How do you take payment for a sold camper?

[AlanKilian]

I think the possibilities are cash or cashier's check.

I've read that cashier's checks are not reliable even if you take them to your bank and verify/deposit them before completing the sale.

I can't really imagine someone handing me like ten thousand dollars in cash, so what do people do?

[billinflorida]

I think the chances of you getting a bogus cashier's check if you take it to your bank and they verify it's authenticity is pretty remote. But wire transfers are easy and relatively cheap.

[Steve.L]

We sold item couple years ago. Cashiers check was for $11,000. Our bank held the check for about 10 days. Weekend plus business days. I verified check was good with out of state bank, they said funds are available to my local bank. The local bank would not budge, thier system automatically flagged Cashiers Check.
Chase is no longer our bank....

Just FYI,

[Jon in AZ]

Cash or wire transfer verified at your bank. That’s the advice my banker gave me when we sold a Class B. Cashier’s checks can be forged and there’s no instant verification unless it’s drawn on the same bank (in which case just save the trouble with an in-person cash transaction).

[Raspy]

When I bought my Oliver, we completed the paperwork and I got a good receipt. I wrote them a personal check and asked them to call me when it had cleared and the money was in their account. They did, and I picked it up then.

It is also totally reasonable to go the the buyer's bank, with the buyer, and have them pull the money out of their account, right there at the window, and hand it to you. If you are intimidated, ask the bank to give you a check instead of cash and then deposit it right away. The bank will not give you a phony check. It will still take some time to clear, but it will clear.

When I sold my Black Series, the buyer didn't want to pick it up a for a week or so, so he could get his truck prepared. I took a personal check and it cleared before he came to get the trailer.

I had no reason to mistrust either of the two parties and I gave them no reason to mistrust me. No matter how many safeguards you build in, there still must be an element of trust.

[John in Santa Cruz]

yeah, several times buying or selling moderately expensive used cars, we went to a local branch of either our or their bank, and did the money transfer at a tellers counter. If the teller cuts the buyer a counter check directly from the seller's account, its plenty good.

[CamperBill]

When selling large $ items I accept wire transfers or cash at my bank.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by AlanKilian

I think the possibilities are cash or cashier's check.

I've read that cashier's checks are not reliable even if you take them to your bank and verify/deposit them before completing the sale.

I can't really imagine someone handing me like ten thousand dollars in cash, so what do people do?

Not as remote as you might think. I took cash to buy my lightly used F150 at the time.

I have also gone to the sellers bank, had them contact my bank, and get a wire transfer.

[Gerry]

I take and give CASH when buying or selling. If the person has the money in the Bank, he can get it out and hand it over, after all it's just paper 100's!

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Gerry

I take and give CASH when buying or selling. If the person has the money in the Bank, he can get it out and hand it over, after all it's just paper 100's!

I don't like dealing with cash over a few $1000.

[vintageracer]

Cash in Person

or

Bank to Bank Wire Transfer

For any large Dollar transaction such as the sale of your trailer.

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by AlanKilian

I think the possibilities are cash or cashier's check.

I've read that cashier's checks are not reliable even if you take them to your bank and verify/deposit them before completing the sale.

I can't really imagine someone handing me like ten thousand dollars in cash, so what do people do?

Well think of it from the other side too. Do you really want to just lay out a bunch of cash for a trailer that you have a somewhat unknown provenance on. Do you want to meet somebody you don't know with cash or even a cashier's check. Really good questions. Actually this last question replies the other way because somebody could show up pay you run off with the trailer and then have his buddy come take the money away from you and maybe leave you alive. And believe me people have been killed for a massively amount less money than what a good trailer will cost you.

I've done a car a couple times, and the way I did it was I actually had the deal ready to go and then I went through a dealer. The dealer was one that actually had a presence so everybody knew that there was somebody they could track in the transaction. The dealer took possession and verified the title and everything. And then the dealer took possession of the money and verified its legitimacy. And then released the dealer released the camper and the title.

Now dealers cost money I know. But they'll process all the paperwork properly. And if you bring them already made deal or all they have to do is process the paperwork they're kind of happy to take a small fee.

[BizCrate]

People confuse cashier’s check, money order and all those withdrawal/payment documents pretty frequently. Most of what you can buy over the counter can be stopped, cloned or forged. So even if you have conducted a perfect sale, gone to the buyers bank and watched them produce the bank check - it can still be stopped by the purchaser. This is why banks place holds on large deposits no matter what form with the exception of cash. You will get your money once the receiving bank gets paid. An actual Certified bank check typically cannot stopped but very very few banks produce them because of risk.
The simplest and most fool proof is wire transfer.
Do that.

[computerspook]

Sadly even the wire transfers can get you a problem. If somebody has broken into somebody else's account and done a wire transfer, that can become stolen funds and that can be reversed. It's called claw back.

Certainly if it's a forge to document that goes back out of your account. That's why I would use a dealer because they have insurance for that.

[BizCrate]

Originally Posted by computerspook

Sadly even the wire transfers can get you a problem. If somebody has broken into somebody else's account and done a wire transfer, that can become stolen funds and that can be reversed. It's called claw back.

Certainly if it's a forge to document that goes back out of your account. That's why I would use a dealer because they have insurance for that.

Yes, claw back on a wire is possible. The level of difficulty, law enforcement involvement and cooperation of all parties is huge. For this reason the bank initiating the wire has ID requirements and asks a series of questions for the participants to mitigate the possibility of fraud and the need for claw back.
Certainly folks need to weigh their own risk tolerance. Nothing in this life is 100% risk free. As a former bank exec I stand by my response for anyone conducting a private sale - which by definition is not conducted at a dealership.

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by BizCrate

Yes, claw back on a wire is possible. The level of difficulty, law enforcement involvement and cooperation of all parties is huge. For this reason the bank initiating the wire has ID requirements and asks a series of questions for the participants to mitigate the possibility of fraud and the need for claw back.
Certainly folks need to weigh their own risk tolerance. Nothing in this life is 100% risk free. As a former bank exec I stand by my response for anyone conducting a private sale - which by definition is not conducted at a dealership.

I know a number of people who've been hit by clawbacks. Hey this day at age the original account for the wire transfer setup needs to be with ID but that is somebody hacks the account they can just do it from anywhere. Not sure about all the details. But I do know that something like the sale of a camper on a private sale basis would be something that they would argue is kind of an attractive nuisance I guess you would say.

My experience on this is second hand and dealt with cars. But as I said I know of it happening several times. And then theoretically you get title to the car / camper that you have no idea where it is. They get their money back. And then the vehicle is listed as stolen. But you know how much good that's going to do

[matthfam]

I realize there are dangers associated in dealing with cash but if you exercise due care it's the best way to receive payment.
Wire transfers can be stopped, e-transfers can be stopped, depending on how convincing the buyer is with his/her bank ...
Cheques? Never unless certified, but buyers usually don't bring a certified cheque with them to inspect the item they are interested in. I would go to their bank if they did not bring cash. Never hand over transfer papers until you have the money in hand. Too many scammers out there. I've heard of scammers promising to send e-transfer and sending a fake email with legitimate looking info from your bank saying the money has been deposited when in fact it was never sent. So I would only do e-transfer with someone I know well.

[mikeaugust]

I suggest closing the deal at their bank. It’s a public place and you can get the funds immediately.

[StevenMaria]

What about hiding an air tag just in case you have to recover the rv

[johnlochbuie]

Certified check is safer.