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Western Union as an Ebay seller?

post #1 of 16
1/13/08 at 10:30pm
Thread Starter 
I'm well aware of the scams involved with sellers requesting that you use Western Union to pay for items but are there risks with using it as a seller? I have an international buyer who would like to do so and I do not understand the service well enough to forsee the risks with this payment method. Also, does anyone know the fee on a $320 payment and which end pays that fee?

Thanks,
HPB
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post #2 of 16
1/13/08 at 10:33pm
Walk away from this one. Your post sounds like the first part of a "I just got scammed on ebay" story.

See: http://www.google.com/search?q=weste...ient=firefox-a
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post #3 of 16
1/13/08 at 10:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by robin View Post
Walk away from this one. Your post sounds like the first part of a "I just got scammed on ebay" story.

See: http://www.google.com/search?q=weste...ient=firefox-a

That's clearly my first impression as well, but as a seller are the pitfalls as numberous as they are for a buyer?
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post #4 of 16
1/13/08 at 10:53pm
Obviously avoid if you have other buyers who will use trusted methods for the same amount. Sounds like a bit of a hassle though. and quite a risk for a legit buyer.

Assuming it's not an overpayment scam, and you can get actual cash-in-hand (not a confirmation number, email etc) before shipping the goods, I can't see how you would lose*.

*Actually I was once given counterfeit money by a Western Union in Peru, but I doubt that would happen here!
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post #5 of 16
1/13/08 at 11:44pm
The fees are the buyers responsibility. Do not accept an online transfer. If you do, call WU and make sure it is legit. There are many other ways for a buyer to send an international payment.
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post #6 of 16
1/14/08 at 12:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by robin View Post
Walk away from this one. Your post sounds like the first part of a "I just got scammed on ebay" story.

See: http://www.google.com/search?q=weste...ient=firefox-a

Good link, but it concerns risks to buyers.

It mentions nothing about risks to sellers.
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post #7 of 16
1/14/08 at 12:59am
^ If you keep going through the links that google shows, you'll find that a seller can get scammed in several ways, such as:

* The scammer sends fake emails to the seller, posing as Western Union.
* The scammer gives a real control number to the seller which you can check on their website, but you can't see actual info about it and it looks like they did transfer the money to you.

Now, you of course could require a waiting period for everything to clear and to make sure you really do have the money in hand, but it's still dumb. Transfers through Western Union should only be sent to people you know personally.
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post #8 of 16
1/14/08 at 1:21am
International eBay sales are often frustrating. If you ship to any country but the UK or Canada, Paypal offers no real protection; eBay also prohibits Google Checkout, the easiest alternative.
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post #9 of 16
1/14/08 at 1:37am
If receiving in-person, at a physical location/authorized site you should pay no fees and, upon presentation of a valid control no., should receive cash, in-hand. Hard to envision any risk, thereby..... Once the W-U outfit hands over the cash, any problems would/should then be their concern.

I've done it a few times, with no problems. Not from an int'l. sender, but it shouldn't matter.
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post #10 of 16
1/14/08 at 10:49am
Thread Starter 
Thanks all, I'll see what I can work out. My goal is to avoid WU, but if we attempt this there will be no shipment until the funds are cleared. I'll report back to the thread for posterity sake if we go this route.
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post #11 of 16
1/14/08 at 11:26am
I've used WU as a buyer and seller on Mercado Libre (Ebay's latin america division) and I've had no issues. It's risky as a buyer as you have no recourse once the cash leaves your hand but as a seller, I simply demand cash payment, they send it, I go to my local WU office and pick up the cash, ship and the transaction is done. Once teh cash is in your hand, there is no way of anyone cliaming it back.
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post #12 of 16
1/14/08 at 2:46pm
As a seller?? There is no risk to you as a seller. You get the money in cash, which obviously can't be reversed. I've done it at the insistence of the buyer and it only helps me. There are no fees to me and I get the full amount in cash before I ship. I could have kept the money and shipped nothing, there was no risk to me.
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post #13 of 16
1/14/08 at 2:49pm
Sure there is a risk-it can be a fraudulent payment.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarmac View Post
As a seller?? There is no risk to you as a seller. You get the money in cash, which obviously can't be reversed.

I've done it at the insistence of the buyer and it only helps me. There are no fees to me and I get the full amount in cash before I ship. I could have kept the money and shipped nothing, there was no risk to me.
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post #14 of 16
1/14/08 at 2:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by distinctive View Post
Sure there is a risk-it can be a fraudulent payment.

If this is a fraudulent payment (you go to WU and find out there is NO cash), you certainly won't ship the item.
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post #15 of 16
1/16/08 at 9:13pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I picked up my funds today in cash and will send the package tomorrow. I don't see any issues with this as a seller (so far)....
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