Looking for advice on selling stock privately

Murdoch

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Scotland
I’m looking for some advice, I’m just about to put 40 calves up for sale. Last year was my first year farming and I sold them all through groups on facebook. I said in the advert I’d like to be payed by bank transfer, the first guy tried but said his bank wouldn’t allow him to transfer that much and ended up giving me a cheque. The second guy who bought from me also payed by cheque. What I’m wondering is, is it just standard in the agriculture industry to pay by cheque? I’m worried that if I don’t know the person they could easily give me a cheque that will bounce and i wont be able to do anything about it. Should I just be more firm about it being cash or bank transfer only?
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
I’m looking for some advice, I’m just about to put 40 calves up for sale. Last year was my first year farming and I sold them all through groups on facebook. I said in the advert I’d like to be payed by bank transfer, the first guy tried but said his bank wouldn’t allow him to transfer that much and ended up giving me a cheque. The second guy who bought from me also payed by cheque. What I’m wondering is, is it just standard in the agriculture industry to pay by cheque? I’m worried that if I don’t know the person they could easily give me a cheque that will bounce and i wont be able to do anything about it. Should I just be more firm about it being cash or bank transfer only?

Yes ag is generally still stuck in the dark ages and uses cheques.

It's up to you. If it was someone I didn't know I'd hold stock until the cheque cleared, unless they came with a reference. I've had cheques bounced on me in the past, but I've always been paid in the end.

Depends how much grief you're prepared to go through. But bank transfer is definitely my preferred choice.
 

bluebell

Member
no its not ? most if not all our either payments or being paid is by BACS its so much easier and quicker you can see your money going into your account, our bank manager came to see us about 10 years ago now to say that all the banks clients would go other to internet banking ? no more bank statments lost in the post ? Sold an item last year was a lump of machinery £1200 buyer wanted to pay cheque and pick it up, i said no pay by BACS which they did
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
A bad payers a bad payer whichever way , plenty will swear blind they have bacs it over when they havent. Nothing worse than having to go visiting to try and get money!
 

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
If they're serious they can set you up on mobile banking as a payee and send you a 1p with their card reader. Then pay on arrival for collection (assuming you don't ask for a holding reservation deposit in advance)

I've one or two I would trust with a cheque, the rest would pay by BACS before the stock moves
 

dubs

Member
not everyone is set up to use BACS or transfers, buy the way BACS still take 3 days to clear.
Iam cheque book, always have been always will-be.
Dont know where in scotland your from but if i right out a bouncy cheque up here the jungle drums would sound loud enough for me to be embarrassed never to show face again.
Once bought a renault tractor and paid with a cheque, drove it home that day, then had the guy phone me up 6 mouths later to update the cheque as he hadn't cashed it.
But agree, ag is still in the 18th century when it comes to payments
 

bluebell

Member
the thing is this, you state your terms, BACS payment, and with online banking you can monitor when payment is made into your account, i agreed a price for my cattle sent invoice with bank details and awaited payment before cattle were gone?
 

Hfd Cattle

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Hereford
Does it? Pretty sure it’s instant now. Iv sold sheep off the field and they have paid before we have load and the money is showing in my account.
Yes instant . Its a few yrs since we wrote a cheque for paying bills . Fairly annoying when folks won't pay me by bacs. Cheques sit in our house for weeks sometimes till one of us goes into town.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
I didn’t question it too much, he was the cousin of a friend of mine and i knew of plenty people that knew him who didn’t have a bad word to say. If it was some random stranger it’d be a different story.

My bank won’t allow me to do a BACS payment to a new account if it is over £5k, if it’s for the same day. You can set it up for the next day ok though.

It’s still possible to do BACS to pay, but might mean another journey to collect the stock.

A lot of my ram customers will pay by cheque, which I’ve only occasionally had a problem with, and always a mix up rather than deliberate fraud.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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