Buyer wants to pay with check or money order

[bkb1942]

Years ago, this was what we did but do not know if it is allowed now. She has won the auction that ended yesterday. Also I have it set up that eBay does the UPI after 48 hours. Will that screw up everything? Thanks. Brenda

[nc-daydreamer]

Not allowed. 

No direct check payable to you without it going through PayPal. Buyer can register her checking account in her PayPal account and choose to pay by check at check out - better yet to use her debit card since the money is all in the same place. If she pays by echeck, it can take up to 3 weeks to clear - do not ship until PP tells you to do so - because the check may bounce, so recommend her debit card to her so you can ship and get paid faster.

No money orders or cashier checks or traveler's checks either. And no wire transfers like MoneyGram or WesternUnion.

To accept this stuff directly is the equivalent to an off eBay transaction - you LOSE all seller protection and can get your account closed fast by eBay. 

I'd recommend removing the setting for the UPI temporarily - then turn it back on later if you want. Remember you can also file a UPI manually if she fails to pay at all beyond 48 hours. 

Good luck.

[bkb1942]

Thanks. I thought maybe since it was already recorded as a sale that eBay would still get their cut. And that postal money orders could be verified and cashed at post office. Things have changed. By the time I learn all the changes, I won’t be selling anymore. Thanks again. Brenda

[nc-daydreamer]

They have changed indeed. I recall a time when buyers would send cash, MO's and checks in the mail too. I also remember listing fees, picture fees, stationery fees... 

Anyway, congrats on the sale. 🙂

[18704d]

" And that postal money orders could be verified and cashed at post office. "

-------

Postal money orders could never be verified at post offices.

Years ago, when allowed on eBay, I recieved a One Thousand dollar USPS money order.. and was accurately told...

that if it 'bounced' later, I'd be liable to refund the USPS.

There is no central date base the USPS uses to 'prove' USPS money orders are  real, or valid.

Lynn

[nc-daydreamer]

Brenda, I found this - it might help you. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/payment-policies/accepted-payments-policy?id=4269 

Click on the policy overview on the left.

Take care, Wanda

[itsjustasprain]

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@nc-daydreamer wrote:

To accept this stuff directly is the equivalent to an off eBay transaction - you LOSE all seller protection and can get your account closed fast by eBay. 

---

Um, no, it's not an off-eBay transaction. eBay gets their full Final Value Fees as usual. PayPal does not get their cut as they're not involved, but they would not be needed for chargeback protection since the buyer is not attempting to pay via credit card. I'm not sure what Seller Protection would be lost, either, as the only protection I can think of would be Delivery/Signature Confirmation, which would still apply when the item is shipped. Can you be more specific?

[itsjustasprain]

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@18704d wrote:

Postal money orders could never be verified at post offices.

Years ago, when allowed on eBay, I recieved a One Thousand dollar USPS money order.. and was accurately told...

that if it 'bounced' later, I'd be liable to refund the USPS.

There is no central date base the USPS uses to 'prove' USPS money orders are  real, or valid.

---

USPS Money Orders absolutely can be verified at your post office, and paid out on the spot for full face value. It's been this way for years now.

They scan the serial number, verify the amount, and it's yours in cash. The only hitch I've ever encountered in the process is if I'm there too early in the morning, and they ask if I could come back later when they have a bit more cash on-hand, but aside from that, they can and do confirm the validity right there. 

Personal checks, on the other hand, are a whole 'nother thing altogether; stay away from them.

[lovefindingtreasures2]

@bkb1942.

Those were the days Brenda, I go back to cash and money orders, checks, cashiers checks, travelers checks, stamps, sometimes even foreign currency! (I sold mail order before the Internet existed, maybe you did too, grin).

I MISS those days! I made a lot more money, always had cash and stamps around (LOVED the cash!!!), and took a big pile of checks to the bank a couple times a week.

Sure I got a few bad checks and even a couple of bogus postal money orders (there was NO way to check them in the 'old' days 1980's early 1990's), they didn't have scanners, but it was never a huge hit.

Times sure have changed. They don't look anything a like, except for maybe packing the boxes, big grin!

[femmefan1946]

I hated those days and was never so happy as when eBay introduced BillPoint and later PayPal.

Getting cash in the mail was okay, if a bit unnerving, but as a Canadian seller personal cheques took ten days or more to clear the two banking systems.

Private money orders were better since I could deposit them --or cash them at Western Union if I wanted to waste an hour going to the sketchey part of town where the WU office was, and then there was the huge problem with the fake WU emails telling us our money order was on its way and we could ship now.  But some were from businesses like WalMart that did not operate in Canada at the time, and were treated like personal cheques.

Even postal money orders were a pain. The international (pink) ones were fine, Canada Post would  do the currency exchange at a reasonable rate and pay out immediately, but way too many US buyers could not figure out that a Domestic USPS Money Order could not be cashed outside the USA. Even though it was written on the MO.*

Nope. I like Paypal. Instant payment, paying fees from my balance, easy bookkeeping, reasonable fees.

@lovefindingtreasures2 

(there was NO way to check them in the 'old' days 1980's early 1990's),

Ummm- those weren't eBay payments. EBay only started up in 1995.

*DH had a US dollar business account and would just sneak them in there. The Royal Bank didn't mind.  Didn't help home sellers with no US dollar bank account though.

[coolections]

Unless something has changed that I am not aware of, you CAN accept a check or money order. You have to remove the 48 hour UID though and when the cash arrives mark the item as paid. You will loose any protection against INR or SNAD. The rule is you cannot ask a buyer to pay with cash or money order but a buyer can still pay assuming you let them. It is not considered an off Ebay transaction and you still pay the FVF.

[7606dennis]

Alas!  It has for some time now not been an approved payment method.  Back in the day, I had less problems with buyer's personal checks bouncing that echecks doing the same.  Go figure! 

[lovefindingtreasures2]

I wasn't talking of eBay days, I mentioned that I had been selling mail order before the Internet hit 🙂

I'm talking selling mail order which turned to online overall. I've been shipping packages through the mail systems since the 1980's 🙂

[nc-daydreamer]

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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@nc-daydreamer wrote:

To accept this stuff directly is the equivalent to an off eBay transaction - you LOSE all seller protection and can get your account closed fast by eBay. 

---

Um, no, it's not an off-eBay transaction. eBay gets their full Final Value Fees as usual. PayPal does not get their cut as they're not involved, but they would not be needed for chargeback protection since the buyer is not attempting to pay via credit card. I'm not sure what Seller Protection would be lost, either, as the only protection I can think of would be Delivery/Signature Confirmation, which would still apply when the item is shipped. Can you be more specific?

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@itsjustasprain and @coolections 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/payment-policies/accepted-payments-policy?id=4269#section1 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/selling-practices-policy/avoiding-ebay-fees-poli... 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/payment-policies/offers-buy-sell-outside-ebay-policy?id=4272

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/get-started/seller-protection.html#protection-policies 

There's more, but this is enough info I think to keep you reading for days. 🙂 Logically, if  it's not allowed, then it's not protected. 

[bkb1942]

Thanks everyone. I informed her it has to go thru PayPal. Not that big of sale to worry about. Brenda