Does this sound legit?

[Cyclejohn]

I posted my bikes for sale in the classified section last night on the forum here.

This morning I had 3 emails offering up serious inquiries about my Valkyrie (2nd gen) that was in my listing.

I responded to the emails with the requested pics and further details of the bike.

One responder gave me his phone # . I called the # and talked for awhile with him. He seems legit from the conversation.

I sent him pics that he requested and a short while later he sent me another email. This is it:

"Hi John..

I like it and want to buy it.. I just need to figure out the best way to do it. The money part is easy. I direct wire you cash to your bank. You get the cash and I have a company pick it up for delivery. I trust the bike is as you described it. I have no clue of the cost. Hoping no more than $700.

Give me a few days to get the details figured out. You want me to PayPal you 50 bucks to hold the bike?

Just lmk and thanks.."


I have never made a transaction like this before but I am reasoning that for a person to wire you money they would need your bank account info?
What would you do?

Thanks for your thoughts,
John

[Chrisj CMA]

The part about the shipping company is "fishy"  Don't give anyone access to your account info.  Make him send a cashiers check.  If it checks out and clears and its for the right amount all should be good.  If he wants to send you extra and have you pay the shipping company JUST SAY NO.  Or if he wants you to send him a refund check for the difference, JUST SAY NO.

To me the whole thing kinda smells but I would go as far as trying to have him mail you a check.  That way if its no good you can possible have the authorities trace it back to the scum.

[Wizzard]

Sounds like a scam to me.

[Jess from VA]

I dunno, it sounds like it might be alright.

Your talking with the guy direct should give you good guidance (not that there aren't smooth operators).

I've wired money back and forth with no problems, but businesses and friends/family, not strangers.

You could ask for the cashier's check to keep your bank account and routing numbers private.  You could also set up a new account just for this deal with a few bucks in it, then close it (or leave it open with a few bucks in it).

Seems to me if you get paid one way or the other (check clears), and still have the bike until you do, you are good.

If he pays too much for shipping, after you're paid, that's his problem.

If you still have concerns, call him back and ask more questions.  The kind a scammer doesn't want to answer.  I'm no expert on this scamming stuff though.

I wouldn't worry about the $50 to hold the bike, if he says he'll get the check in the mail (overnight?), I'd probably hold it for him a few days in good faith.  Though if someone walks up your drive with cash, it's hard to refuse (thus don't take the $50 deposit).

[da prez]

Have a check  sent. Take it to the bank and have officer look at it. If good so far , open a separate savings account and wait for the check to clear his bank. If it is received and cleared by his bank , pull the money out and have him pick up the bike. Do not lift a finger to help ship. Also , if deal goes thru , photograph the bike and the loading procedure.

                da prez

[The emperor has no clothes]

Do not give out your bank info.

[Jess from VA]

Have a check  sent. Take it to the bank and have officer look at it. If good so far , open a separate savings account and wait for the check to clear his bank. If it is received and cleared by his bank , pull the money out and have him pick up the bike. Do not lift a finger to help ship. Also , if deal goes thru , photograph the bike and the loading procedure.

                da prez

Now that sounds like the voice of experience.  

Photograph the bike and the loading procedure.  Capital advice.

[98valk]

sounds like and is a scam IMHO.

Only thing that is safe is cash, a postal money order or paypal.  any other type of check, cashiers, certified etc., can be canceled before it clears yet they will have your property. any upfront bank manager will verify that.

[Hef]

If he has paypal, why not the entire transaction thru paypal. That way you're covered.

[northernvalk]

I bought my magna with an etransfer. no account info required and immediate "clearance". Is that an option for you?

[Willow]

If he emailed you through the forum you can pull up his profile and find out a little about him.  If he didn't join recently the chance of it being a scam is not high but you should still deal with long distance business as you would with any such interchange.  Protect yourself and don't take chances.

