Selling your bike safely..

[apathy]

Thought I'd share my most recent motorycle sales experience. Nobody on the West Coast wanted to cough-up the big coin to buy my HP2, so I accepted an offer from a buyer in New York. It's a long way from Oregon and he had no post-count, but seemed like a cool guy.

Dilemma: How do you sell to somebody you don't know without cah in advance? I didn't want to ship my baby without payment, and my buyer didn't want to pay before receiving the vehicle.

Solution: I have several thousand real estate transactions under my belt, where using a third-party escrow company is expected, but I'd never used one for a motorcycle sale. There's a really good how-to on Ebay and Escrow.com passed all the tests they recommended. We agreed to use Escrow.com with the expense (<$200) bourne by my buyer. We also agreed on a one-week inspection period to allow enough time for his local BMW dealer to check the bike over, burn some incense, and declare it flawless



Let's do it!: You set up an account with Escrow.com using your email address and a password. Their website walks you through the steps. The Seller signs up, the Buyer signs up and the fun begins. In my case, the trucking company didn't collect the bike for almost three weeks.

Problem 1: Not all trucking companies are created equal. There are specialized motorcycle transporters with special wheeled pallets, soft-ties, and experience. Then there are the gypsys who use the same greasy, mud-encrusted straps with metal hooks on the ends they usually attach under cars. While they were off-loading two cars to make room for the HP2, I snagged several towels from my garage, to protect the wheels and custom seat. I helped the two truckers load the bike, and watched in horror as they tore the front of a fiberglass bodykit completely off a lowered Honda Accord, while reloading it. I don't know how they managed it the first time, but the angle of the ramps did major damage on the reload. Not a very auspicious start.

Problem 2: If you use a privateer shipper that doesn't provide some sort of tracking information, Escrow.com doesn't take the initiative to confirm delivery, even though the dispatcher and drivers phone numbers were provided. (Note to self: call/email them as soon as the bike is delivered to start the clock running on the inspection period.)

Problem 3: I logged-in and noted the Transaction Status hadn't changed, so I told them the bike had been received by the buyer. He logged-in several days later to say he was accepting the bike. They interpreted his message to mean the bike "had arrived", not "I'm ready to conclude the sale".

I stayed on them and it took three days to receive my wire tranfer ($20.00 extra fee and worth it). My conclusion is this is just one more tool to increase the margin of safety when dealing with strangers. Next time, I'd have the bike delivered to the BMW dealer that is going to do the inspection, and I'd limit the inspection period to three days. He got a fantastic bike, I got my money. Everybody's happy. Be careful out there

[katbeanz]

Good info, Thanks! Thinking about selling my 08 TE610.

[Ri-Ra]

Good to hear it all worked out...

[AKjeff]

http://www.keyboardmotorcycleshipping.com/

These guys shipped my G/S from Albuquerque to Seattle. I'm told they ship piano's so I figure they can handle a bike.

[apathy]

Keyboard has a good reputation. One of the local BMW employees used them when he moved from Oregon to the East Coast and back. Nothing but praise. Unfortunately, my buyer was paying for shipping and he chose the trucking company. I took multiple photos of the bike before it was loaded and once it was strapped-down. Just in case

[Off the grid]

The guy I bought my XRR from owned his own business and I paid via CC.

Yes it was a leap of trust on my part, buying sight unseen and full payment, but it "felt right".

Have gone with my gut for 20+ years and have never been wrong.

[Sabre]

Fortunately, all of my internet vehicle purchases have been some variation of a fly-n-ride (i.e., by car, train or plane). I've always been there in person for the final transaction.

There are psychopaths out there, and there's little you can do to get around that fact. But, fortunately, the vast majority of folks are honest. I've had e-mail and telephone conversations with all the buyers and sellers I've dealt with on numerous vehicle transactions, and have always had good experiences. Of course, some folks who didn't give a good vibe got a pass, but the ones with whom I've ended up making a transaction with have all proven to be good folks. In fact, some of them have bent over backwards to make the experience more than pleasant.

It keeps my faith in humanity alive....

I like the escrow idea for those situations where you can't be present to consumate the deal. However, since the escrow benefits both parties, it would seem fair to split the expense of the service.

Thanks for sharing this good experience.

[tony the tiger]

Originally Posted by Sabre

Fortunately, all of my internet vehicle purchases have been some variation of a fly-n-ride (i.e., by car, train or plane). I've always been there in person for the final transaction.

There are psychopaths out there, and there's little you can do to get around that fact. But, fortunately, the vast majority of folks are honest. I've had e-mail and telephone conversations with all the buyers and sellers I've dealt with on numerous vehicle transactions, and have always had good experiences. Of course, some folks who didn't give a good vibe got a pass, but the ones with whom I've ended up making a transaction with have all proven to be good folks. In fact, some of them have bent over backwards to make the experience more than pleasant.

It keeps my faith in humanity alive....

I like the escrow idea for those situations where you can't be present to consumate the deal. However, since the escrow benefits both parties, it would seem fair to split the expense of the service.

Thanks for sharing this good experience.

almost sounds like it would've been worth the OP's peace of mind to split shipping and have a say in that, too.
TT

[ian408]

Some solid advice for selling to someone you don't know.

I was lucky, my sale went like butter and I had a great several day visit with a fellow advrider.