Potential issues with selling a bike to someone in Canada?

[ScottRNelson]

As some of you may know, I've put my 1993 888 SPO up for sale:
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=40704.0

There's a guy in Canada who wants it.  He's willing to make the payment on it via PayPal and will arrange his own shipper to come pick up the bike.  He's obviously knowledgeable about 888's and said that he used to own one and has always regretted selling it.  So I have no reason to believe that there is any sort of scam going on.  I've opened a special checking account just for PayPal at my bank, to minimize potential PayPal issues.

I will make sure that I have the money and that it has been transferred out of the account before the shipping company arrives to pick up the bike.

Are there any specific issues I should watch out for when conducting this transaction?

[ian48th]

I don't think so.  As long as you've confirmed the money is in your account before the bike goes away, it shouldn't be any different from selling to a US buyer.  The buyer will have to deal with importing it, namely paying tax, and having it inspected.

[r_ciao]

sounds like you have more concerns about PayPal.  I'm sure that there are many assurances with PayPal, but there's gotta be some recourse for buyers if there is some concern about product or services received and thus PayPal could likely get money back from sellers even if $ is transferred out of your checking account. 

it doesn't really matter if the buyer is Canadian.  i'd check the PayPal website for further details.

BTW, nice bike.  Ciao!

[Triple J]

I sold my Guzzi to a guy in Canada without any issues. I don't think there is anything special about it.

If you want to do away with Paypal fees then see if he'll just wire transfer the money to your account. Still some fees, but less I think.

[DesmoDiva]

Shouldn't be any issues on your end.

We sold our Forester to a Canandian...no issues...He showed up with a bank check.

I would feel more comfortable going the wire transfer (bank to bank) route. 

[Popeye the Sailor]

Well.....he'll call it an "Eight eight eight, eh", so there's that.

[poseur]

PayPal is convenient, but I hate them (for many reasons).

Importing the bike into Canada will be a hassle for the buyer, that's for sure.

[Bill in OKC]

I think it is easier to import a bike into Canada than to import a bike here from Canada.  There have been a few Canadian RZ500s and RG500s on ebay that I was tempted to bid on.  There are some seriously squirrely rules for a 25 year old machine.  You would *think* with NAFTA and all that it would be a breeze - but I guess NAFTA wasn't written to help average f#(%s like me.

[64duc]

  PayPal is going to charge you a pretty hefty percentage. As high as 8% on some transactions. Don't know about this particular one.

[ScottRNelson]

  PayPal is going to charge you a pretty hefty percentage. As high as 8% on some transactions. Don't know about this particular one.

Where did you get the 8% number from?

The PayPal site says 1.9% to 2.9% plus $0.30.  And there is no charge if you're just transferring money to a "friend" and you use a bank account to do it.

In any case, the buyer said that he would cover all extra charges, so I'm not worried about the fees.

[poseur]

You would *think* with NAFTA and all that it would be a breeze - but I guess NAFTA wasn't written to help average f#(%s like me.

NAFTA only comes into play if the vehicle is manufactured in North America.

[ScottRNelson]

In case any of you are interested, I just loaded the Ducati 888 onto the STI truck (supposedly the best motorcycle shipper) for its trip to Calgary.  I've had the full payment for the bike for a week or two and transferred it immediately from PayPal to my special checking account (and then immediately out of that account into a different one).  PayPal can take your money immediately when you're buying something, but it takes three days to get the money when you sell something.

The buyer is paying all shipping expenses and dealing with all hassles of getting it into Canada.  I sent him the title and other paperwork right after the payment arrived.  I still have to send him a few other random parts that go with the bike.

In this case, the buyer knows someone that I know, so is not just some random person out of the country.  I'll admit that it's a bigger hassle to sell a bike to someone who can't come pick it up, but it's not too bad if the person has done all of the required homework to make it happen.  And I know for sure that the bike will have a nice home - with other Italian bikes and Italian cars.

Thanks to all who provided input for me on this.  Sorry I didn't follow the advice of most of you.




I better get a new avatar now...