[sheets]

Me, personally, I would walk away and not look back. I received a very similar email from out of the country wanting to purchase my OEM tool kit for a mere $25. I responded I would not jump through all the hoops for twenty-five bucks. Told him to send me a money order. That was the end of our communication.  Wait for a buyer in the USA. Actually I think I edited my ad in the classifieds that stated as much. (Still have the tool kit, and few other bits.) 

[JimC]

Having sold several old cars through the internet I have done direct money transfers and they went very well. Check with your bank, they will have policies on doing them, and will explain how it works.  I was very nervous the first time, but you get used to it.

I would not accept a money order other than possibly a Postal MO. Most are too easy to counterfeit, and it can take weeks for the banks to find out that it is phony, meanwhile if it is, you are the one stuck. I have heard that a postal MO can be verified right away through your local post office, eliminating waiting days or weeks. Check with them on that.

Your phone call with him should have given you a feeling about him?  Do an internet search on his number and name.

If you do decide to go through with it, get his full name, date of birth, address and home number. If he balks, walk away.

Jim

[Mr Whiskey]

Shipping company overpayment scam I'd be willing to bet...
https://www.snopes.com/fraud/sales/cashier.asp
http://danbaileyphoto.com/blog/the-western-union-fake-shipping-company-scam/
FDIC says..."Never give out your bank account or credit card numbers in response to an advertisement or an unsolicited call, text message or e-mail. That information could enable someone to steal money out of your account by a wire transfer, before you have time to realize that the interaction was fabricated by a swindler."
https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnsum13/wire-transfer-scams.html
Too much risk for me, I'd hafta walkaway.

[Cyclejohn]

Friends,

I wanted to Thank all of you for your thoughts on the matter.

The guy did email me again yesterday and he called me last night. We talked for quite a while. I asked enough of the right questions and he gave enough of the right answers that I am sure he is legit. I expressed my concerns about the payment options and he understand so we came up with a payment option better suited for 2 people who are strangers at this point. He and I both are better protected with what we came up with.

Again, Thank You for your thoughts!!!


John

[The emperor has no clothes]

Friends,

I wanted to Thank all of you for your thoughts on the matter.

The guy did email me again yesterday and he called me last night. We talked for quite a while. I asked enough of the right questions and he gave enough of the right answers that I am sure he is legit. I expressed my concerns about the payment options and he understand so we came up with a payment option better suited for 2 people who are strangers at this point. He and I both are better protected with what we came up with.

Again, Thank You for your thoughts!!!


John

glad it worked out

[da prez]

Jess , Yes. Paypal is not completely safe. Money can be reversed. Our paypal goes into a dead end account. When money is pulled out , it is a cash withdraw. Then a cash deposit slip is filled out to put in another account. If someone wants to give me cash, we go to the bank and an experienced cashier counts the money. I never touch it. The bank has found counterfeit bills this way. Paranoid ,? I just want to keep my money. 

                           da prez
 

 

[98valk]

Jess , Yes. Paypal is not completely safe. Money can be reversed. Our paypal goes into a dead end account. When money is pulled out , it is a cash withdraw. Then a cash deposit slip is filled out to put in another account. If someone wants to give me cash, we go to the bank and an experienced cashier counts the money. I never touch it. The bank has found counterfeit bills this way. Paranoid ,? I just want to keep my money. 

                           da prez
 

 

I've looked in to this and from what I found out once paypal money is put into some one's account it cannot be reversed out.  back when pp first started it could but not now. 
do u have any recent info/cases on this still happening?

[da prez]

Vaquero , about a year ago(?) we sold a gps card for Costa Rica. The buyer claimed the package was empty. He complained to paypal and they gave him his money back before contacting us. We had no recourse. We were told once the money was refunded , it was over. All we had was photo proof .

                                       da prez

[hubcapsc]

Vaquero , about a year ago(?) we sold a gps card for Costa Rica. The buyer claimed the package was empty. He complained to paypal and they gave him his money back before contacting us. We had no recourse. We were told once the money was refunded , it was over. All we had was photo proof .

