lot.

It always amazes me, with our devalued currency, how much paper money you need. I'm not good at counting that plastic money we have and last thing I sold, I was making little piles of a hundred out of 20s and then the wind came along.