Paying for large purchases on eBay

Mornin' all!

I've got my eye on an auction that ends tonight where the final price will be in the $6k range. It's for a complete powertrain. I'm wondering should I win the auction, whats the best way to go about paying the total? I don't really trust Paypal with that amount of money, however payment with money order or bank draft provides less security as a buyer. To further complicate things, I'm located in Canada whereas the seller in the the US. I have been in contact with the seller and he's aware of my location. I've read postal money orders are a decent option, as should the seller try to take the money and run it's not just regular fraud but mail fraud, which is a federal offense in the US. Canada Post has a max of $999.99 per money order, so I would have to buy several at $6.50 each. Has anyone dealt with this issue?

I would have no problem trusting PayPal for this transaction.

Woody wrote: I would have no problem trusting PayPal for this transaction.

+1.

I would be using paypal.

EDIT: Actually, I trust paypal more with larger purchases than smaller.

paypal protects the buyer, not the seller. Use it.

Consider bank wire transfer. Totally secure.

The seller will be on the hook for the PayPal fees. If they are happy with that I'd go with it.

I bought a large lot of surplus lab instruments from an employer c. 2004 in which was about 25 CCD cameras which had cost about $12,000 each.

I sold the majority on eBay, and despite the fees, used PayPal for all the transactions for safety and convenience. The typical transaction was for between $1800 - $4500, and the entire process was simple and painless.

I also used PayPal to process 100s of payments when I was running a small business. These were generally under $100, but lots of them.

For anything that's an eBay transaction I use PayPal to add an additional layer of protection and security, and if it's anything where if it arrived damaged I'd be annoyed, I insure.

Cost o' doin' bizness...