I have my trailer listed for sale and this is the first one I am selling. Although the trailer is not real expensive, should I require only cash or Cashier's Check/Money Order as a form of payment ? Also, I hear all sorts of things about fake Cashier's Checks - should I make a copy of the title for the buyer to take but send them the original only when the check has been cleared ? If the potential buyer wants to pull it to "test it out", what precautions should I take ?

Any other advice on selling ? I have it at a boarding stable so I am not concerned about safety issues showing it.

Thanks !!

Unless it's cash, hang on to the title.  Write up a bill of sale (2 copies) that buyer and seller can have with original signatures.  Only exception is a cashier's check with local branches AND a day's notice to you, with the check number.  That way you can call a branch and verify the check validity.  Look up the phone number yourself

..."Trust, but verify"

As for the test drive, ride along, Kidnapping is a federal offense if you cross a state line. lol

As far as cash only sale? Unless a local buyer, who wants to travel with a large bundle of CASH in their wallet? Cashier's check, you are probably alright but get the buyer's bank phone number and location before they drop you the check. I like the idea of sending them the title once the check has cleared, but then again, they might not "trust" you into sending them the title! It's a sad world we live in!

My experience last year with selling a trailer last fall went like this, too good to be true!! Someone called me on a Saturday from out of state and had seen the ad for it(from this site) and we settled on a price and then someone was sent up my way to pick it up on Monday with a cashier's check. I was quite leary of the whole situation, but all went well and the deal was final. They took the trailer and title and handed over the cashier's check. Would I do it that way again? Hard to say because I was afraid the check would not clear. However I did copy the driver's license plate down and did make copies of the title, but how much leverage would that get me if it turned out to be a scam?

When I sold a trailer, I asked for a money order drawn from a local bank-since it was sold within the state and only a few hours away, it all went just fine. Otherwise you can call the bank the check is drawn on and verfiy the account......

Nah .. Don't be so hard on yourself ... You were trusting and everything turned out fine?  Not all transactions are with scoundrels .. Most are fine ... E-bay has millions of transactions.  A few bad actors spoil it for everybody... a fact of life.

Another choice would have been a deposit wired with a check for the balance in hand, that the sellers could verify.  You would only be out a fraction of the $34,000 if the deal was a scam.  If all was well, then the rest of the deal is completed.

Postal money orders are one of the most counterfeited items around here. And if I remember right, there is a dollar limit on how high they can be. Your best bet would be to get a cashier's check drawn on a bank local to you so it is easily verified. Better yet, why don't you and the seller make trip to the bank together. With fraud and ID theft so high, making an extra trip to the back is a small price to pay.

BTW...congrats on your sale!

When I bought my trailer last month, I paid in cash.  It was a couple hundred miles away in a resort area, so we went for a weekend getaway and to pick up the trailer.  I was nervous carrying that amount of cash ($7500).  I wore a moneybelt under my jeans for 2 days!  I wanted to deal in cash to avoid any question about authenticity of the funds.  And it was a Saturday and I wanted to take the trailer home on Sunday, when no banks would be open.