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Selling it aint so easy...

Hello,

I've sold hundreds & hundreds of bikes online, and my experience tells me that if you've got someone with trust issues, they generally don't get better. I don't use, nor can I recommend an escrow service.

If your prospect doesn't trust you, he doesn't trust you. It doesn't get any better than that.

The way each and every one of the transactions I've done works is simple...and have been perfected through trial & error. First, terms are agreed to in writing. Second, customer sends (wire transfer usually) funds for payment in full, which is verified. Title is sent via overnight delivery to customer, and the arrangements are theirs to make for pickup. Haulbikes.com, funtransport.com, and keyboardmotorcycletransport are three shippers we've had good success with.

Any suggestion of an alternative to that wouldn't be acceptable to me.

If you have a nice bike, you'll find a nice buyer for it...hopefully someone that deserves it. Good Luck, and you can certainly PM me if you have any questions.
 
The reason is that BMW Canada is trying to reduce/restrict the flow of foreign used bikes into the Canadian market which, in their mind, negatively impacts their sales. Dealers in Canada often flat refuse to provide this required paperwork. Ducati dealers charge a fee to provide this recall form.

A dealer in Vancouver once had a sign posted in their service department stating that if you bought your bike from a US source you were going to be waiting a VERY long time for service and you were going to pay more for that service. That dealership has since changed ownership.

I wouldn't be our former friend John would it?
 
The reason is that BMW Canada is trying to reduce/restrict the flow of foreign used bikes into the Canadian market which, in their mind, negatively impacts their sales. Dealers in Canada often flat refuse to provide this required paperwork. Ducati dealers charge a fee to provide this recall form.

I can't say with certainty especially if it's Canadian-related but I would doubt it's legal to refuse and/or charge for recall info. Customers are entitled to know their recall status here in the States, why on earth would you deny someone safety information of that nature? We're in a business where we actually kill off some of our customer base - we have every responsibility in the world to make sure their bike is as safe as possible.

A dealer in Vancouver once had a sign posted in their service department stating that if you bought your bike from a US source you were going to be waiting a VERY long time for service and you were going to pay more for that service. That dealership has since changed ownership.

Should this be a true statement the dealer should have changed ownership. He has no right to be in business any longer. I'm the first to say a dealer is entitled to be profitable. However, no dealer should be guaranteed profitability. You need to earn that entitlement with your customer base. Hopefully the new owner will get things under control.

It never ceases to amaze me how so many people in all kinds of businesses forget it is the customer in control. Such a simple concept but failed in so many ways in so many businesses.
 
What sort of laws are you referring to?

Tax/trade in laws & maybe others-I don't claim special expertise here. The auto dealers assn in various states all have a lobby & often concerns develop to get business to cross or not cross state lines. Taxes are geared toward the politicos who need/want our money & dealers who are obviously after the same end. The way a trade in vehicle affects taxes varies is the most common thing I'm aware of, other than the way an out of state vehicle purchase is taxed vs. an instate purchase. Most if not all states do have reciprocity that makes taxes paid out of state transfer to your state of registration. Some tax provisions are likely done to get voters to vote in a certain direction & appear to make certain groups look taxpayer friendly. As we get more & more mega dealers that own multiple locations, I suppose the issue will cloud up?
Property tax law also enters into the where you register the vehicle idea. For most of us it's a no brainer/ no choice thing but many RV's are registered in certain states & perhaps more are bought there too? Cars/trucks the same. Buying in a certain place may also offer certain privilege or penalty to wrecked or repaired wrecked vehicles for reuse on street. Itinerant persons that move around by job(military,some corporations, migrant agriculture, certain skilled trades,etc.) all tend to choose there point of purchase & favorable tax laws by facts at hand. It's complicated.
 
I have a buyer coming in from out of state, only 2 hrs away but still far enough to make me uneasy. The only way I'm transferring my title is if we go to the bank together when he gets here and I see the teller make the check out in my name. So far he seems to be OK with that.

After that he gets the keys, Title and my best wishes for a safe trip home. It's just too much money to mess around with.
 
Tax/trade in laws & maybe others-I don't claim special expertise here. The auto dealers assn in various states all have a lobby & often concerns develop to get business to cross or not cross state lines. Taxes are geared toward the politicos who need/want our money & dealers who are obviously after the same end. The way a trade in vehicle affects taxes varies is the most common thing I'm aware of, other than the way an out of state vehicle purchase is taxed vs. an instate purchase. Most if not all states do have reciprocity that makes taxes paid out of state transfer to your state of registration. Some tax provisions are likely done to get voters to vote in a certain direction & appear to make certain groups look taxpayer friendly. As we get more & more mega dealers that own multiple locations, I suppose the issue will cloud up?
Property tax law also enters into the where you register the vehicle idea. For most of us it's a no brainer/ no choice thing but many RV's are registered in certain states & perhaps more are bought there too? Cars/trucks the same. Buying in a certain place may also offer certain privilege or penalty to wrecked or repaired wrecked vehicles for reuse on street. Itinerant persons that move around by job(military,some corporations, migrant agriculture, certain skilled trades,etc.) all tend to choose there point of purchase & favorable tax laws by facts at hand. It's complicated.

