Safest way to pay for sled that is being shipped

[Needspeed]

I am having a sled shipped and I was wondering what is the safest way to pay for it. I dont want to pay for a sled and it not show up. Theres too many scams out there. Personal experiences would be great to hear about. What about shipping, what experiences have you had?

 

[Fredly]

C.O.D.?
Use a escrow account?

 

[89sandman]

if your buying it through ebay they have an escrow account you can set up. you deposit the money when the item arrives you have about 24 hours to either accept it or return it. the money is sent to the seller if the item is not returned within the specified period. this way if the seller is grossly misrepresenting what is being sold you can reject it. have found once you mention this form of payment all the too good to be true deals fall apart.

 

[rideit]

use paypal or don't do it

I bought a sled this year through a 3rd party ebay that did not exist. Lost the money and the sled. This was on craiglist and the seller also had one on buysell classified ads. Be careful research it before you go and give you money away. It was one of those deals that was to good to be true. I just hope I get my hands on that SOB someday.

 

[Needspeed]

use paypal or don't do it

I bought a sled this year through a 3rd party ebay that did not exist. Lost the money and the sled. This was on craiglist and the seller also had one on buysell classified ads. Be careful research it before you go and give you money away. It was one of those deals that was to good to be true. I just hope I get my hands on that SOB someday.

That sucks! That is exactly what i'm afraid of, I found the sled here on Smowest. It's a decent deal, and its's set up the way I want, I was thinking paypal too. I think I'll check out there policies. Thanks guys I've been nervous as he!! about this deal. Hope you run in the scum bag that screwed you. so you can take your money out of his hide.

 

[cascaderdr]

I found a sled on Craigslist here in Oregon. To good of a deal. Think it was an 05 Rev 800 for 2900. Sent dude an email. He replies that the sled is in Canada. It was his sons that died in Iraq. hmmmmm 2900 shipped to oregon for a 5000$ sled.....
I told him that my lil brother was going to school near where the sled was supposed to be...last I heard of him!

 

[JROD]

I found a sled on Craigslist here in Oregon. To good of a deal. Think it was an 05 Rev 800 for 2900. Sent dude an email. He replies that the sled is in Canada. It was his sons that died in Iraq. hmmmmm 2900 shipped to oregon for a 5000$ sled.....
I told him that my lil brother was going to school near where the sled was supposed to be...last I heard of him!

A guy I work with got scammed by the same guy supposedly from BC but the money was pulled out of the "third party account" in Houston, TX.

 

[Coxy]

Really, the only way i would buy something like that would be to do the milage and go pick it up. Anything of that nature, theres so many different ways to get the green wiener. Im not that trusting...anymore.

 

[Needspeed]

I chickened out and bought one locally not exactlly what I wanted but less stressful. Thanks for all the advise and horror stories, I've been scared straight, lol.