since there gonna have to pick up the tractor, cash should be the only option if it were me. Even then be weary of crisp clean 100 dollar bills these days. It sucks u gotta worry about things like these so much, but it happens.

 

$150 non refundable deposit through paypal and the rest in cash.

 

Well, I had a 7 day listing with the option to sell it locally. A guy I use to know and hadn't seen for 6-7 years called from a town 25 miles away. He used Ebay's "distance" option to do a search and that's how he found it. He emailed and asked if he could come see it. I gave him my cell # to be sure I could be there. When he called that's when we realized we knew each other.

I took his check to the bank (2 miles away), got cash and took it to my bank. Deal done.
I appreciate all you guys' feedback. I actually reduced the price some to know I wouldn't have to pay a percent to paypal, or be concerned about getting scammed.

 

Let's see -
Personal or Bank Check - nope, too easy to print a fake or to "wash" it
Money Order - nope, same problem
Wire Transfer - nope, gives them my bank info
PayPal - nope, too many fees and too easy to dispute and freeze my funds
Cash - nope, too many counterfeits out there

What to do

I've got it!! I'll only accept pre-1964 dimes and quarters (silver content) or American Eagles that I can have authenticated or I'll accept a trade for another item of like value.

What happened to the good old days of gold and barter?

Glad you had a successful sales transaction.

 

To be certain the best is a Postal Money Order. Even certified checks can be halted. As long as the money order is real (yes, there are forgeries) they cannot be canceled or funds withdrawn. To verify authenticity, just take it to a post office and they will run the numbers.

 

PMO can be cancelled!!! Cash is the only perfect way.

 

paypal......

 

If you take a PMO to a Post Office to cash, it is as safe as money (safer if you get a bunch of counterfeit bills). Some of the new counterfeit bills will pass the special marking pen test. Recently, a bunch of counterfeit $100's showed up here that showed good the the pens, the only thing they didn't have was the color shifting ink.

"As of 2006 there has been a significant increase in counterfeit postal money orders. Often, such a counterfeit will be sent to an unwitting victim who is instructed, on some pretext, to deposit it at his/her bank and return some of the funds. The victim is more likely to trust an "official" money order than a regular check, for the reasons given above. However, because money orders are paid through the postal service rather than the usual check clearing system, they often take longer to "bounce" than an ordinary check. When this finally occurs it is charged back to the victim, who may already have sent back the funds, for which he or she must take the loss. For this reason banks are now applying increased security to incoming money orders, and are becoming more reluctant to accept them. A safer approach is to cash them at a post office. In this case, the authenticity of the item is immediately determined, and if deemed good, the holder is paid and absolved of further responsibility for the funds."