The PayPal debacle?!

[Protagonist]

The ONLY alternative to cash in hand that I would accept is a Western Union Money Order. Because in order to get one of those, they have to fork over the money first, and even if they later request a refund, Western Union will not refund the money if the recipient has already cashed the money order. All the person would get in that case is a copy of the cleared money order.

And even better, you could take the money order to YOUR local Western Union office, and verify if it's real or a forgery before you try to cash it. If it's a forgery, Western Union will try to prosecute the forger; their reputation depends on it.

More to the point, though, I would not do business with anyone who will not give his full legal name. Otherwise, what name would go on the bill of sale? He needs a legal bill of sale in order to register it. Even a real PayPal receipt is not a legal bill of sale in the eyes of any DMV I know of, as the PayPal receipt just shows that money has changed hands, and does not include a legal description of the property being purchased for said money. The PayPal receipt doesn't show a VIN number or anything.

The ONLY time I would agree to work through an agent is if said agent is an attorney licensed to practice law in MY state of residence. I can independently verify if an attorney is licensed by contacting my State Bar Association. And once the attorney's legitimacy is verified— and ONLY then— I can find out from him if the buyer has granted him Power of Attorney, in writing, to act on the buyer's behalf.

Scammers rely upon the scammees being ignorant of the way vehicle sales work. Remember, you bought the trailer long before he did. You know what legal hoops you had to jump through in order to complete the sale and register the trailer in your name. The buyer will have to do the same things to buy the trailer and register it as you did. If he's not trying to jump through the same legal hoops you did, then either he's a scammer, or a moron. Either way, don't do business with him.

[afneill]

As many others have said, this is a scam. I had a popup for sale and received this type offer. He was an oceanographer out to sea on a contract and could not be reached by phone. He was buying it for his son and his agent would pick up the trailer. I checked the PayPal conditions and they protect you if you ship via a regulated carrier. If is a face to face transaction there is no buyer or seller protection. Then I checked on line and found another incident where the same name and story was used in trying to purchase a motorcycle. I guess in this case it is let the seller beware because it is a scam.

[Sbb]

I get that type of verbiage all the time, all scams. I just purchased my 2006 Bambi off this site...the last thing I did was talk money and payment. I had several back and forth questions and phone calls with the PO. We then did texting, as I asked my million questions. I wanted to know very important things about the Bambi. I was very lucky the the PO offered to meet me half way. I was on my way when he asked me how I was paying, I told him cashiers check. He said ok, and there it was, deal done, drove home with my dream machine. You just have to go with gut feelings, and the back and forth you have between each other.

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by das997

PayPal said they'd charge 3.9%, which would be another $1.2K on top of the $30K ... who'd ever wanna pay that???

Doug

You misunderstood that.

PayPal would charge YOU 3.9% out of YOUR $30K.

Not them paying it.

[das997]

Originally Posted by Wazbro

You misunderstood that.

PayPal would charge YOU 3.9% out of YOUR $30K.

Not them paying it.

I know ... so I would add the surcharge into the price for the trailer (ie: Sell it for $32K)

[Rooster55]

We had a horse trailer dealership for many years. If I only had a nickel for every one of these emails. We routinely dealt with out of area and even at times, an out of country buyer. Due to fraud, we had very simple guidelines. A trailer did not budge until the payment cleared. If someone wanted it ASAP, then they could arrange for a wire transfer to our bank. As soon as I could verify funds had posted to our account, the trailer was free to go. The same with a check. They were more than welcome to pay with a check, but until my bank gave me the "ok" that is was clear (could take from 2 to as many as 10 days), the trailer did not leave our lot.

We were also the recipient of a very high-tech counterfeit cashier's check drawn on a legit bank. Those are vetted as well. Seller beware. We just purchased an Airstream in CA. We supplied a $500.00 Paypal deposit to the seller to "hold" the trailer until we could arrive. We arranged with our bank prior to arriving for a wire transfer for the balance if the trailer was as advertised. It was, and with a phone call, funds were in the sellers account and we were hooked up and on the road. I don't know that I would do it any other way.

We transacted many high dollar sales over the years and did not get "taken". If it smells a little it is almost always a scam. No phone number, no inspection needed on a used unit, odd grammar, they will arrange delivery. I was extremely incensed to find photos of our horse trailers swiped from our website used in a bogus EBay ad. After jumping through a million hoops with EBay I was questioned as to how I knew they were my trailers. HA! I took the pictures and my cat was in one of them!

Best of luck with your sale. Cover your south side.
Becky

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by das997

I know ... so I would add the surcharge into the price for the trailer (ie: Sell it for $32K)

OK didn't know that was what you meant.

Although they would have agreed to that if they could put $33K into your PayPal account so you could pay $1K of your money to their agent.

[webspinner]

Just a general FYI for possible scams that come by email: If there is a link in the email, you can hover over it and the actual link will show up at the bottom of the window (in Thunderbird, at least - others can chime in for other providers).

It's amazing how many times a "citibank.com" sort of text will reveal a "viagra4u.com" sort of link as the real destination.

[Astriking]

here's something similar that happened to me today:

I saw your ad on the posting site and i want to know if your airstream trailer still available for sale,What is the asking price,I will like to pay using PayPal,After payments has been made,I will arrange for the pick-up and will you let my pick-up agent to come to you house for the pick up? Because i don't want you to worry yourself about the shipment.

Regards

Two airstream trailers - Airstream Trailer Classifieds - Airstreams Trailers For Sale


and this is the email from the scammer: allenebylyson@yahoo.com

[Splitrock]

I've had several bad bank transfers. A bank to bank transfer is like a check, it has to clear on the sending end. Some South Dakota bankers are not ethical or honest. I'd only accept a wired transfer of funds if the bank would cash me out and close the account.