                                       da prez

I'm guessing some people have had good experiences with protection from
PayPal. I've never been hosed on a motorcycle eBay purchase. When I first
got my 1500 my wife saw me happily making purchases left and right for
little bits of eBay stuff for it, and she got the idea of buying a horse saddle
from Wyoming on eBay. Long story short, she got ripped off. We went through
the PayPal procedure to file a grievance and PayPal sided with us. But
PayPal didn't pay us back out of their own pockets, and the seller didn't
pay us back, and she lost $1000. It's not like PayPal sends big guys over
to the loser's house to size them up for a Chicago Overcoat or anything...

In our case, the loser had $200 in their PayPal account or linked bank
account or something, and PayPal sent us that, but that was it.

There's no "guarantee" of safety with PayPal.

-Mike

[Jess from VA]

PayPal....... I guess it's a better name than PayMaybeYour Pal.

Wouldn't even think of joining up for any reason.... but I don't have a business or anything like that.

I fought a credit card purchase dispute (not getting what promised from a bike salvage outfit), and won the first three stages hands down, then lost at the end (and no one could explain why to me).  I could have gone on to round two, but I've found when I get murderous feelings about something, it's always better to stop what I'm doing and live with it.

Besides, none of my rifles will reach Nebraska with any kind of accuracy.

(N S A.... a joke, not a threat)  

[sandy]

Have him contact shippingmasters.com  ; I shipped my current valk from VA to AZ for about $650. Great service.

Friends,

I wanted to Thank all of you for your thoughts on the matter.

The guy did email me again yesterday and he called me last night. We talked for quite a while. I asked enough of the right questions and he gave enough of the right answers that I am sure he is legit. I expressed my concerns about the payment options and he understand so we came up with a payment option better suited for 2 people who are strangers at this point. He and I both are better protected with what we came up with.

Again, Thank You for your thoughts!!!


John

[billyjakester]

Talk to your banker first.  I'm betting he will advise no way is absolutely full proof.....even a cashier's check can be forged and when it clears ......you will be liable for it, even at a later date.  JUST CASH.

If you proceed, you do so at your own peril.

[Cyclejohn]

Have him contact shippingmasters.com  ; I shipped my current valk from VA to AZ for about $650. Great service.

I didn't ask him which company he contacted but they gave him a quote of $772 to pick up at my front door in NC and deliver to his front door in Texas. When I purchased a bike from a friend in Texas back in 2010 it cost me $750 for door to door pickup and delivery. I can't remember if I used Uship.com or BikeShipper.com?

[phideux]

There are a million nationwide banks out there, pick Bank of America as one example. If the buyer has a checking account just have him send you a personal check, go to the local branch and cash it so you don't run it through your account. Or send a certified check from that bank and just go to the local branch and cash it.

[Hooter]

I got screwed with paypal buy parts for my 66 Plymouth,  never again. What Prez said is the only way I will do business anymore. Some people don't like it, others don't care.

I will send you a MO on my credit union account. You receive and cash it. When everything clears send me the merchandise.  Takes a bunch of trust on both parties but it works. Haven't been duped yet and dome this many times to include here.

[hubcapsc]

I haven't used paypal in a long time, and also my eBay buying
dropped way off after The Logtruck was in good shape. I've
communicated with most of the sellers I've bought from since
then before I bid, and get their permission to pay with a
postal money order. They send the stuff after they get and
cash my money order. I'd be picky about where I used this
option, but I've never been burned on a motorcycle related
ebay buy yet...

-Mike

[Westernbiker]

If the E-Bay seller does not have a 99 - 100% rating, I do not buy from them. I have had good luck that way.

[northernvalk]

Do you guys have e-mail transfers in the US? I don't understand why this is not the preferred method of transferring money? No account info, no worries and money the minute you get it? Is there a law against it down there?