Accept money orders from ebay buyers?

[Tyrone MacStiophain]

I'm newbish at this stuff. A guy notified me that he'd like to bid, but that he doesn't do PayPal - only US Postal Money Orders. Is there any reason for me to be suspicious about this?

 

[Imhoff]

No reason to be suspicious yet. Make sure it is a US Postal Money order. Inform the buyer that you will ship once you cash the money order or have it deposited and it clears your account. The buyer should understand the waiting for this. If not, tell him to get a Paypal account! Hahaha.

 

[csoukoulis]

id prefer it. **** paypal and ebay

 

[jhcam8]

I haven't had problems with USPS MO's, but I suppose they could be faked. I wouldn't take other mo's, though.

If you follow Imhoff's advice you'll probably be OK.

 

[GoldenTribe]

Originally Posted by Tyrone MacStiophain

I'm newbish at this stuff. A guy notified me that he'd like to bid, but that he doesn't do PayPal - only US Postal Money Orders. Is there any reason for me to be suspicious about this?

As long as you ensure the money clears / the MO is legit before relinquishing the item, you have absolutely nothing to lose. He won't be able to dispute the transaction.

 

[Wolfador]

As long as he doesn't send you a money order for more than the amount and wants you to send back some of the change.

 

[Mr.K]

Just make sure it is a US Postal MO and wait until it clears like a check. Should be fine, I have excepted them many times in the past.

 

[BBC]

You can take a Postal MO straight to the Post Office and they'll give you cash right away for it. If you deposit it in your bank then you'll have to wait for it to clear like a check. I just take my MOs to the Post Office - almost as easy as paypal and you save the fees.

 

[SpooPoker]

Whats his feedback count?

 

[Brogued]

Postal money are fine. That's the way it was done before Paypal.

 

[dragon8]

Originally Posted by Imhoff

No reason to be suspicious yet. Make sure it is a US Postal Money order. Inform the buyer that you will ship once you cash the money order or have it deposited and it clears your account. The buyer should understand the waiting for this. If not, tell him to get a Paypal account! Hahaha.

+1. Wait for it to clear then ship.

 

[dub_c]

Personally, I don't think it's worth the trouble for most items. On average, having one more bidder for an auction will raise the final price a little, but not a lot. There's also the risk of the person deciding not to pay after winning (in my experience, this is more common with MO's) or it getting lost in the mail. And you have to wait to find out if they're going to actually pay.

If the person has good feedback, there's less risk, of course. But then you have to go cash it -- if you're going to go to the PO anyway and wait in line, that doesn't add much more time. But if you send it some other way, or put postage on it yourself so that you can just drop it off at the post office without waiting in line, you'll have to wait in line to cash the money order.

In short: Yes, you may be able to get a few more bucks, but it may not be worth the trouble and risk.

 

[TheBurnOut]

Screw that.

I've never had trouble with anything that wasn't Paypal.

Paypal will Eff you over and take your money if the buyer is anything less than satisfied.

Go for it and like others have suggested, cash it at your local post office.

 

[Tyrone MacStiophain]

Thanks for weighing in, everyone. The guy has a great feedback record, so I told him to feel free to bid, and I'd wait for the MO to clear before shipping, if he wins. We'll see. I have a stack of things for sale now (including some embarrassing shoes) if anyone wants to take a look.
http://shop.ebay.com/tyronemacstioph...id=p4340.l2562