I may be selling a car soon to someone several hundred miles away. They may have it shipped or they may fly in and drive it home. I know not to let the car go with just a personal check, and I’ve heard of the scams with fake money orders. Other than insisting on actual green leagal tender dollars; what are other methods that are safe ways to accept payment?
Don’t know much about PayPal…is this a viable option? how does it work? Does PayPal get a cut of the action?
Subscribed since I’m selling a car later this summer and have been wondering the same thing.
That is what a cashiers check is for. All banks issue them in exchange for payment up front and then it goes to you as verified full payment.
There have been many reports of forged cashiers checks. See Snopes. Most of these scams involve a check for more than the selling price with the seller to send the difference to someone. The only fraud-proof method of payment is cash which is brought to a bank with both parties present to ensure it is not counterfeit.
I used to sell used cars a lot. The ONLY safe method is to go to a bank & get greenbacks.
I sold locally, and when somebody offered a cashiers or personal check we’d drive together to the local branch of his bank & convert it to cash. After I had cash, he got a title. No exceptions, period.
And that was before cashiers check forgeries became commonplace.
Understand that only cash prevents some bank in the chain from coming back to you for the money if they can’t get it from the scammer.
If the out-of-state customer banks with some small local bank where he lives & doesn’t want to travel carrying cash, he can use Western Union to wire money to himself at a place local to you. Note I said wire to him, not wire to you. Again, only greenbacks in your hand put an impenitrable firewall between you and a scammer.
Greenbacks are best. If they can pay any other way, then there is no reason they can’t convert the other instrument to cash. Any excuse offered is a red flag. The only reason NOT to take cash is if you worry about being robbed after completing the sale.
I’ve made three large (>$1000) ebay purchases. One seller was OK with a cashier’s check, another wanted cash (as I offered) and a third wanted USPS money orders rather than cash.
It is possible to forge money orders, especially since many people don’t know what a real one looks like. That said, USPS money orders are difficult (not impossible) to forge. You can buy one for comparison for a minimal amount, and the the USPS has a one pager on what to look for to spot a counterfeit.* They are a bit of a pain, because they are only issued to some maximum amount, US$1000 IIRC, so it can take a stack of them to complete a large transaction. It is also a pain for the buyer, as they first have to get cash from the bank, then buy the MO’s at the post office.
By comparison, cashier’s checks are trivial to forge, as are non USPS money orders.
In any case, any non-cash instrument greater than the agreed sale price is a massive red flag. It is reasonable to provide a nominal amount of change for cash payment, NOT for anything that could have been drafted in the correct amount in the first place.
Also, Meet the buyer at a public place to complete the transaction. Your workplace is a possibility or a large hotel or similar. A lot can go wrong letting a stranger into your home. NONE of the large ebay deals I have done were completed at the sellers home (though you can bet I did research to make damned sure I knew where they lived!)
*I know this because an ebay seller specifically requested USPS MO instead of cash when I went to pick up my camper. Apparently his wife was a bit freaked out over me driving from Albuquerque, NM to Grand Rapids, MI with several thousands in cash. He had the USPS “How to spot a fake MO” sheet, and a $5 MO to compare it to out when when closed the deal.
What’s the difference?
If he wires the money to himself, he then swaps it for cash at the local Western Union. If he wires the money to me, I could be left holding a counterfeit MO, while he speeds off in my car.
When you collect a WU moneygram, you sign for the money. When you sign for the money, you are also agreeing to give it back if WU somehow got duped. If the buyer signs for the money, this is not your problem.