Have a bike on Craigslist. Last night get a text from a Tennessee area code wondering if I'd sell it out of state. It sounded a little legit. I texted him back this morning to call me today. What's the best way to get paid?
I've shipped to AZ. Had the guy deposit half to get the process started, once I confirmed shipment via paperwork/tracking; I had him deposit the other half and mailed the title to him. Pretty clean, easy transaction. This of course was after much discussion, pics, vids and some paperwork.
Would depend on the value of the bike and how bad you needed to move it. I will typically drive a couple hours. Best way to get paid? Cash.. Especially on a Craigslist deal. I've beenlucky with the stuff I bought (tractors, tires, etc..) But I only keep it to small stuff. The last item I posted (Fender Strat) brought several scammers. It was pretty easy to spot.
Meet halfway and do a face to face cash deal. I drove all the way from Central Florida to Warner Robbins to pick up one of my bikes and had a guy drive from Dahlonega to here to buy one. If the dude wants the bike bad enough, he'll put in the miles.
Sold an Italian vintage bike project over the web. Buyer gave me a deposit via PayPal immediately and arranged shipping. Balance paid when his guy picked it up. No muss no fuss for me.
Wire transfer or cash on delivery. The last long distance bike I sold was a small PayPal deposit with balance via wife transfer. Some people are scared of wire transfer for some reason but it typically only takes a very short visit to the bank to get it done on the buyers part. For the seller, the funds just appear in your acount. You as the seller have to give the bank routing number and account number which might make you nervous until you realize it's printed on the bottom of every check you've written.
Sold an RE5 from NY to the UK, told the seller I would meet his transport and assist, but that was it. Did a wire transfer, got the money, shipper arrived, loaded the bike and took it to NYC to crate it and that was that.