No matter what system of payment you choose, surprise the buyer when you meet by asking to see his/her driver's license. Then you take a photo of it with your smart phone. If he/she disappears without buying it, you know it was a fraud.

Otherwise you are good to go.

Skip

Watch out for wooden nickels. Why does everyone on here act like they are 3 years old? I am sure that everyone on here has done much bigger deals than a golf cart. Gimme a break.

If I accompanied the buyer to the buyer's bank and watched them generate a cashier's check, wouldn't that be zero risk even if I didn't deposit it in my bank for another day? Could someone please elaborate if there is even the slightest risk in this approach.

When I sold my car I had the person bring a cashiers check drawn his bank. Fortunately it was Sun Trust. We went to the bank and verified the check was good.

Yes, if you receive a cashier's check directly from a bank, with your name on the check as the payee, the risk would be zero because the bank has set aside the money to cover the check. But, if you accept a cashier's check from an individual, the check could be counterfeit and worthless. That is why it is best to meet the buyer at his bank.

Venmo & Zelle are immediate & directly from their bank to yours, it is free. Set it up in advance.

Get a check, Wait for it to clear, Give him the Golf Cart.:boom:

Whenever I have cashed or deposited a personal check, the money is usually available immediately. But, I have never received a letter or written notice from the bank saying that the check has "cleared".

It is the seller at risk with some transactions where postage is involved.
After buying, the buyer pays from a legitimate, PayPal account account for item and postage.
Kindly collects item from seller to save the seller having to post item, when seller notifies they have money in their account.
So far all fair and square.
A few days later, buyer submits a claim to PayPal that they have not received their goods.
Seller cannot provide proof of postage, or show proof of arrival because buyer collected.
PayPal insist all sellers have proof of postage and receipt.
Buyer refunded by PayPal under the buyers guarantee.
Seller is stiffed.
Don't think it would work for a golf cart sale though!

If you use PayPal correctly you can pay large sums with no problem.
Over last 20 years we have paid through them on three occasions for winter rentals in TV.
Mostly I use bank to bank payments. Easier and cheaper.

I have a clean 2011 Yamaha gas cart in excellent condition for sale. The price is $4,999. This is the best you will find at this price.

Cash

On large amount money I go to my bank get bill of sale or title notarized, he hand the money to me, I hand it to my banker, they check it, count it, deposit it, and then we sing off on it. Then I pass the keys to the new owner. It they don’t want to do that, it’s no sale. I got burned when I was 18 on car sale, and 42 cars later not again.

The Fraud dept of Bank of America told me never to accept cashier’s check since they are now being used fraudently, too. Of course, if you’re selling to a Villager, I would think you’re pretty safe, but what they suggested to me is that the seller and buyer meet at the seller’s bank and the buyer does a wire transfer into the seller’s account. Do have a signed bill of sale, stating VIN #, mileage, description, and name and address of both parties, and both parties should have a copy of it.

Electronic is totally the way to go!!
 

Also, I use Apple Pay!

Fraud—really?
 

That’s not necessarily true! I would have gladly produced my (out of state) drivers license (new here) when I went to look at a private sale cart. But after looking at it I decided to keep looking. I am not defrauding anyone, I am just taking my time to find the right cart for us!

CASH and BILL OF SALE💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💵💵💵� ��💵💵

Demand payment with a cashier’s check. That will assure you that the check will clear.

Make a copy of their driver's licence

License Oops!

If they can write a personal check ,they can pay you in cash.. My thoughts.

I just bought one, the buyer requested cash. I offered to get a cashiers check, they wanted cash, that's a lot of cash.....7k

Just curious, why meet at the bank?

The bank can print a cashier's check that you know is not counterfeit. If you accept a cashier's check any other way, it could be a fake check.

How to safely sell your car yourself
 

Here is an excellent article that may help. "How To Safely Sell Your Car"
http://www.edmunds.com/sell-car/sell...ar-safely.html

If you accept cash, have a marker(Amazon) to test each & every bill to avoid counterfeit bills.

Do I have a story for you!

There are scammers who monitor our ads. Two separate scammers tried to buy my golf cart. They offered to send a cashier's check. Suspiciously, they wanted to have the golf cart picked up by a service since they do not live here. I had my bank check out one of the cashier's check - sure enough, it was a forgery. So, this is a scam that is out there.

Cashier's checks can be forgeries. They can also have a stop payment put on them before you get them to your bank and have them clear.

Even if it is a big ticket item (1) Only sell to a local - hopefully someone with a history of posting here, not a "new poster" - who will come in person to pick up the cart. (2) Make it a cash transaction. Travel with them to their bank if they won't bring cash. Have that bank make out a cashier's check to you if you do not want to carry cash.

Really - the scams with cashier's checks are so common here that I think you will need to ask for cash and go to the trouble of going to the bank if someone does not want to bring you cash or you do not want to collect cash, give a hand written receipt and take it to you bank.

It is worth the trouble not to be scammed by a fake check, or a check that had a stop payment put on it.

Cash at YOUR bank.
 

I sold a motor home and had the Orlando buyer follow me to MY bank. I gave the cashier a stack of $$bills and said “put this in my account.” The bank machine counted and validated each bill. Seconds later she gave me a completed deposit slip. I didn’t have to check each bill for counterfeit.

One easy way to see if the cashiers check is a fake is to google the routing number (bottom left of the check). The fake checks usually have a fake routing number. Someone almost scammed my brother until I told him to text me a picture of the check. Within fifteen seconds I was able to confirm it was a fake.

That is definitely not a foolproof method. Yes, a check that has the wrong routing number is probably a fake. But many, if not most, fake checks will have the correct routing number for the bank named on the check. Why would a good scammer use the wrong routing number?

Silver