About to make a large out-of-state purchase, need advice to ensure funds are safe

[Nitrousbird]

Ehh, not looking good. Guy hasn't e-mailed me back after I told him what I would agree to, and he pulled his ad on boat trader.

 

Hopefully I find something soon, so far I've not been able to work out deals for 3 others as well:

- I was high bidder on a sweet 03 Tige 22V on Ebay, but didn't hit reserve. This was a few weeks ago - I just sent an e-mail to the seller to see if it is still available, as I may offer a bit more.

- Was also high on a 04 Centurion Avalanche - again, didn't hit reserve, and this seller must want a lot because I gave a pretty decent bid on that one

- Contacted a seller about an 07 Gekko Revo 6.7, then seller wouldn't get back to me to answer some basic questions after he sent me some more pics I requested (shitty cell phone pics).

 

My wife also found something interesting today; I guess all the big banks have stopped lending for boats, motorcycles, etc. and the smaller places want a lot down/great credit/shitty interest rates. I'm also seeing a lot of re-listing on E-bay for sold auctions, so it looks like buyers are having troubles getting financing. This works in my favor, so I may just start throwing some low ball bids out there and see if anyone desperate wants to play. I don't want to travel over 500 miles (yet), so I've passed on a few deals, though this will change in a month or two.