At the risk of being a curmudgeonly old man, allow me to relay a story.

Motorcycle sale arranged. Date, price, location…all defined.

Today, finalizing details, the text message comes in…the fellow bought another machine.

A lot of work down the tubes. Maybe the sale is not meant to be.

A hand shake used to count for something. That was in the old days.

See my CUT.

For me, I pray about it and if it happens, it was meant to be. If not, I was not intended to have it. I have had a few deals go down like the one you describe. Hopefully you didn't have to drive far/at all or go face to face to be told.

If no consideration (deposit) was given, there is no deal.

He most likely got a better offer.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
If no consideration (deposit) was given, there is no deal.

He most likely got a better offer.

This is not quite accurate. A contract is formed prior to the exchange of the consideration by either party. This is an executory contract - which is one not yet performed. In most people's understanding, this is a "deal," and the contract can be breached if one party refuses to perform.

A deposit isn't the full consideration, and is not needed to form an agreement/contract/deal.

Here, they formed an agreement to sell the bike for a certain price. That is likely a contract for the sale of the bike. For a contract of this kind (and for many contracts) a writing is not required. There was a "deal" and the buyer broke it. It is likely not worth making a claim over a broken contract like this, however.

What jhe said. Not to mention it’s a horseshit way to do business.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
If no consideration (deposit) was given, there is no deal.

He most likely got a better offer.

Or mentioned it to his wife the for the first time. People are flakes. I never get excited until I have cash in hand and see the person driving off with it.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
Or mentioned it to his wife the for the first time. People are flakes. I never get excited until I have cash in hand and see the person driving off with it.

Maybe he found out "do whatever the hell you want" doesn't mean what he thought it meant...

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
Or mentioned it to his wife the for the first time. People are flakes. I never get excited until I have cash in hand and see the person driving off with it.

Maybe he found out "do whatever the hell you want" doesn't mean what he thought it meant...

100%

Deals are only as good as your ability to enforce them. They get broken all the time, but then again, so do bones when the deals are made with people that are VERY motivated.

Failing that level of commitment, we are left with good faith. Good luck.

I've had it happen to me, but I won't do it. If I give my word, I'm good for it.

You were fortunate that he texted you . I hear about No call / no shows all the time . If you sell stuff it's bound to happen .

Still trying to sell the machine, another party has reached out. He wants to make a significant deposit, taking the bike off the market. He wants me to continue riding the Motorcycle, until he arrives next May from Australia. Then he will finalize the purchase and enjoy a tour of mountain roads in North Carolina.

This is not a workable solution!

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Still trying to sell the machine, another party has reached out. He wants to make a significant deposit, taking the bike off the market. He wants me to continue riding the Motorcycle, until he arrives next May from Australia. Then he will finalize the purchase and enjoy a tour of mountain roads in North Carolina.

This is not a workable solution!

That’s screams scam to me.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Still trying to sell the machine, another party has reached out. He wants to make a significant deposit, taking the bike off the market. He wants me to continue riding the Motorcycle, until he arrives next May from Australia. Then he will finalize the purchase and enjoy a tour of mountain roads in North Carolina.

This is not a workable solution!

Agree it's not a good solution but man, it does sound like a great plan if you live overseas, buy a bike, ride it around the USA, take it back, or, sell it to recoup the money when you leave vs renting a bike.

If you don't mind, what bike are you selling.

2013 BMW K1600GT with many custom features. 10,500 miles.

I sold a truck in a similar transaction to that several years ago. It was about $7,500, guy was going to be in area in 2 weeks on vacation. We had chatted about 45-50 minutes on phone, he offered to PayPal me "gift" of $1,000 to hold it for that time. Worst case scenario I could sell two weeks later for $1K less and broken even.

There was zero risk of a scam in that case, and he showed up as scheduled, handed me cash, and commenced on his family's week long road trip back from DFW to WI. His plans were actually to sell it there, which he did at a gain. Apparently rust-free Yukons are like gold there; he got a nice free rental out of the deal.

I get the knee-jerk reaction to SCAM!!! but depending on the structure it can work. For that long of a hold it would take a fair bit, but just be clear you're not going to refund it anytime soon, or ever. I'd try to get that money wired instead of a check or PayPal. Or Venmo/similar is same as a wire these days. If he does that all the risk is on him.

I personally didn't drive in that interim, and I'd not ride the bike. As a show of good faith take a pic of the mileage, send it to him, and tell him that's what it will look like when he shows up. Well, for that long probably better to ride it just a little, but not much.

quote:

You were fortunate that he texted you . I hear about No call / no shows all the time

Agreed.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't be upset, you absolutely should be. At the same time be glad you got that courtesy of notification, a lot of times these people just ghost you.