Canmore, AB
Quoted from lifefloat:So. Let me open by saying this, I have learned a lot on this site in the last couple of years. Not all of it pinball related. The best non-pinball thing so far? Vid's tips on making good popcorn. Yep. That kind of info is here. And as always, Vid was spot on.
I learned about Escrow.com here. It works great. Used it to buy my BKSOR. Flawless transaction.
Now I'm wanting to buy this vehicle in Oregon. Seller seems like a super cool guy. He doesn't own any pinball machines, nor did he mention playing any, but he seems legit regardless. Vehicle asking price is 27K. I'm not just gonna send someone 27K on a wire. Or Paypal. Or a cashier's check.
I told him about Pinside. I told him how a lot of us will use Escrow.com when you can't go cash on the glass. He is very hesitant about it. Like he thinks I'm gonna scam him. I honestly think this guy is legit. He actually seems kind of cool. Any suggestions on how I assure this guy I'm wanting to use Escrow to protect both of us? He thinks I might just accept the car and keep the money. I told him there is an inspection period and once it times out the money is released to him.
Anyway................I don't have the time to fly to Oregon to hand someone a cashier's check but it seems like that may be my only route if I can't convince this guy that Escrow.com is legit.
Any suggestions from the crowd here are appreciated.
In 2009 I was looking to buy a 1 of 17 Mustang Shelby GT-H 5 speed manual car from a Hertz executive in Oklahoma City. I wanted the car bad so I did my research and my back ground checks and I sent this executive $65,000 US dollars from a foreign country (Canada). I pretty much had zero recourse if the deal went bad but I booked my flight my flight to Oklahoma City, OK, I shit my pants, but the Hertz executive met me as per our agreement and I picked up the car and drove it Las Vegas for a short stop over until I could bring the car home to Alberta, Canada.
In 2007 I bought a 68 Shelby GT500 from a dealership in South Carolina. I did my homework on the dealership and on all the details of the car. I shipped them $120,000 US dollars and they shipped the car to me in Shelby, Montana where I picked up the car and drove it home to my house in Alberta.
In 2012 I bought a 1993 Mustang 5.0 from a lady in Tacoma, Washington. I drove to Tacoma on December 28th with $12,500 US cash to buy this car and when I got to the sellers house I was greeted by the sellers son who happened to be carrying a side arm (another story I believe I've told somewhere on Pinside). Short of the long is the sellers son was just looking out for his mom and that's why he greeted this foreigner the way he did. Anyway, in the end we were all friends and I did buy the car and no shots were fired 
. After I bought the car on my December trip, I put it in storage and I flew out in the summer of 2013 to pick it up and drove it back to my house in Alberta.
What's my advice? Talk to the seller, use your intuition and go with your gut. It's always worked out for me in all my car purchases. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it, there's another one right around the corner. But seriously, You not willing to deliver $27,000 for a car you "apparently" want? Don't do it then! You're not gonna loose a cent, I promise you.
QSS
