Well, as femme says, I'm fortunate to be selling to a different crowd, one that has been used to mailorder selling for many decades (this is my 40th year selling now) long before there was an interenet. I do still send stamps "on approval" to customers who look them over keep what they want to buy and return the remainder. (we have ways to protect ourselves from this being abused, but of course I can't describe them here!)
I've (almost) never held cheques until they clear of the paper kind and I normally don't hold the electronic echecks either. (I see it as a customer service to send stuff at the time they "pay", and I do not recall any times that I wasn't eventually paid even if there were echeque problems*(see below))
If memory serves, I've had fewer "problems" with echeck payments in PAYPALland than regular payments % wise, and I've had more problems in the new electronic era than I ever had in the real paper cheques days (maybe 2 max that were never repaid in the last 40 years).
It turns out the story is not over for this transaction, the buyer responded back this morning. PAYPAL took the money out of their account, now they have to figure out why it was cancelled and repay me again. They advised they'll repay within a fortnight (it is cool working with folks from other countries sometimes) once they get the $$$ back and things sorted out with PAYPAL. So it is looking very much unlike a scamming situation anyway.
Will keep posted as things progress.....
