I may be missing the boat here but I can't help but smell a scam. I have a 71 442 convertible for sale right now. I've had a fair amount of interest but so far I've had two different "buyers" offer to pay my price through Paypal. Beyond the obvious percentage that PaPal takes, what's the risk? I feel like there must be something here I'm not catching on to and I know that members on this forum will "enlighten" me.


Thanks

 

They can dispute and retract a payment over a technicality, but then they will disappear with the car and title and not return them and it's not really "stolen" according to the cops.


It's ok to take payment by paypal, but you want to immediately move the funds out of the account so paypal can't pull them out before you sign title over. Just like any check or anything other than cash.


Take payment in cash, and have a friend with a stashed rifle just hanging out with you.

 

If they are serious go with a bank to bank money transfer best way to go.
Seller protected and buyer protected
Alain

 

X2 what Koda said, My brother got scammed this way with a car sale. Moving the funds will not really help - PayPal will come after you with a vengeance. They like eBay will always side with the buyer. If anything, allow the buyer to put $200 to $500 down through PayPal, the rest in a money transfer or Cashiers check at pickup.

 

Thanks. That's basically what I was concerned about - the ability to "claw back" the money after they got the car. I think i will pass on the sale. It's just too risky.

 

Smart move, if there serious they will get the cash. Use a pen to check for phony bills.

 

Cash? Who carries around thousands of dollars in cash anymore. That's just not safe. Deposit in cash yes. But not the entire amount.

 

I'll take a down payment with paypal to hold a car but never the balance. Bank wire transfer or cash in person only

 

Me and it's not the only thing I carry.

 

Does the bank alert the IRS if the deposit is over a certain amount?

 

Not if it is in cash and you deposit it over a few days in less than $10,000 lumps. Other wise yes and some states the DMV will want you to pay sales tax.... Tedd

 

I've paid for cars using cash, postal money orders, and even PayPal. FYI, you can use the "Send money to family and friends" to avoid the PayPal fee.

 

I paid for cars in cash and money order.I agree to meet in front of the local police station.I told the police what was going on and when it was happening.If the other party didn't want to meet there the deal was off.

 

So you are telling us that if you buy a car for $125K you are carrying it all in cash? Really? Sorry but that is just poor planning on your part.

 

I don't think there are many of us on here, but I'm sure there are some, that could afford to buy a 125k car but if it was much less I could see carrying 10-20K in cash. I bought my New Harley in '96 for 15k in hundred dollar bills.

 

It's not 1996 anymore.


In Canada any bank deposit of over $10000 in cash gets reported to the government. Proof is required that the money is not from the illegal activity.


Are banks in USA required to monitor cash deposits over $10K?

 

I believe they are & I think I remember a conversation with a bank teller that if you make several large deposits/withdrawals over a short number of days, that gets their attention also. Best to keep large sums of money out of the governments eyes in my opinion.
If I were to do large deals in cash, I like the idea of using a police station.
I think some cities are using them for people to conduct Craigslist deals at also.

 

Most police stations around here have them.
Various names:
E-Commerce Meeting Zone
Internet Purchase Zone
Internet Transaction Safety Zone

 

This is correct. The IRS can and does seize bank accounts when they suspect people are attempting to avoid the $10k reporting process by structuring their transactions into multiple smaller transactions. Google "structuring" to learn more about this.

 

Paypal 1. As I understand it, when you pay someone using the paypal "friends and family" option you, as the payer, do not have recourse for a refund if merchandise is faulty or unsatisfactory.

Paypal 2. I will forgo a deposit before accepting a paypal "merchandise" payment in order to avoid their transaction fee.

Cash Transactions 1. Any amount over my acceptable risk tolerance is transacted at a bank with the actual cash transferred from the teller's hands to the seller's hands. Title transfer documents get notarized at the same place and time. This is excellent protection for both buyer and seller. Cash received can immediately be converted to a "trusted" instrument such as certified bank funds, etc.

Cash Transactions 2. I never carry more than a couple thousand in cash. Why? Civil Forfeiture Laws. Outrageous number of police stops for something as trivial as a tail light inop and the officers can LEGALLY sieze your cash on SUSPICION of you being a drug criminal and without due process for recovery of cash. Do a google search "Civil Forfeiture Abuse".

 

IDK if all banks do it but Citi aggregated transactions made over two days and reported them on me. 1st time I've heard of it happening but I don't transact in cash lump sums that often.

 

That is what happened to me. I took out cash to go look at a car, I think it was maybe $12K. Didn't like it so put $8K back the next day. Kept $4K on hand for another purpose but ended up not needing it so deposited most of it back the day after. Bank told me they were reporting it. I wasn't up to anything underhanded so I was OK with it.