Motor vehicle sales tax is based on point of registration not necessarily point of purchase although both could be the same tax jurisdiction and therefore the same rate.

Some states such as Florida and New York contain multiple tax jurisdictions and those jurisdictions dictate what you're going to pay for a sales tax rate. Perfect example would be someone from NYC buys a car in Jersey. If that NYC individual registers the automobile/motorcycle in the City of New York the appropriate sales tax for the City of New York will need to be paid. To clarify when I say point of registration I mean the tax jurisdiction you live in. A NYC resident who owns a business in Jersey will pay Jersey sales tax on that vehicle if the vehicles is in the business name.
 
Motor vehicle sales tax is based on point of registration not necessarily point of purchase although both could be the same tax jurisdiction and therefore the same rate.

Some states such as Florida and New York contain multiple tax jurisdictions and those jurisdictions dictate what you're going to pay for a sales tax rate. Perfect example would be someone from NYC buys a car in Jersey. If that NYC individual registers the automobile/motorcycle in the City of New York the appropriate sales tax for the City of New York will need to be paid. To clarify when I say point of registration I mean the tax jurisdiction you live in. A NYC resident who owns a business in Jersey will pay Jersey sales tax on that vehicle if the vehicles is in the business name.

In the state of Ohio, various counties have different sales tax rates. If you reside in Strongsville ( Cuyahoga county) and buy a bike in Brunswick (next community south, but in Medina county) upon transfer of title into your name, you pay 7.5% sales tax as oposed to the 6.75% in the county the vehicle was sold in.
 
You definitely have to be patient when selling bikes. I just now sold a 78 R100s which I've owned for a little over 2 years and put about 13k miles on. I first put it up on Craigslist and ADVrider last September. I listed it for $5600 obo which I admit was optimistic but still not close to what I had in it. I had a lot of interest in it a first and I thought it was sold a few times only to never hear from the parties again. Interest with time slowed up but finally some one showed up last weekend offered me 5K and I took it. Now it's time to buy something else, put money into, ride, lose interest in and sell.
 
selling the bike

Another alternative to cash is have the buyer send you a certified check from the USPS. When you receive it, go to your local post office and cash it. Once you have the cash in hand, ship the bike. It is better than cashiers check or any other check that have to wait for the bank to clear. The USPS will verify it on the spot and give you cash. The downfall depends on the size of the transaction. Local postal offices have limited amount of funds.
 
The USPS Check is something I hadn't thought of, and didn't know they could verify it on sight. I will check with the local post office tomorrow and if that's true I'll tell the buyer that would be acceptable as well,

Thanks for the info.
 
Better call the post office a day or so ahead...never known those folks to keep much money in the till.
 
USPS Certified Check?

You sure about that? I've never heard of USPS checks, certified or otherwise. I couldn't find anything about it on their web site. They do sell money orders but only up to $1000. The post offices in other countries run banks but not in the US.
 
Cash advance is $50 when I buy stamps-that's a long ways from buying much of a MC? I seriously doubt my PO takes that much in in a week.:)
 
You sure about that? I've never heard of USPS checks, certified or otherwise. I couldn't find anything about it on their web site. They do sell money orders but only up to $1000. The post offices in other countries run banks but not in the US.

It's a Postal Money order...used them before, recall it's a $1000 max per order...and no they won't cash that amount...at least in my small town PO
 
Their website has the info. Basically up to $1000 per check and you may purchase 10 per day. So not really much help there. I guess the buyer could go back the next day for the rest, but it seems like an awful lot of trouble. You would have to bring a lunch or starve by the time a Postal Clerk cranked out 17 checks!
 
I have a buyer coming in from out of state, only 2 hrs away but still far enough to make me uneasy. The only way I'm transferring my title is if we go to the bank together when he gets here and I see the teller make the check out in my name. So far he seems to be OK with that.

After that he gets the keys, Title and my best wishes for a safe trip home. It's just too much money to mess around with.

That's what was done with my K75. Bike delivery was a condition of the sale. The PO rode the bike to my credit union. I handed him a cashiers check and he signed the bike over to me and handed me the keys. His transportation home was not my headache. Overall, it was the easiest vehicle purchase I have ever done.
 
I worry if the cash is all good. Once when selling a car, I had the guy go with me to my bank. Their cash counting machine verified that the cash was all good and the count. We then went over to a table and finished the transaction. Safer in many ways
 
I worry if the cash is all good. Once when selling a car, I had the guy go with me to my bank. Their cash counting machine verified that the cash was all good and the count. We then went over to a table and finished the transaction. Safer in many ways

Good thinking. Having been the recipient of counterfeit a few times through the years I won't allow a cash sale to proceed until doing exactly what you did. Only then does the paperwork get completed.
 
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