Do you accept money orders? WWYD?

[musicyouneed]

I have a potential buyer who has contacted me a couple of times wanting to buy an item $80 CD from me but wants to send a money order.  I used to accept money orders in the early 2000's but stopped that in the mid 2000's.  Do you accept them?  Buyer wrote:  i'd like to buy it by moneyorder instead of paypal or etransfer as i am not set up for them ok. so could i buy it off you privately through the post office and a postal money order ok please?  WWYD?

[ricarmic]

It is VERY important that you refrain from saying anything that could be interpreted as you supporting the buyers wish to do it privately, this can get you restricted pretty quickly if the bots think you're willing to move to a private sale. Make sure to avoid saying anything that would make the bots think you are agreeing to it.

If you choose to accept the MO tell the buyer they have to buy the item in eBay, not pay for it, and send you the MO. When you receive the MO and it is cashed you will mark the item as being paid for in ebay, and all eBay processes and protections for both of you are in place and the normal eBay processes like that are covered.

Note that if the buyer decides to return it then you have a problem, actually I'm not sure how that would work in the new MP era, I haven't been through this situation since MP came. Perhaps others will have experience in that respect.

[mrdutch1001]

Personally, I would not do...not so sure I could even justify that process anymore as I think the days of money orders are way long gone into the past...most savy buyers are "modernized" and there really is 0 protection from eBay(even if everything else is done through eBay),  if ANYTHING goes wrong...

The item is listed on eBay so everything must be processed through eBay...there is NO "buy it off you privately" ! (that's for things you list locally, FB Marketplace,etc)

[byto253]

That sums it up very nicely.  

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@musicyouneed wrote:

I have a potential buyer who has contacted me a couple of times wanting to buy an item $80 CD from me but wants to send a money order.  I used to accept money orders in the early 2000's but stopped that in the mid 2000's.  Do you accept them?  Buyer wrote:  i'd like to buy it by moneyorder instead of paypal or etransfer as i am not set up for them ok. so could i buy it off you privately through the post office and a postal money order ok please?  WWYD?

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@musicyouneed 

If you do decide to accept you would need to make sure Cancel Order is NOT turned on. Not sure if this is possible after the fact. eBay may automatically cancel and give buyer a strike without the payment. 

-Lotz

[ricarmic]

This doesn't theoretically apply to this exact situation, but I would also suggest to be very careful about other situations where folks provide their phone number etc in a different style of trying to "go private".

Whether or not one answered the email rejecting the direct sale, I strongly suspect that if the item is "ended" by the seller somewhat soon after the ebay message was received, I bet the bots would catch that, ie message received, seller ends item with no sale for same item. That's a pretty easy thing to catch programming/bots wise I suspect. Just words of caution. (PS I'm a professional worrier 😉)

[musicyouneed]

I definately would not be selling it privately.  He/she has zero feedback too. 

I am just not comfortable accepting a money order.  Although he/she seems legit, I just don't want to accept this.  How do I respond?

Thanks 

[ricarmic · Accepted solution]

I think it is a quick: "Thank you for your offer but it is my policy for both our protection to only sell items via the ebay supported payment methods and process. I'm sorry that I didn't have better news and I hope you have a great evening!"

You can then just stop responding, and block them if you're worried that there will be further problems/trouble from them.... some customers just aren't worth it.....

PS in the current state of the ebay world, I don't think I'd accept anything outside the ebay supported stuff any more either, it is just too much time, effort and potential future pain.

[musicyouneed]

As always you are the best!!!!!

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

It depends on how desperate you are to move the items. I wouldn't want the risk or hassle of a money order for items that will sell regardless. 

Given the nature of the items you sell, it is possible that it is an older less tech-literate person who doesn't have Paypal or a credit card. I wouldn't outright suspect it to be a scam. That doesn't mean it isn't more trouble than it is worth.

If you do not want to take money orders, you could advise them to purchase an eBay gift card and pay with that at checkout. Assuming eBay Gift Cards still exist, they might be able to find them at one of these retailers: https://pages.ebay.ca/giftcard/retail.html

If they cannot find an eBay gift card, they could also buy something like a Vanilla Visa card. They could use that at checkout. The downside is that they will have to pay a small activation fee around $5. With that said, mailing a money order isn't free either. 

[recped]

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@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:

With that said, mailing a money order isn't free either. 

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Yikes, I hadn't checked the price of these for many years....$7.50 for a CP MO plus mailing cost!

[mrdutch1001]

For Canadians, The current cost of purchasing a money order from Canada Post is $7.50

[reallynicestamps]

It's a very odd request since:

• The buyer pays for the money order- not the seller.
• The money order is not electronically tracked- so the buyer has no proof he has paid. The seller could refuse to admit they recieved and cashed the money order.

From the seller's perspective:

• The money order will be slow to arrive, since it depends on the post.  There was an attempt in the late years of the 20th century to speed this up by emailing the seller with confirmation that the MO was on its way and they could safely ship immediately. Guess how fast the scammers caught on to that one?
• A private MO (Western Union, WalMart) is treated like a personal cheque by banks, and does not clear immediately.
• Postal MOs can be cashed at the post office, but only Canada Post domestic  or USPS International ones. Most Americans don't know the difference and will send the cheaper USPS domestic one.

I still have to be walked through etransfers (which are not accepted by eBay either) but if he has a bank account they are relatively easy.

However, the etransfer, once sent cannot be retrieved by the buyer, and if it goes to the wrong account, the seller will not be able to get it either. Banks are not helpful about this.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2019423299628

[zee-chan]

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@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:

It depends on how desperate you are to move the items. I wouldn't want the risk or hassle of a money order for items that will sell regardless. 

Given the nature of the items you sell, it is possible that it is an older less tech-literate person who doesn't have Paypal or a credit card. I wouldn't outright suspect it to be a scam. That doesn't mean it isn't more trouble than it is worth.

If you do not want to take money orders, you could advise them to purchase an eBay gift card and pay with that at checkout. Assuming eBay Gift Cards still exist, they might be able to find them at one of these retailers: https://pages.ebay.ca/giftcard/retail.html

If they cannot find an eBay gift card, they could also buy something like a Vanilla Visa card. They could use that at checkout. The downside is that they will have to pay a small activation fee around $5. With that said, mailing a money order isn't free either. 

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I do agree with this actually, as I also would consider CDs a low risk category so the buyer is probably an elderly who is not tech savvy. Heck, even my own dad is not tech savvy... too stubborn to learn. He gets me to do his online purchases 😑. Personally I wouldn't go through the hassle for $80, but for a $300+ order I might. 

[regs43]

I have a regular customer who still send me cash in the mail. He has done this for 6-8 years.

I always tell him to buy the item on ebay so it deducts from my inventory, and then I let him know when the cash arrives and mark shipped on ebay.

If someone wanted to send me a money order I would likely accept that, Canada Post variety only,  but give them a deadline for it to arrive to me (the guy who sends cash is 2 hours away from Ottawa so it its not here with in 5-7 days we have a problem lol)