When you sell something secondhand — online, at a meetup, to a neighbor — a bill of sale is the one-page record that protects both of you. It says what changed hands, for how much, and in what condition, so nobody can claim later that the deal was different.
What a bill of sale includes
- The item — a clear description (make, model, serial number, condition).
- The price and how it was paid.
- "As-is" — that the buyer accepts the item in its current condition.
- Buyer and seller names, and the date.
For the seller, "as-is" is the key line: it confirms the buyer inspected and accepted the item, so a buyer’s-remorse message the next day has no legs. For the buyer, the description and price are a record of exactly what they paid for.
Do it before the meetup
Describe the sale, both review the terms, and e-sign — each keeping a copy. A minute of clarity beats a week of "it wasn’t like that when I bought it."