For the seller, the sale ends in three steps: handing over the bike, closing it in the paperwork, and keeping your own records. If you skip the second, the bike can come back to you as a fine, a tax bill or a claim.
At the handover
- Check the buyer's identity against the name on the bill of sale.
- Sign a bill of sale in two copies, with the date, the time, the mileage, the frame number and the price. See papers and proof of ownership.
- Hand over the registration papers, all keys, the history file, the manuals and everything listed in the advertisement.
- Take photographs of the bike and of the handover, showing the odometer.
- On Epic Motor Trading, press the button that confirms you have handed over the bike, at the moment of physical handover and not before. The buyer then confirms receipt. Read shipping and pickup if a carrier collects the bike.
Close the registration
Until the bike is no longer registered in your name, you can be held responsible for it. The route differs by country.
- Netherlands: the buyer registers the bike in their name with the RDW. After that, they receive a release certificate (vrijwaringsbewijs), which they must pass to you as proof that the bike is no longer registered to you. Ask the buyer to register promptly and to send it. See the Dutch rules.
- United Kingdom: the seller fills in the relevant section of the V5C, gives the buyer the green new keeper slip and sends the V5C to the DVLA, or uses the online service to tell the DVLA. See the UK rules.
- Other countries: check your authority. See Belgium, Germany and France.
Do not cancel your insurance until the transfer is complete or the authority confirms it. Check with your insurer what they need.
Selling to a buyer abroad
If the buyer is in another country, they register the bike there. You may still need to deregister it or to inform your registration authority that it has been exported. Ask your authority before the handover, and keep proof of delivery. See importing a motorcycle within the EU for what the buyer needs from you.
The invoice and the money
On Epic Motor Trading, the seller is obliged to issue an invoice to the buyer for the motorcycle once the buyer has paid in full, and the platform provides a template in the dashboard. The platform only invoices you for its commission. VAT depends on your status and the buyer's location, so read the vendor agreement and ask an accountant if you are unsure. After both parties have confirmed the handover, the payment is released from escrow to your wallet minus the commission and the VAT on the commission, and you can withdraw it to your bank account.
Records to keep
- A copy of the signed bill of sale and the buyer's identity details.
- The photographs of the bike at handover.
- The invoice and the proof of payment.
- Messages with the buyer.
- The release certificate or the confirmation from the authority.
Keep them for as long as the law in your country requires for sales records, and for at least a few years even if the minimum is shorter. A dispute can arrive late.
If the buyer does not collect
The buyer has to collect the bike within the agreed period. If they do not, contact the platform, and do not release the bike to a third party without the buyer's written authority. See shipping and pickup for how late collection is handled.
