Selling it aint so easy...

[robomcpho]

Got my 2011 RT listed in cycle trader.com and craigslist. (baltimore)

Its been an "interesting" lesson in the fine art of internet weirdos, freaks and scammers, sprinkled in with a few legit LOCAL dudes, who low ball me of course.

Now i got a "nice" guy on the hook from CHICAGO...he wants the bike for my price, he even had a local bike guy come look at it who liked it too.

Now comes the matter of him actually getting the bike...He's got to have to get it shipped from Baltimore (he pays)...BUT obviously he's gotta pay me before the bike ships.

He wants to do escrow.com...(money is held by 3rd party until everyone is happy) i dont like it, reviews are not great, but i guess people use it. (for a fee about $200 he pays)...good news is he's not insisting on PAYPAL or Western Union

Just seems too complicated, simplest version is i want him to send me a $16K check, and when it clears he can have the bike.

BEST CASE: First one with a bag of cash wins bike!

He appears to be legit, but as you might expect, he has trust issues too!

This bike selling aint so easy.

Maybe i just answered my own questions... cash only and local

Any thoughts?

robert "never again" mc-biker

[dbrick]

I think you did indeed answer your own question.

Anything other than money in your hand, then you release the bike, is

[ponch1]

May be he should fly out and ride it home.

[nelliott]

Seems reasonable that he comes to your place to pick it up with money in hand.
Or, you ride it out to him he pays for your flight back
Or, call your local dealer and find out what they'll give you for it, then have a conversation guy to see if that motivates him before he loses the sale, or just sell to the dealer
Or hang onto it to sell locally

I am not inspired to sell mc's or cars, I just find out what some dealers will give me and take the cash fom the best offer. Spruce it up before you show it to them though.

[bikerfish1100]

Craigslist is good, but you'll rarely get a premium dollar there. most folks seem to want you to pay them to take it. I would NEVER sell a bike thru any kind of escrow account.
Represent your bike accurately, and sell to buyer face-2-face.
try selling on this site, ibmwra.org site, etc.

[flyhi2cfar]

...with this Forum being screwed up for two weeks or more! I've searched the classifieds here since early April for your RT.... some were listed
one day, missing the next...different format every other day when it 1st came back; still "glitchy" and not what's needed to assist either party.

But the folks I've communicated with.... were informed I'll meet you at your location/dealer for pick-up. Yes, I'll send a deposit to hold for me as buyer. I like the dealer inspection/service to give me piece of mind, plus... most bikes need Annual Service most every spring-time. But Robomcpho,
you live near the best dealer I know of (Bobs) in a metro area with good air & bus service.... have him come get it!

[billy walker]

.................. who low ball me of course.

Got a kick out of this. Welcome to the motorcycle business! Buyers frequently undervalue for their own purpose and sellers overvalue for their own purpose. Usually their own greed on both sides of the fence. Given the internet it's pretty simple to valuate most things most of the time by visiting multiple sources.

...................
Just seems too complicated, simplest version is i want him to send me a $16K check, and when it clears he can have the bike.

Nothing wrong with escrow in a scenario like this but the real problem is the hassle involved and then using a 3rd party that can be trusted. Too much headache! You mention him sending you a $16k check. Did he offer to do that? I'll assume that's your idea. Unless you're in sales you may not realize the hassle of selling big ticket items. You need to tell him certified check and/or cash. Two caveats: (1) With a bank instrument of any type once in receipt of the check call the bank and verify they truly cut that check. Then deposit and wait until it clears before releasing the bike and title. With cash you will want to deposit at the bank first and have them run the cash through one of their counterfeit machines to verify legitimacy.

I can no longer recall the exact nature of the bank instrument but back in the mid-80's I took payment for two atv's I sold. Customer paid with some type of bank instrument either certified check or money order, I forget what exactly. Long story short it turned out the instrument was stolen and we never recovered the funds nor did they ever find the guy. As to cash when you're in the business you will discover the distinct pleasure of receiving counterfeit cash from time to time. I never release a cash deal until I go down to the bank and hand it over to them and their verification it's all good. It's pretty common the buyer will become offended but personally I don't care. Any adult who gets offended at handling the transaction in that manner really needs to exit Disney World and get with the program. However, to this very day despite all that goes on in the world some people do get offended. What can I say?

He appears to be legit, but as you might expect, he has trust issues too!

Many thieves appear to be legit. That's exactly how they get away with what their doing. Although it slows down the process you need to understand you never really know who you're dealing with. All businesses suffer losses through theft. Sometimes employees and sometimes customers. Transactions that have the ability to substantially hurt need to be handled in the safest way possible.

[kantuckid]

Electronic wire transfer-his bank to your bank or he comes to you with money, as Billy says. If he wants it he will find a way or he needs to become a "dealer buyer" where all is cushy? I cannot count the times I've had "buyers" that wanted me to bring the item to them. Ha! Nobody brings me anything. I have offered & in one case delivered a late model PU to a doctor with 7 kids & obviously wife was busy too-he paid for the trip in state.
Well, now that I think about it, I did buy an old wood stove off of "Buy a dog , Sell a hog" (local call in & sell it radio program) & at the time had no truck. We agreed on price & these people who sounded kinda flaky on the phone, so I meet them down in town & the stove is a piece of crap but I feel sorry for them and give them the money. It was loaded in the trunk of an old car worth about the same as the stove,i.e., not very much!
Trust is a part of buying and selling and comes in various amounts. I usually can determine much(obviously not all) via a phone conversation and experience is a large factor. Having worked with criminal minds for a living I can attest that they often have a PHD in BS.
As for incentive to sell it yourself- not everyone is "good" at selling but the machine will often sell itself if worthy & you have the smarts & patience to make it happen. As mentioned above some don't. I look at it like I'm the one with limited money and I can make as much as they do, (dealers) so if I just hang in there I'm making money not losing it.

