It’s kind of a judgement call too.
If a Dad and his wide eyed son show up and then return with a certified check to buy the bike, then my guess is that it’s real.
On the other hand, if a suspiciously attractive, scantily clad lady shows up with a certified check and stands at my garage door, smiling and waving the check in front of her face, I might get a little suspicious. But I hope she shows up someday anyway.
I wouldn’t care if someone arrived with a halo over their head and a gaggle of disciples - I wouldn’t take his personal check.
Cash has it’s drawbacks too. My last used bike (street bike) was purchased from a private owner in Hesperia. I figured I’d arrive with a roll of well used bills and get a good deal, so off to the bank I went and got the wad. On the way there, I starting thinking, “What if the police stop me for speeding and find this roll of money – they’ll think I’m a crack dealer or something”. So I stuck to the speed limit. When I got there, we haggled down to about 200 bucks difference, but the guy wouldn’t let it go (it didn’t make any difference to him cash or not). Said he had another guy lined up anyway. So now I’m heading home and I need to find a safe spot at the house to hide this roll. I finally found a place that no one would find it until they tear the house down in 2112. I figure that by 2112, this little roll of money wouldn’t even buy a loaf of bread, so who cares.
The other buyer flaked, so I went back to Hesperia with my hot little roll of money and we came within 100$ of a deal. The guy wouldn’t budge. I was tired of stowing this money around, so I gave in and deal was closed.
The guy was counting the money and sweating – clearly nervous, and he says, “Hey , ya know, you could have paid me by certified check”.
Doh.