The joys of craigslist sales....

[OldF7Guy_imp]

Its free of course. My 750 has been there for a week. Pics and a very definitive description of the history ect.... THings that would be important to me as a buyer.

I get tons of emails wanting to trade everything from a Honda siilverwing to a junky Ford Ranger. LOL:rofl:

I have since edited my add. Somebody was supposed to come get it Sunday and they fell off the planet due to me wanting cash or a bank check.

You are never too old to learn. How do you guys handle such things? Am I on the right track? Im so old I dont know all the tricks of scammers. Give me some pointers. I knew this deal was strange because the buyer didnt ask the questions I would have.

What do I need to look for?

 

[the Ferret]

A guy with cash in hand. That's all that matters lol

 

[cbfan_imp]

I'm an old retired guy and since retirement I have bought many old vintage Honda's from CL. Have found some good ones and when it was time to sell have run into all sorts of offers and scams. You just have to go into it heads up knowing you will run into all kinds. I am presently selling a nice 1981 CX500 on CL, just started the add this morn and in the first couple hours had several request to see it today..................not one showed up. The first thing I do when I get a name from a possible buyer I check their name on Facebook/Goggle, most times I find them there. I can tell by their profile more or less what type person they are. Once I was selling a nice newer bike and had phone number from a possible buyer, checked it on goggle and found it to be a Harley dealer, needless to say I never called.
Good Luck.

 

[12cb96vfr_imp]

only takes one buyer and sometimes that buyer takes time.

Only deal face-to-face (I meet somewhere first to get a feel for them, if they are legit we'll go to my house for paperwork) and only accept stacks of $100 bills or a certified check.

 

[OldF7Guy_imp]

A guy with cash in hand. That's all that matters lol

+ one. I am a lot of things but I am a fundementally honest person so scams dont cross my mind. They just dont because its not how I operate. IM old fashioned.

I need to adapt to the new world we live in. But its hard because that is not who I am. I have never lied about a used car or motorcycle and never will. Conversely, I have never really been burned on a used car or motorcycle because the private owner was pretty honest.

Amazing on how times have changed.

 

[Randy B]

Also be weary of someone wanting a test drive that doesn't either show up with someone or walks up......and hands you the funds before the ride. There was a C/L deal that went south on another forum a few months ago when the perspective buyer walked up to the meet location and wanted to hear the bike run (dirt bike, kick only) and the seller unloaded it and the guy hoped on and kicked it and took off. From what I know they haven't found the bike as of yet.

People suck sometimes and there's not much that can be done about that. Just be vigilant and have someone with you as well.

 

[Elipten_imp]

Cash in your hand and see the motorcycle endorsement on the license before allowing a test ride and only after an interview on their riding experience


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[CIP57_imp]

I recently sold a high ticket bicycle on CL, it sold in about 6hrs. Here are some things i had to weed through,

Buyers wanting to 10% over list to hold it until they could come over
Wanting to pay with things other than cash
E-mails with no return address

After 1 hour I took down the e-mail response, only allowing phone calls to respond. I got at least 6 bogus calls.
Unblocked calls only accepted and only with there full name, address and email contact.

I hooked up with a guy who called me and followed up with his business e-mail address which i could respond back too. Finally a solid contact who came over after work with cash.

 

[The Spaceman_imp]

I wouldn't even take a bank check unless the buyer is willing to leave the bike until the funds have cleared (+10 business days for a foreign bank).

 

[CIP57_imp]

I wouldn't even take a bank check unless the buyer is willing to leave the bike until the funds have cleared (+10 business days for a foreign bank).

+1 No bank checks until they have cleared, to many bogus checks out there. A few wanted to pay with P/O & bank checks and i refused.

 

[ClassicVW_imp]

I like to use bike specific sites and forums to sell, instead of CL. I had mostly ridden BMWs for the past dozen or so years and used the MOA and IBMWR sites to sell.

I always get a feel for someone by talking to them on the phone. Email and text is OK, but not for getting a feel for someone. A couple of bikes I've sold, I've wound up talking to the buyer for like 45 minutes to an hour on the phone about all kinds of bikes. A scammer will not put in the effort and talk to you for an hour on the phone, IMO.

On long distance deals, in may cases, someone has to trust the other first. I shipped one bike to Michigan without ever meeting the buyer. The funds were sent first by him, then I did the shipping. Another time, I was the buyer and wired the funds to Chicago and then they shipped the bike. I had googled the seller and found him to be a bank president with pages and pages of charity work and he was quite wealthy. So I figured he didn't earn his reputation by scamming people out of a $7000 motorcycle!

