On-Line escrow services?

[Tom '74 911]

Hello,
Was hoping to gain from the collective wisdom and experience here regarding purchasing bigger ticket items where the transaction requires a deposit or even full payment before you take possession of the item. I've been scammed thru eBay in the past and while I eventually recovered the $10.5K I lost via a PayPal dispute, the stress took a few years off my life and I don't wish a repeat.

I'm looking at a $60K purchase and while the seller and I have agreed over the phone to meet 1/2 way next weekend (we're about 10hrs. apart by car), I'm wondering about the best way to transfer funds where both the seller and I are offered some amount of protection. I realize that some amount of risk will always exist, but I'm just looking for a way that offers BOTH of us some level of comfort.

escrow.com looks fairly reputable. The fee for a $60K transaction is $550... so not insignificant... Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Tom

[pavulon]

Can relate to being scammed and having to work way to hard to make it right. It is soul sucking and best avoided.

Are you looking to take delivery and then further inspect the purchase with financial recourse?

[Tom '74 911]

Originally Posted by pavulon

Can relate to being scammed and having to work way to hard to make it right. It is soul sucking and best avoided.

Are you looking to take delivery and then further inspect the purchase with financial recourse?

Ideally, I would send the seller a deposit to hold the item (a trailer) for me until we can meet in person next weekend where I can inspect it and we can complete the transaction. The meeting is likely to happen on a Saturday or Sunday when banks are closed.

He suggested I wire him the full payment before meeting next weekend... which I'm not excited to do as I'd be exposed for the full amount. My understanding is that if you wire $$ to someone, once you press 'send', it's gone and untraceable. This seemed like a red flag to me.

At the end of the day, some level of trust is required from both sides. I want to show the seller that I am serious about the purchase and that I have the $$ on-hand, but I'm not really excited to just pay him in full with no recourse if he ghosts me.

From his standpoint, I'm sure he'd not be excited to take a large personal check from me for the balance on Sunday. He doesn't know me and my check could be bogus.

Is this not the type of transaction that an escrow service is set up to accommodate? I deposit the full amount into an escrow account, with the seller listed as the recipient so he knows I have the $$ and I'm ready to go. After we meet and I inspect the item, I release the funds to him - I'm assuming if we use escrow.com I could do that from my phone in the parking lot on a weekend? So I would leave the meeting with the trailer and he would leave knowing that he's been paid? Or do I misunderstand how escrow.com works?

Thanks for the help!
Tom

[pavulon]

I'd not be wild about wiring that much money either. Not sure if local banks offer services like that but $550 seems steep for holding money a week. Maybe offer to bring a bank check. If that, on top of driving 5 hours to hand someone $60K in a week isn't enough, there should be other trailers.

[Esel Mann]

This is one of the reasons for having a bank with national/regional presence. Set the meetup location at a branch of your bank. 10 hour drive, there is a very good chance a national/regional bank branch exists. Parking lot provides plenty of space to inspect/etc. You and the seller walk up to the teller and in the seller's presence obtain a cashier check for the agreed upon amount and it never leaves sight of either of you. Go sit down (they always have chairs) exchange check/title/pleasantries/etc. I have yet to hear of any case where a teller passed a fraudulent cashier check so seller should be comfortable with such.

Now weekend meets are obviously a challenge. Not all have hours 7-days. Many do have Saturday until noon.

[Tom '74 911]

I like this concept and there is a branch of my bank near where we could meet. The issue is that we will likely be meeting on a weekend day when the bank is closed... will have to ponder that one. Maybe it's worth readjusting the meeting date/schedule to accommodate this.
Thanks,
Tom

Originally Posted by Esel Mann

This is one of the reasons for having a bank with national/regional presence. Set the meetup location at a branch of your bank. 10 hour drive, there is a very good chance a national/regional bank branch exists. Parking lot provides plenty of space to inspect/etc. You and the seller walk up to the teller and in the seller's presence obtain a cashier check for the agreed upon amount and it never leaves sight of either of you. Go sit down (they always have chairs) exchange check/title/pleasantries/etc. I have yet to hear of any case where a teller passed a fraudulent cashier check so seller should be comfortable with such.

Now weekend meets are obviously a challenge. Not all have hours 7-days. Many do have Saturday until noon.

[MRM]

Can you have your bank write a letter of credit? It’s a little old fashioned but it sounds like what you’re looking for.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Tom '74 911

I like this concept and there is a branch of my bank near where we could meet. The issue is that we will likely be meeting on a weekend day when the bank is closed... will have to ponder that one. Maybe it's worth readjusting the meeting date/schedule to accommodate this.
Thanks,
Tom

This is the way to do it.
You meet at a bank and there’s zero risk to either party, and it’s simple.
The seller can get a bank check, like Esel Mann says,or even cold hard cash if he’s really paranoid.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by McLovin

This is the way to do it.
You meet at a bank and there’s zero risk to either party, and it’s simple.
The seller can get a bank check, like Esel Mann says,or even cold hard cash if he’s really paranoid.

To take it a step further.

You can get a bank check for the deposit and the final payment. Go to your bank get a bank check for the depsoit. A bank check is guaranteed funds made payable to the seller and immediately withdrawn from your account. Overnight the check. Get a second check made payable to the seller and take it with you.

He is secure once you leave wit the vehicle as a bank check can not be voided or stopped without the physical check.

[Tom '74 911]

Thank you for the comments, I appreciate it. Short of physically going to my bank with the seller and transferring funds w/him as a witness, I think a bank/cashier's check is the way to go. I'll do some communicating w/him and see what he's comfortable with and at the same time tell him that I am not comfortable wiring him funds w/out meeting him and inspecting the trailer in person first.
Thanks again,
Tom