how do you deal with a local transaction with a large sum of cash?

I'm thinking about selling my 24-70 and that to me is a large sum of cash. i sold on craigslist many times, body, lenses, flashes, etc, but the most ever was about $540 cash. how do you deal with a local cash transaction with this much cash involved? meet at bank? police station parking lot? other ideas? or just sell online thru the forums?

thanks for any input.

Meet at a bank, take the money and deposit it immediately.

before handing over the lens? good idea...

From what I've seen in the movies, you take up a sniper position on top of a building overlooking the 'drop'. Any sign of the cops and you get out of there and kill the hostage.

JeffreyG wrote in post #9004438
From what I've seen in the movies, you take up a sniper position on top of a building overlooking the 'drop'. Any sign of the cops and you get out of there and kill the hostage.

note taken. one minor kink is that only one of my friends is any good at long distance sniping. he is currently "laying low" from the popos, so to speak...

I usually bring a big friend or two and meet in a place with lots of human traffic.

Oh, gawd, now we're dealing with human trafficing, too!

Wilt wrote in post #9004494
Oh, gawd, now we're dealing with human trafficing, too!

Well, that's how I do it.

Once I get the lens home I shoot some batteries for focus accuracy and shoot some test charts to peep the images at 100%. If all looks good I let the hostage go and we are all set. No blood, no foul as they say.

I just had an interesting idea to make the transaction worry-free. See if you could get a local photo store to handle the exchange for a small fee. That way, you don't even need to be there if you don't want to be. The store could pay you by check so that you would not be hauling cash around that you're not comfortable with.

JeffreyG wrote in post #9004510
Well, that's how I do it.

Once I get the lens home I shoot some batteries for focus accuracy and shoot some test charts to peep the images at 100%. If all looks good I let the hostage go and we are all set. No blood, no foul as they say.

Yippie Ki Yay Mother F*****

Too Funny.

Bank is good idea and logical. Apart from that daytime, public area and perhaps with someone and you'll be right as rain. Also act with confidence alot of criminals are opportunists so if they think you're easy prey...

Bring someone along with you. When the person hands you the money, hand it to your person for them to count and make sure its all there. That way you can keep contact with the person your doing business with. It allows for an easier transaction and also allows for protecting yourself and your safety.

Personally... these are all worst case scenarios. Try to keep them in the back of your head. At the same time, always be ready for the worst thing to happen and most times it wont and everything will be fine. I would tell the person either bank check or cash. They can even walk into the back with you if they want. once it in the lens is theirs.

JeffreyG wrote in post #9004510
Well, that's how I do it.

If all looks good I let the hostage go and we are all set. No blood, no foul as they say.

What happens to the hostage if all is not well