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Using a credit card in private transactions? Possible or a pipe dream?


Harb67

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*pokes head in and looks around* Been a while since I've really spent any time on OR...I'm not dead, just havn't been doing anything bike related for a while. I hate real life :( Anyway...

I'm hoping to get a new bike next year, but I have zero experience dealing in private transactions with used vehicles; the only vehicle I've ever bought was my 650 which I got new at a dealership.

Is it possible to use a credit card in a private transaction? Say if I were to buy a used bike from a private seller, is there any way at all to use my credit card to cover some of the cost, short of using the cash advance 'feature' that my CC company offers? (i say "feature" because in my opinion, anything that has a 24.99% APR is a last resort, not a feature) I was pondering the possibility of using my CC to buy a cashiers check or something, but I'm fairly inexperienced with this realm of personal finance.

I'm really hoping there is some way to make this happen, otherwise I'll probably have to stick to stealerships...and finding the exact model, year, and color of bike I want at a dealership would be like finding a needle in a haystack :\

Any input/ideas are welcome...I'm lookin to get ejakated on this subject because it's something I've put off learning for way too long :) Thanks!

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PayPal

Brilliant, I never even considered paypal for a transaction like this. Now that I think about it, it might be a bit tough convincing a seller to take that route but I figure if I'm up front about it and provide enough identification and means of contact, they should realize I'm legit and not out to scam anyone. Hopefully.

Thanks :)

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if you are responsible and can manage not to abuse it, I highly recommend a personal line of credit. You can pull out cash directly and my interest rate currently is astounding at 4.5%. I've bought several cheaper vehicles (including my bike) going this route

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True. You'll have to overpay a bit to cover their PayPal fees.

Yeah I've delt with Paypal and their fees. If I find a deal good enough for me to bite, covering Paypal fees shouldn't be a big deal. If I can find the -exact- bike I want, I'll be willing to pay a bit extra anyway (but don't tell the seller than ;))

if you are responsible and can manage not to abuse it, I highly recommend a personal line of credit. You can pull out cash directly and my interest rate currently is astounding at 4.5%. I've bought several cheaper vehicles (including my bike) going this route

Where should I go to read up on these; do most banks offer them? It's a very attractive option, but I'm willing to bet that I'd have a hard time obtaining one because I'm a 21 year old college student :(

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Where should I go to read up on these; do most banks offer them? It's a very attractive option, but I'm willing to bet that I'd have a hard time obtaining one because I'm a 21 year old college student :(

Most banks do have them. Mine is from US Bank and I got either the top tier or 2nd tier of the personal lines because I had a credit card with them for about 2 years as well as having a checking and savings with them. At the time I got mine, I was also 21 and in college working part time however at that point I had no other loans (school,car,etc) which helped.

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My credit card company sends me checks about every 4-5 months that can be used for cash but at my regular interest rate as it does not count as a cash withdrawal. You may call your card company and ask.

I thought about that, but I couldn't dig up anything about that sort of deal with my credit card company. Which company are you with? Mine is Capital One.

bank loan? lol

That'd be overkill I think; I plan on paying for the majority of the purchase with cash and just using the credit card for the last bit that I can't cover right off the bat.

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Using paypal will cost the seller about 3%. This is actually the same as the charge a dealer would incur if you were to buy your bike from them using a credit card. Just a factor in the negotiations to consider.

I bought my Ducati that way a few years ago and after negotiating what I thought was a very good price had to pay a little more because they weren't willing to do the price we came to on a credit card.

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Using paypal will cost the seller about 3%. This is actually the same as the charge a dealer would incur if you were to buy your bike from them using a credit card. Just a factor in the negotiations to consider.

I bought my Ducati that way a few years ago and after negotiating what I thought was a very good price had to pay a little more because they weren't willing to do the price we came to on a credit card.

Paypal's current fee is $0.30 + 2.9% of the transaction amount. I'm fairly sure they now allow the person sending funds to choose if they want to pay the fee or if they want to pass it on to the seller. Even if I go way above my current projections and send 4 grand from my credit card with paypal, the fee will only be $116.30. I would likely just choose to pay it myself to keep the confusion and haggling to a minimum. If I were shopping for a more common bike I'd probably be more sensitive to an extra hundred-some bucks, but what I'm after is a bit harder to come across so I wouldn't mind paying that little extra fee just for the sake of getting exactly what I want at a good deal.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who has replied so far. I'm very inexperienced with this sort of thing and I want to get a solid handle on the situation well before I pull the trigger on anything. All this input has helped quite a bit :)

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Brilliant, I never even considered paypal for a transaction like this. Now that I think about it, it might be a bit tough convincing a seller to take that route but I figure if I'm up front about it and provide enough identification and means of contact, they should realize I'm legit and not out to scam anyone. Hopefully.

Thanks :)

Set up a paypal site for yourself.

Make a donation to yourself as a cash transaction. (regular interest)

Transfer the cash to your checking account.

Use ATM card to get your cash.

Ride!

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Set up a paypal site for yourself.

Make a donation to yourself as a cash transaction. (regular interest)

Transfer the cash to your checking account.

Use ATM card to get your cash.

Ride!

That's so PAINFULLY simple I'm kicking myself for not thinking of that as soon as Casper mentioned PayPal. You, sir, are a genius.

I sent a message to Capital One inquiring about the checks Whitey1 mentioned; if they have that service I'll just use that and save some PayPal fees. Otherwise, I'll just have my girlfriend open a PayPal account and go ahead and get myself whatever money I need from Capital One whether they like it or not :cool:

Now to work my ass off over the winter and save up, and then find someone with one of these for sale :D

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That's so PAINFULLY simple I'm kicking myself for not thinking of that as soon as Casper mentioned PayPal. You, sir, are a genius.

I sent a message to Capital One inquiring about the checks Whitey1 mentioned; if they have that service I'll just use that and save some PayPal fees. Otherwise, I'll just have my girlfriend open a PayPal account and go ahead and get myself whatever money I need from Capital One whether they like it or not :cool:

Now to work my ass off over the winter and save up, and then find someone with one of these for sale :D

Why not open your own account?

Getting the gf involved might not be such a good idea. For one thing the IRS might consider it a gift and ask her to pay tax on it. Her statement that she was just holding the money for you prolly wouldn't fly with them. For another thing she might stop being your gf and leave with the $$.

Besides that, wouldn't it be nice to accept VISA, MasterCard and the rest yourself? Have a garage sale and accept VISA!

PayPalCreditCardLogo.jpg

I can't see any legal issue with this plan of giving yourself money from one account and moving it to another account.

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Why not open your own account?

Getting the gf involved might not be such a good idea. For one thing the IRS might consider it a gift and ask her to pay tax on it. Her statement that she was just holding the money for you prolly wouldn't fly with them. For another thing she might stop being your gf and leave with the $$.

Besides that, wouldn't it be nice to accept VISA, MasterCard and the rest yourself? Have a garage sale and accept VISA!

I can't see any legal issue with this plan of giving yourself money from one account and moving it to another account.

Ah, good call on the tax aspect; I hadn't even considered that. I'll have to look into the legitimacy behind having 2 paypal accounts and all, but in general terms the idea seems like a solid concept.

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