I delivered a Harley from NJ to Annapolis and met the buyer in the Navy Federal Credit Union parking lot and went into the bank with him and received the cash on the spot and handed over the bike. As others have said, Cash is the way to go, especially on face-to-face in-person deals. Also, some buyers are reluctant to bring a bank check that's already made out to the seller because if the buyer changes his mind, there's fees for them to turn the check back in to the bank, as well as waiting times to have the cash back in their account.

 

[redbirds_imp]

Sold a few bikes and cars on Craigs List. Cash only, no exceptions. Some buyers are leery of showing up with a large sum so I will agree to meet them in a public place to put them at ease. I state in my ad that I will only respond by phone, no texts or emails. Be sure to use many quality photos in your ad especially pointing out any defects in paint, etc.

 

[CA200_imp]

The funniest one I had was a guy who wanted to trade me a 1/2 restored Studebaker truck for a motorcycle, ya that's what I need a truck that need another 15,000$ to make it done!

 

[Capo]

I like to buy on Craigslist and sell on EBay. I suppose it's a kind of arbitrage. But I find that this weeds out the scammers and allows me more peace of mind.

 

[pechorin75_imp]

I agree about buying seeming better than selling on CL. I'm going to be selling some bikes next spring (the fleet's getting a little out of hand) and I've thought about trying eBay...but I think I'll avoid auction sales on there. A lot of the bikes I've watched (out of curiosity, not bidding) seem to go for less than "true" market value when auctioned. I figure I'll just post a buy-it-now price, 30-day sale, tons of pics and description, and wait for the right person.

As far as payment for CL sales...since I live in a state that requires a notarized bill of sale, as a buyer I've always just suggested that we go to my bank (which almost always has a notary on duty) and handle the whole thing. That way they can see me get the cashiers check and know it's legit. And I don't have to walk around with a giant stack of cash.

 

[Capo]

I agree about buying seeming better than selling on CL. I'm going to be selling some bikes next spring (the fleet's getting a little out of hand) and I've thought about trying eBay...but I think I'll avoid auction sales on there. A lot of the bikes I've watched (out of curiosity, not bidding) seem to go for less than "true" market value when auctioned. I figure I'll just post a buy-it-now price, 30-day sale, tons of pics and description, and wait for the right person.

As far as payment for CL sales...since I live in a state that requires a notarized bill of sale, as a buyer I've always just suggested that we go to my bank (which almost always has a notary on duty) and handle the whole thing. That way they can see me get the cashiers check and know it's legit. And I don't have to walk around with a giant stack of cash.

Buy it Now with Best Offer is the way to go. It weeds out the riff raft, puts you in control, and avoids the tedium of an auction. I've done it numerous times, and with rare exception, makes for a seamless selling process.

 

[ClassicVW_imp]

Yes, by all means include a Buy It Now choice.

 

[cbfan_imp]

Well, the CX I mentioned in Post #3 sold in 24 hours on CL. A well mannered young man bought it with no hassles and paid me what I had it listed for.........actually I gave him a break and knocked off 50 bucks. Works for me.

 

[Mr Jangles_imp]

More red flags are: " I'm inquiring about the item you are selling", well come on man what item are you inquiring about??? Other red flags are they use words like "advert" and "god bless" Or "my agent", when was the last time you used the word "advert" ha ha there easy to sniff out.
A couple of years ago I was selling a kayak on CL for $900, the guy offered to pay me double if I would ship, I knew it was a scam with all the BS ( I never mentioned the kayak, he wanted the "item" so I was bored and played with him, he was like in NY but the M.O.'s came from FL, he overnight Fed X me 2 postal M.O $900 ea. ( I chuckled at the notion he spent $$$ to send them next day fed x) they looked legit btw. I took them to the P.O. and sure enough they were BOGUS. He was pissed, after a couple of angry emails he sent back I told him the FBI had tracked his domain, never heard back from him again. P.S. there's also a pay pal scam where these creeps know how to rip off pay pal but not sure how that one works.

 

[Papa Weeley_imp]

I've sold several motorcycles on Ebay with no problems at all (knock wood). I start with a low starting bid, and put a reserve on it for the minimum I'd take. Every one so far has easily met or exceeded my reserve. Sure, there have been a few who have contacted me about offering me half my reserve before the auction's over, etc., but it's easy to politely turn them down, or just block them. And I insist on bank transfers or cash in hand if they're picking it up. Anybody who's above-board understands, and complies; I've never had a single complaint.
I think giving as much info as possible, including any known problems, and including lots of pics covering every nook and cranny is the way to do it. People realize you're being honest and straightforward about your item, and therefore feel a lot more comfortable doing business with someone they don't know, and usually long-distance, too. It's what I'd want if I were the buyer. Unfortunately, that's seldom the case from other sellers.
Having said all this, I haven't bothered with all the craziness that is Craig's List. To me, Ebay is so easy and relatively safe to use, why bother with the lookie-loos, ridiculously low offers and insanity of CL?