HEAVY EQUIPMENT RESALE · British Columbia to Saskatchewan
A $32,500 used excavator bought from another contractor
A contractor buys a used mid-size excavator from a seller 1,400 km away. Neither party has met. The purchase is split into inspection, transport and delivery-acceptance releases.
The job
- •A 2016 mid-size tracked excavator with roughly 4,800 hours, listed privately at $32,500.
- •Buyer in Saskatchewan, seller in British Columbia. Transport quoted separately at about $2,900.
- •The seller wanted the full amount wired before loading. The buyer had never seen the machine in person.
Where the payment risk sat
- •Used equipment fraud is common enough that a stranger asking for a full wire is a genuine warning sign — a wire cannot be recalled once it settles.
- •The buyer's bank offered no protection on a private equipment sale.
- •A traditional escrow agent for a one-off private sale meant paperwork, a percentage fee and days of delay while the seller held the machine off the market.
How it was structured
- The buyer locked $32,500 into a contract they deployed themselves. The seller could verify the lock on the public block explorer before touching the machine.
- A third-party mechanical inspection was made the first milestone condition, so the buyer could walk away with the funds still under their control if the report came back bad.
- Serial number and hour-meter photos were required at loading and again at delivery, which is what catches a swapped or misrepresented machine.
The milestone schedule on $32,500
Independent inspection passed
Proof required: Third-party mechanic report + hour meter and serial photos
Fee on this release: $16.25
Machine loaded and in transit
Proof required: Bill of lading + loaded photos matching serial number
Fee on this release: $24.38
Delivered, started and accepted
Proof required: Delivery photos + cold-start video + signed acceptance
Fee on this release: $40.63
What the payments cost
- Contract value
- $32,500
- PictoSafe fee — 0.25% across 3 releases
- $81.25
- Estimated blockchain network fees (paid by you to the network)
- ~$10
- Same job at a typical third-party escrow rate of 1.5%–3%
- $488 – $975
- Difference
- $396 – $884
The 1.5%–3% figure is a general range for third-party escrow and trust-account services, used here for arithmetic only. It is not a quote from any named provider, rates differ by provider and by deal size, and you should confirm current pricing directly with whoever you are comparing. Network fees vary with blockchain conditions.
Why the structure works
- The seller got a verifiable guarantee of funds without the buyer giving up control of the money.
- The buyer kept a walk-away point at the inspection stage, which a wire transfer does not offer.
- Three releases at 0.25% on the amount released — roughly the cost of a tank of diesel on a $32,500 machine.
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