If you ever wanted a 340 fastback Barracuda for $14k, here's the car
I was prepared to drive across the country to pick it up. No joke.
i have purchased a number of vehicles off of internet websites - either ebay or facebook marketplace. when i have seen a very good deal like this blue Barracuda was, i contacted the sell, got the seller to agree to sell me the vehicle "in writing" either through emails or on the facebook messenger. then i've got the seller to agree to take an immediate deposit of $50.00 to $100.00 through paypal. once the seller accepts that money by transferring it from paypal to his account, that act establishes a binding contract that can be enforced in court. i am willing to risk losing the $50/100 dollars just to be able to lock-in the deal. once the seller takes my initial deposit, i then draft a longer sales agreement that outlines all addition details of the sale. on one of my Barracudas that i purchased from Portland, Oregon, the seller backed out AFTER he had engaged in the binding contract procedure i outlined. so i filed a law suit against him here in Pittsburgh and had him served with the suit where he lived outside of Oregon. he got an attorney who called me and tried to talk me out of the car. i told the guy i wanted the car and that i was going forward with the suit in Pittsburgh and his client was free to hire a local attorney to defend him. about three days later, the lawyer called me and we settled the case. the car showed up about two weeks later with no damage and all parts attached on a shipper i arranged.
when you see a great deal, you have to lock it in with an enforceable contract. all you need is: the seller offering to sell the item at a fixed price; the buyer accepting that price and then sending the seller an immediate deposit to seal the contract. in legal terms the components are: offer - acceptance - consideration. IF you have all these things in writing, you have an enforceable contract that you can take to court to force the seller to complete the deal. if the seller tries to damage the item in any way, or removes parts from the item, you can sue for the fair market value of that damage and the missing parts.
in my 28 years of being an attorney, i found that "some people" have to be "hit in the head with a ball bat" (figuratively speaking, not actually) before you can convince them that they have to "abide by their agreements."
