Why are money orders such a headache?

[mego73]

Relic, you can establish a bank account soley for PP and transfer money to and from from your main account for it.

[MegoMark71]

Well of course it couldn't hurt. I was thinking you were speaking if a price had already been established, then you ask for the extra off. But ya, i agree with you totally. Negotiations can be fun.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Money orders are funny things. A Canada Post one is as good as money IN CANADA; but outside the country it's a different story. Some places don;t consider them a secure doccument (for whatever reason) and require time to verify the actual transfer of actual money when you cash them. (A MO is more like a reciept than currency.) Sometimes this also requires substantial fees. Bank MOs are the same; and only as secured as the reciever wants to make them. Sometimes this gives the recieving institution a great excuse to charge handling fees. (Banks do this a lot; both when issing AND recieving MOs.)

I have a credit card with a low limit that I use online. Paypal, credit card payment, funds transfers.... all of 'em are a lot more efficient than MOs. (Especially if you buy stuff from weird, faraway places like I do. It takes up to 6 MONTHS for a Canadian MO to be processed by a Japanese bank....) I suspect part of THAT is because the banks and such are pushing for a "paperless" setup. Requires less materials (and workers to process) and saves them money.

Don C.

[cjefferys]

Relic, you can establish a bank account soley for PP and transfer money to and from from your main account for it.

This. My Paypal account is only connected to a separate bank account that I keep solely for that purpose, it's not connected to any credit card or any of my regular bank accounts.

[MegoMark71]

From what i have heard from both of my financial institutions, it is like everything else now, MO are very easy to forge or fake. So smaller banks and credit unions are forced to put a hold on them till they clear. I live in a small area and both my bank and credit union have told me they have to send the MO off and wait till it comes back cleared. This was why the last time i took one it took 4 weeks to clear. And the fact that they hit me with a $10 charge was bogus. This time i am using my credit union. They said they haven't heard of a charge being enforced but again, i will still have to wait for it to clear. So i think a lot depends on your bank and location.

[Relic]

Its to bad the members of the megomuseum could not come up with a megomuseum crdeit card or checks or even money orders that could only be used between members. Its just a dream but it would be nice.

[dr_cyclops]

Once upon a time, ebay allowed the option of MO transactions. Oh boy, there raised the problem of trust. Some buyers, were too involved in their own sense of privilege, and would freely admit to non payment and justify it with infomation that they themselves, having failed to make payment, had nevertheless, not yet received the product.
The worst ones would lie and claim they mailed the MO, although they never did. Welcome to the world of 'Morals and Integrity for a dollar'. "I would be a fool not to lie and get it for free."
Fear not! There are good sellers and buyers here. Just remember to allow everyone the chance to earn their reputation, good or bad. They may not know how bad, until the order declines start. Always reserve the right to refuse 'service/sale/transaction to anyone for any reason. Poor payment history is a good reason. Poor communication is a sign of a sale going south. The good ones will make themselves known with a thunderclap.

[Brue]

i won't pay with MO and I dont accept MO -they are archaic, risky, cumbersome, and costly

[dr_cyclops]

Some of my favorite privileged ebay seller descriptions: "Paypal payment due within 24 hours of auction end." "I only make it to the post office once a season, may take up to 3 months to ship." Everybody's got to have standards. LOL.

[convoy357]

I've been selling on eBay for 12 years and I've had my PayPal account about the same length of time. I do sell to international bidders all the time, but I will only accept PayPal as payment. I belong to a credit union and they told me they will not touch a money order from a foreign country. I have also been told that a USPS money order will be a problem for the recipient to cash outside the US unless its an "international money order" which costs a fortune. I'm not dealing with any of it. Its just not worth the hassle. Paypal is quick and easy and I've never been hacked or tampered with.

[dr_cyclops]

I have also been told that a USPS money order will be a problem for the recipient to cash outside the US unless its an "international money order" which costs a fortune.

Ran into this problem years ago. Canadian seller asked for an USPS international MO, because he had problems cashing a USPS domestic MO. Upon my request for an international MO at the post office, I was informed that I would be required to fill out an application. I passed on it and contacted the seller to ask if a Western Union MO would work. He replied that it would.

[Figuremod73]

Western Union MO are the ones I like to use the most. What sellers accept is up to them, as long as they realise theres still quite a few people that still rather do a MO.

I've thought long and hard about Paypal but I'm still worried about identity thief. Not being able to use ebay without one is a really big drawback though. I wish they would consider other methods.

[jwyblejr]

If people want your info bad enough,they'll get it. Doesn't matter if Paypal has it. They can just as easily hack your bank account or your info at your job.

[delliott101]

I also sell on ebay and only take Paypal. There has been too much fraud with money orders (especially international ones) and despite a lot of the concerns about "hacking into a Paypal account" I have never experienced that... even when my wife's Paypal debit card was stolen a few years ago, Paypal was on the ball and shut it down.

I'm also concerned with identity theft, which is why a shred all my mail that can lead to that. I think people going through your trash is riskier than using Paypal... but to each his own. Unfortunately, it's a changing world!

[Mr Mego]

Ran into this problem years ago. Canadian seller asked for an USPS international MO, because he had problems cashing a USPS domestic MO. Upon my request for an international MO at the post office, I was informed that I would be required to fill out an application. I passed on it and contacted the seller to ask if a Western Union MO would work. He replied that it would.

My friend Bud Wayne (The4thDoctor) from Canada, he and I never have any problems with USA and Canada Postal money orders that doesn't cost us much. He and I have been buying and trading with and NEVER have any problems and NEVER have been lost in the mails before.