be very anal and ask for tons of pictures and questions. Do some serious leg work on the internet about the person. You can sometimes find TONS of information about a person on the internet. If you need help, PM me.. I do IT Security for a living and am VERY good and hunting people down anywhere including nonUS. Plus my brother in law is a repo god and learned some tricks from how they hunt down people.
I bought my X2 from someone selling on here. I had to drive from AZ to Cali (near Sactown) just to pick the boat up and see it for the first time ever. However, after tons of communication, research about the person, I felt very confident (so did he). The seller should be concerned as well. It's a two way street here. If they aren't concerned as well and it all sounds easy, then make it difficult.
Have them meet you half way and only give them 1,000 deposit. Lots of people would be willing to meet halfway to get rid of a boat these days, you would be surprised!
Only give them a deposit, do not pay for that boat until you see it!! Have him photo copy his driver's license and fax it to you. Don't be afraid to ask where he works, what his address is and see if you can confirm any of this by doing your leg work and research.
Hope this helps you. I learned all this from the guy I bought my boat from on here. He set it all up and did it first class style.
(Message edited by hawaiianstiln on October 21, 2009)
(Message edited by hawaiianstiln on October 21, 2009)