How do you receive money, transfer title, boat tag, etc. to an out of state buyer?

[CrowdedHouse]

I'm selling a boat that's listed on quite a few different internet sites. What's the best way to handle the transaction if the buyer lives out of state
and is going to purchase the boat without seeing it in person? How do I receive money, transfer the boat title, boat tag, and trailer registration?

 

[MH Hawker]

A post office money order or cash or western union

 

[Gyrene]

PayPal for money, Fedex/UPS for documents - what about the boat? why not trade money & papers when he comes to pick up the boat????

 

[southkogs]

Also depends on the state as far as paperwork needs.

 

[tpenfield]

I'm selling a boat that's listed on quite a few different internet sites. What's the best way to handle the transaction if the buyer lives out of state and is going to purchase the boat without seeing it in person? How do I receive money, transfer the boat title, boat tag, and trailer registration?

As, long as it is verification of funds first, possession second, you should be OK. Escrow companies can be used for this type of stuff, if there is a fair amount of money involved.

Both powerboats that I have bought have been out of state, but I saw the the boats first and even did sea trail and survey. It seems a bit odd that a buyer would buy something without seeing it firsthand. . . .

One boat purchase, I did a personal check and the seller waited for the check to clear, the other I gave the seller a bank check, which he preferred.

 

[ssobol]

Do not take money through PayPal. While it is good for the buyer, it can be bad for the seller. One of PayPal's guaranties is that they will refund the buyer's money if there is a problem with the transaction. If the buyer claims that the item purchased did not agree with item description (for example had a paint scratch that was not described) PayPal will refund the purchase price to the buyer. Since PayPal has a link to the seller's bank account (to deposit the buyer's money), they can get your money without your direct approval. It is possible for the buyer to end up with the item you sold AND get his money back. Good luck trying to recover your item from another state if the buyer pulls the scam on you. This is a common scam. I sold my previous boat via CL and got approached with this scam by most of the "interested parties".

If you are going to sell your boat. Meet the buyer in person, accept only cash (get one of those counterfit detection pens for checking the cash), and provide a bill of sale that is signed and retained by both parties. Do not sell to someone's "agent" unless they are a licensed broker (another related scam).

My boat eventually sold to a guy that drove 900 miles to get it. If the purchaser is legit and really interested in your boat they will find a way to come and get it.

For a high dollar boat, enlist a broker if you cannot do things yourself with the buyer. The broker is on the hook for the transaction and sorting things out if things go wrong.

 

[bruceb58]

What's the best way to handle the transaction if the buyer lives out of state
and is going to purchase the boat without seeing it in person? How do I receive money, transfer the boat title, boat tag, and trailer registration?

LOL...this sounds like one of the many scams that I have personally received emails about.

Out of curiosity, is he going to send you a cashiers check for more than the amount you are asking for the boat?

Only way I would ever receive money for a boat or other large amount is a direct wire from a bank into my account.

 

[kjsAZ]

If someone would offer to buy a used boat from me sight unseen I wouldn't even talk to them any more.....

 

[hungupthespikes]

Need to call Clark Howard. :horn::target::attention:

 

[Brian 26]

I've bought boats sight unseen and I've sold boats sight unseen. I once sold a boat sight unseen, and then when the guy picked it up he didn't even take the cover off, just thanked me profusely and then hooked it up and drove away.

The answer to your question of how do you do it, trust.

If you're selling: he's going to have to trust that you'll send the boat and documents once payment is made. I would not let the boat leave my possession until I have the funds (meaning the check has cleared).

If you're buying: you'll have to trust the boat is what he says it is before you make the drive to see it. It would have to be a very special deal for me to send the money away first and then hope a boat and the paperwork shows up, although many people do it this way.

Let us know what happens.

 

[thumpar]

So how is the boat supposed to get to the buyer? At some point he will have to come to you to get it. Just tell him to bring cash and tell him to call the licensing authority in his state to see what they need. Exchange it all at time of pickup.

 

[bruceb58]

If this is the Craigslist scam, the "buyer" sends a cashiers check for more than the asking price and the "buyer" asks for some of the extra amount sent back. Of course the cashiers check is bogus and the bank will notify you in a few days of that. The "buyer" hopes you send the money to him before the bank contacts you.

I actually played along on one of these and the "buyer" sent me a cashiers check. I had him send it to my work address via FedEx. I called the bank and they had many of these bogus cashiers checks come through recently. By the way, the cashiers check looked perfect.

 

[thumpar]

If this is the Craigslist scam, the "buyer" sends a cashiers check for more than the asking price and the "buyer" asks for some of the extra amount sent back. Of course the cashiers check is bogus and the bank will notify you in a few days of that. The "buyer" hopes you send the money to him before the bank contacts you.

I actually played along on one of these and the "buyer" sent me a cashiers check. I had him send it to my work address via FedEx. I called the bank and they had many of these bogus cashiers checks come through recently. By the way, the cashiers check looked perfect.

I got lots of those when I have sold cars, boats and motorcycles. I would play along for awhile but not to the point of actually getting the fake check. I have also seen a lot of the fake for sale ads where they say they are out of the country and stuff. When we where looking for our new boat last year we found a nice Maria in Seattle (about 300 miles from us) that looked good. We where ready to drive to get it the next day. The seller stopped responding and then finally answered from a different number a couple days later. He said the titles where signed over by his sister that is in France. I saved some gas money on that one.