[robomcpho]

Great advice from all... Thanks

If nothing else I'm going with my gut feeling of "this don't feel right" and pulling the plug...I'm not desperate to sell it...

(Doh!...It ain't over yet, he's talking about a wire transfer to me)

[187132]

Your in a tough position. I would also ask myself why he is so interested in your bike when he can find one similar to yours locally in Chicago with much less hassle for both parties. I sold one of my Harleys for $16,000 on ebay when I lived in LA. The person who bought it lived in IL. After we had a few conversations he decided he trusted me and sent me a cashiers check. We waited for the funds to properly clear at my bank + I told hime I want 10 business days after that just in case something comes back after the fact. Once everything was good he had a carrier pick it up.

I got lucky with this deal. The problem with the escrow is what happens if the bike is damages in transport? He won't take it and your unhappy about the damage and really don't want the bike back either. Yes there's insurance in play buy it never washes you clean. My opinion is to sit on your bike until someone with cash in hand comes to pick it up. Or at least brings certified funds with them. The last Harley I sold the guy brought a cashiers check and we went down to the bank together to verify the check. It was the bank the cashiers check originated from and I had them give me cash on the spot. Remember that cashiers checks and certified funds can also be bogus.

Good luck,
Jason

[71243]

Yes there is allot of trust involved when buying out of state / non local. I have bought two. One Arizona , one Florida. I'm Ohio.

First guy Arizona was way over honest He didn't like the [age] of the tires and mounted new ones, after the deal was settled! And I had mailed the check, and had all fluids changed while it was at the dealer!...all on his dime. The bike [R1200C Montauk] arrived in perfect order.

Second guy Florida, while no problems,...was not as honest? The bike R1150R was not as "perfect" as explained. Seems the pictures posted may have been older. One item , bent wheel...but the price was right, and the issues were corrected at a reasonable cost so...no [real] complaints.

Sold one to Wisconsin , deal settled...he came to pick it up, brought the money with him.

Not always easy to sell locally. Examp;...I live deep in Harley country anything else gets little response. I have two Kawasaki Vulcans for sale. I'm sure it will take some time, and likely go out of local area.

[billy walker]

Yes there is allot of trust involved when buying out of state / non local. I have bought two. One Arizona , one Florida. I'm Ohio.

First guy Arizona was way over honest He didn't like the [age] of the tires and mounted new ones, after the deal was settled! And I had mailed the check, and had all fluids changed while it was at the dealer!...all on his dime. The bike [R1200C Montauk] arrived in perfect order.

Second guy Florida, while no problems,...was not as honest? The bike R1150R was not as "perfect" as explained. Seems the pictures posted may have been older. One item , bent wheel...but the price was right, and the issues were corrected at a reasonable cost so...no [real] complaints.

Sold one to Wisconsin , deal settled...he came to pick it up, brought the money with him.

Not always easy to sell locally. Examp;...I live deep in Harley country anything else gets little response. I have two Kawasaki Vulcans for sale. I'm sure it will take some time, and likely go out of local area.

Dealers tend to take a beating in the area of honesty. No one is born a dealer. They actually start out as human beings and then at some point become customers and then become a dealer. Where in that chain of events do people turn dishonest? The real problem is not being a dealer; the real problem is being a person who decides to become dishonest. Give thought to this comment: the only way a business gets to be dishonest is through the cooperation of its so-called honest employees. If the employee refused to carry out the dishonesty the business wouldn't be able to pull it off. Yes, someone may need their job and we all know that. But does that mean the dishonesty is now ok because the person can't afford to lose their job. Today's heavy thought...

[robomcpho]

My dealer would happily take the bike back, but guess what? With a LOW offer and then he makes a good nickle off of my impatience... He politely warned me, "private deals rarely go smoothly"... so you pay him for the hassle factor... as I said i'm NOT desperate but you reach a point and say "Hey, this is taking up a lot of my TIME!!"

Last email to dude was "Cashiers check only...I cash it at your bank $100 bills, then we talk about shipping"

grrrrr

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/mcy/3687204805.html

[rd400racer]

I buy and sell bikes all the time. I always thought there was an unwritten rule to this....If you are the buyer, you give the seller his money and figure out how you are going to get the bike. Sold an FZR400 to a guy from Montreal last month...he drove to Louisville and back same day to get it. Sold a Daytona Special to a guy in San Fran last year. He paid me then arranged for a shipping company to pick it up. I bought another FZR from a guy in South Carolina...I drove to pick it up and back in a day.

If the deal involves more than this....I walk away.

[billy walker]

I buy and sell bikes all the time. I always thought there was an unwritten rule to this....If you are the buyer, you give the seller his money and figure out how you are going to get the bike. Sold an FZR400 to a guy from Montreal last month...he drove to Louisville and back same day to get it. Sold a Daytona Special to a guy in San Fran last year. He paid me then arranged for a shipping company to pick it up. I bought another FZR from a guy in South Carolina...I drove to pick it up and back in a day.

If the deal involves more than this....I walk away.

There are no unwritten rules. There is almost always negotiation involved in motor vehicle sales. Dealer or private sale. Buyers will invariably think their they're paying too much no matter the price.