I am selling a motorcycle - how do I take visa?

[Bible_Belt]

A guy wants to pay me for my motorcycle via paypal because all he has is a credit card and not the cash.

Is PayPal the best way? How do I structure the transaction so that I have no risk of fraud?

 

[darkstarrr]

You can post it as a buy it now on ebay but you are going to have to pay fees associated with that process. Make sure he has decent feedback, etc.

 

[romangod]

A guy wants to pay me for my motorcycle via paypal because all he has is a credit card and not the cash.

Is PayPal the best way? How do I structure the transaction so that I have no risk of fraud?

There's not much risk of fraud with PayPal. I've had an account there for as long as I can remember and never had a problem receiving payment. The thing you have to take into account is the "transaction fee" that PayPal charges for receiving money. It can be quite high so make sure you take that into account when pricing your motorcycle.


He'll be depositing money into his account via his credit card. It will have nothing to do with you. Then his account will pay your account in cash minus the fees. Good luck.


Cheers!

 

[romangod]

You can post it as a buy it now on ebay but you are going to have to pay fees associated with that process. Make sure he has decent feedback, etc.

Bad advice. You don't need E-bay in the transaction and are just adding to your expenses.


Cheers!

 

[darkstarrr]

You can post it as a buy it now on ebay but you are going to have to pay fees associated with that process. Make sure he has decent feedback, etc.

Bad advice. You don't need E-bay in the transaction and are just adding to your expenses.

Cheers!

How is telling someone what their options are bad advice. Advice is advising someone what to do. I'm not a lawyer, I don't give financial or legal advice. Telling someone what their options are is helping to keep them informed. BB asked how he can structure the transaction so there is no risk of fraud. Adding e-bay to the mix would add another buffer of protection. Personally, I would just go the Paypal route, too.

 

[STR8UP]

Actually, saying that Paypal is 100% safe or that Ebay won't do anything to help you aren't good advice.

Fact- If a buyer has a decent amount of positive feedback on Ebay you can be relatively sure you aren't dealing with a scam artist, especially if they have sold and/or purchased large ticket items.

Fact- you most definitely CAN get screwed with Paypal. It's called a chargeback. And if you are selling something like this I would make DAMN sure you get EVERYTHING in writing, disclosing defects, terms of the sale, etc.

When you sell through Paypal and the buyer uses a credit card, all they have to do is CALL their credit card company and initiate a dispute. Sometimes the bank will initially take the money away from you until you prove your side within a specified time frame. You are considered a "merchant" in the is transaction, and as such the customer of the bank (the cardholder) is usually presumed to be right.

Personally I would be leery. Tell the guy to go to the bank and get a cash advance. that protects you and makes HIM eat the fees. If you were a business you would have to take credit cards, but people don't expect an individual to have to accept them.

I have had THOUSANDS of dollars scammed from me through chargebacks. If my i's weren't dotted and my t's weren't crossed, they basically STOLE the money out of my account and there was nothing I could do. Crime is bad these days....protect yourself.....

 

[Bible_Belt]

Thanks, str8up. People with e-commerce experience are telling me the same thing about paypal chargebacks.

The account he would paypal into has only $100 in it. I would not sign over the title until the bank would let me withdraw the actual cash. However, from what I am understanding, the chargeback can still occur. The bank would just give me a big negative balance in the account and try to initiate a collections process. I have no other assets at that bank.

If the only risk is having a bank after me for a collections charge, that is not so bad, because to get their money they have to litigate. And I would have no problem proving my innocence to a judge if it came to it. I will get a bill of sale, receipt of goods, as-is disclaimer, whatever other proof of sale that I need.

I am very wary of being scammed, but it is also reasonable that someone could have the plastic and not the cash. Maybe he is running up the card to file bankruptcy, who knows. I suppose the card could be stolen. I should make sure that it is in his name and ask to see a photo id, I am guessing.

Right now I am thinking to get the green money in hand, then litigate my way out of any problems later if it comes to it.

 

[Maxtro]

If he wants to use a his visa credit card then he should get a cash advance. Paying you in cash is the easiest and most final way.

He could also use a promo check that CC companies send out, give that to a bank and have the band give you a certified cashiers check. You should be fine in accepting a certified cashiers check from a well known bank. I would not accept a personal check. He may also buy a money order or use moneygram or something to wire money to you.

 

[LoneRanger]

Fact- you most definitely CAN get screwed with Paypal. It's called a chargeback. And if you are selling something like this I would make DAMN sure you get EVERYTHING in writing, disclosing defects, terms of the sale, etc.

Yep. You are 100% correct.

The reasonings behind the potential buyer's wanting to use Paypal is a huge red flag for me.

Either accept cash, cashier's check or money order. No paypal. It will only lead to trouble.

He can go to the paypal site and file a dispute and have his cash back within a month or sooner.

 

[Julian]

This is elementary business right here son. Dont accept anything other then a money order or cash. I wouldnt even sell a bike to someone who wasnt near where I lived. Meet somewhere in person, do the deal and be done with it.

Then theres no headache and you dont have to worry about gettin screwed.

Remember bro, this is the internet...you dont know jack sh1t about this guy. You dont want people to know where you live or anything about you. At least I dont.

This sounds like a big ticket item...do you really want to entrust that amount of value to a shoddy company like paypal or doing some kind of credit business online? Sounds very dodgy...would not do. You could be out the bike AND the money so be smart about this.

Remember for every broke bastard with a credit card theres a couple dudes with CASH ready to pay for your bike up front so your better off holding out till someone comes along with the dough and who will deal ON YOUR TERMS. Thats the bottomline. Holla