The truck does not move
on a screenshot.
Write the closing sequence, verify payment instructions independently and release the machine only when the agreed funds and conditions are confirmed.
Payment method, cleared funds and custody are separate decisions.
Wire transfers can be fast, but changed instructions and compromised email create serious fraud risk. Checks can appear available before a counterfeit is discovered. Cash is not universally required: the Federal Reserve explains that no federal statute requires private businesses to accept cash, subject to state law. The parties should negotiate the payment method and write an independent verification, payoff and release sequence with their banks and advisers.
Facts to establish
- Contract price, deposit, balance, deductions, taxes, payoff and recipient accounts
- Negotiated payment method and what the agreement defines as received or cleared funds
- Legal owner, secured party, lien payoff and release conditions
- Bank instructions verified through a known, independently obtained channel
- Dual approval for any new or changed instructions
- Exact event when title, risk, access and physical custody transfer
Documents and deliverables
- Executed payment and custody sequence
- Verified bank, escrow or attorney trust instructions as applicable
- Payoff letter and release requirements
- Independent call-back and approval log
- Bank confirmation of the agreed cleared-funds condition
- Signed pickup, included-property, condition and custody record
Ask before the decision becomes expensive.
A useful answer identifies a person, document, number, date, scope or acceptance test. Replace assumptions with evidence.
Which payment method did the parties actually agree to?
The contract should identify wire, check, escrow or another lawful method and define timing, fees, verification, failure and refund conditions. Do not assume a party must accept cash or cannot require a wire.
How will changed instructions be handled?
Treat every change as a stop event. Call a known person using independently obtained contact information, require dual approval and confirm account details outside the email thread.
When are funds truly usable for release?
Ask the receiving financial institution what confirmation is appropriate for the payment type. An email, screenshot or provisional account credit is not the seller's release control.
Who resolves liens and payoff?
Coordinate buyer funds, secured-party payoff, releases, intermediary deductions and seller proceeds through a written closing sequence reviewed by qualified professionals.
Pause when the scope is vague.
- Urgent new wire instructions sent only by email or text
- Pressure to bypass a known contact or normal approval control
- Machine pickup scheduled from a payment screenshot
- Check amount exceeds the price with a request to return or forward the difference
- Unknown escrow service selected by the counterparty without independent diligence
- Payment recipient differs from the contracting or owning entity without documented explanation
What a controlled file contains.
- Contractual payment-method record
- Independent instruction-verification log
- Payoff, lien and release file
- Bank-confirmed funds status
- Asset, condition and custody acknowledgment
- Final settlement and seller-net reconciliation
Use the source that controls the question.
These links provide a starting point. The exact machine, agreement, site, jurisdiction and qualified professionals control the final decision.
Connect this question to the whole machine.
Machine ownership is a chain. Use the next relevant guide instead of treating any one checkpoint as the complete answer.
Verify ownership and payoff
Resolve authority, security interests, payoff and release before custody changes.
Open the guide →AGREEMENTWrite the closing sequence
Define payment, risk, removal, default and handover in the controlling terms.
Open the guide →HANDOVERReconcile the machine and money
Close included property, funds, documents, condition and open items together.
Open the guide →Direct answers, with the boundary intact.
Machine Blue Book organizes research. It does not replace engineering, legal, tax, insurance, safety, appraisal or trade advice.
Does federal legal-tender law require a private seller to accept cash?
The Federal Reserve states that no federal statute requires a private business, person or organization to accept currency or coins for goods or services. State law and the parties' contract may matter.
Can a contract require payment by wire?
Payment method can be negotiated and written into the agreement, subject to applicable law. Review the terms before signing and use strong independent verification controls.
Is a cashier's check the same as cleared funds?
No. Counterfeit checks can appear available before the fraud is discovered. Confirm the check and release standard directly with the receiving bank using independently sourced contact information.
What should happen if wire instructions change?
Stop. Verify the change through a known person and independently obtained channel, apply dual control, and involve the financial institution. The FBI specifically warns about compromised email and changed payment instructions.
Selling a CNC Machine
Carry this evidence into the rest of the decision—from machine identity through handover and final economics.