BidPay....Strike 1, Strike 2, Do We Stick Around For A Potential Strike 3 ?

[snoopwiz]

Hi. We only recently began accepting Bidpay as a form of payment. We have had just two experiences with them thus far and sadly, both were awful. Sequence of events. Winning bidder arranges (thru Western Union) for a M/O to be sent to us. We receive an email notification (from W/U) that a M/O has been sent and that it is ok to ship. So, we ship. A week goes by. Nothing. Hmmm. We email W/U. They reply 2 1/2 days later saying as a Canadian, we need to wait up to 14 business days for M/O to arrive. Find a phone number for W/U. It is now 16 business days since notification that M/O was sent. They tell me they are having "issues" with mail from the US to Canada (It is sent from upper New York State, we are in Toronto). They tell us they will request a stop payment on the one that was "sent" and issue a new one. Of course, they tell me that this will take 48-72 hours to process. Of course. How foolish of us to think they would rush it out. 7 days later, the "replacement M/O arrives. Total time from their notification to receipt of M/O was 25 days to travel about 340 miles. Was this a fluke? A rarity? Well, guess what folks, it happened again on the second time a buyer used BidPay. This time we were "fortunate" to receive out money in 24 days instead of 25. We bow to you Western Union. Of course by this time, the buyer has his item, feedback has been exchanged, etc. So fellow Canadian Power Sellers, is this common for Bidpay payments or is our luck real sh***y ? Comments are appreciated.

[fenian]

I'm on the West Coast, and I usually figure a minimum of 3 weeks following the WU/Bidpay notice. Most cases, it's around a month. I used to get quite few of these, but they seem to have dropped off, likely because of the high cost to the money order purchaser. ........ Michael

[recped]

The are numerous threads on other boards about the current BidPay situation.

There has been trouble with all international BidPay orders since the end of May. The customer service people don't know (all) the specific details, it seems the problem is very close to being rectified as I have recently rec'd some payments which were only slightly delayed.

In the past, normal delivery to Canada is about 10 - 14 days, I expect this will resume shortly.

I have used BidPay for 4+ years (500+ orders), they are very reliable but the customer service is a bit lacking (personally I only needed it once on a minor matter), in general they hardly ever reply to emails but over the phone they are quite good.

I recently had a situation where a buyer needed to cancel a payment, they handled it very well by requesting my agreement before refunding the buyer, once I agreed I understand from the buyer that his credit card was refunded immediately and I was informed to destroy the money order when it arrived. It came a few days ago, I sent an email letting them know and within an hour received a personalized response.

Ben



Considering the service is free and totally secure for sellers I'm quite prepared to wait 2 weeks to receive payment, my customers get instant shipping so they are happy.
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

[zarzuella]

I'm still waiting for a relpacement Bidpay MO from a June 8th auction.

[recped]

The OP received their replacement m.o. in only 7 days, this is better. At the time when you requested your replacement all that happened is that everything was reset to zero and all the delays that applied to the original m.o. happened again with the replacement.

That a very satisfying explanation but as I've said previously the money order I received in the mail last Thursday covered June 16th to July 8th and the two most recent ones had a different International Postage sticker than the original slow boat ones.

Ben
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

[vesivus]

I've received two BidPay money orders. I held shipment, in both cases, until I physically had the money order. I don't remember it taking too long, however. 2 weeks maximum I think.

I've had no BidPay money orders for over a year now... 😉

John

[camrynscloset]

I am not shipping anything till I have the money. If the BidPay money order takes 3 weeks to arrive, I will ship in 3 weeks plus one day.

[marcopoloca]

Lol, i was just about to promote Bidpay and kick payapl out.

[sunset_sports_cards]

I have used bidpay as well. I have only had about 5 transactions where they were involved. I do not ship anything until the money is in hand. Even if they say it is ok to do so. If the buyer doesn't like that, they can find another method of payment.

[recped]

If the buyer doesn't like that, they can find another method of payment.

Or another seller to buy from?

I hope you clearly indicate in your listings that you do not ship until the money order arrives. Most buyers will assume you ship immediately since this is the common practice.

Lol, i was just about to promote Bidpay and kick payapl out.

BidPay is not really a viable substitute for PayPal but it does make a good alternative to offer and promote especially as it is FREE for sellers.

Ben
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

[pierrelebel]

My listings have offered BidPay for five years. I have promoted BidPay to sellers on every Discussion Board I frequent.

Until a few months ago, Western Union money orders sent through BidPay would arrive in Belleville Ontario within five, six business days at most.

It now takes more than four weeks, regardless of amount.

They have issues with their Post Office. They are fully aware of the problem but, several months later, it has not been fixed. All they need to do is rent a Pitney-Bowes machine and mail the darn things themselves, instead of subcontracting their mailing operations to save a few cents!

I no longer promote BidPay to sellers and may soon remove that payment option from all my 2,100+ listings unless the problem is corrected very quickly.

[recped]

Things seem to be slowly improving, I rec'd one last Thursday (Aug 4th) that was issued on July 18th.

Still slower than what it always had been but certainly better than what was going on in June.

Ben
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915