OT: ebay buying

[woodbutcher]

When a seller requires a personal check or money order/cashier's check for payment, what are some possible ways to make sure the item is shipped promptly when payment is received?
Butch

 

[chuck davis]

You are trusting the person to act promptly. Check their rating, it is a pretty good indicator of how long and how good an e-bayer is.

But it is like any auction, buyer beware,you dont need to ask how i know this

 

[Nolan (foxtrapper)]

You can't. All you can do is trust.

E-bay requires you to say you accept personal checks if you wish to accept cash. And cashiers checks if you wish to receive money orders. So don't read too much into that. If you wish to not receive cashiers checks (frequently they are fake), you have to describe in the listing that you will not accept that which e-bay requires you to say you will accept.

Use a money order as the most secure of the above types.

 

[Bus Driver]

Sending payment by check is placing all your trust in the seller. Some will offer the item honestly, then decide to just keep the money and the item when the check arrives. Contacting law enforcement in that area often helps in such cases.

 

[woodbutcher]

Thanks, everybody, for the input. I won a bid and then received the seller's name and address. When I checked on him, he didn't live in the town where I was supposed to send payment. When I tried to email for answers to this question, the email address he provided was bad. I'm not going to take a chance on this one.
Butch

 

[amertrac]

bi sure you let e-bay know what you are doing and why . otherwise you will be pegged as a bid faulter .

 

[Bob Bowers]

I sell and buy a lot on Ebay. Contact Ebay now with the problems about his email. Try to contact him through the auction "contact seller" DO NOT send your hard earned till he contacts you with a concrete reason for the differences you have described in his e-mail and address.
Bob

 

[Anonymous-0]

I do some stuff on ebay and money orders or paypal is all I accept unless its a pick up item and then cash is nice too.
Personal checks require a 10 day waiting period for the check to clear.
I've had some items that have slipped by me that I was late shipping on but most of time its fairly quick. With a 502 positive feedback that can't be all bad. Have not got a negative yet and am hoping to keep that going.
I only do it as a hobby kinda deal. Custom Hay Baling brings in the bacon! anybody need hay?

 

[Anonymous-0]

If you send a check, the seller doesn't have to ship the item until your check clears the bank which can take a week or two.

 

[molinebob]

Be sure to contact the seller and figure out why there is a difference, if not you will wind up with a unpaid item strike and pretty soon you will be blocked from doing anything on the ebay site.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Just remind them the reason you pay by mailed check is so you can use the term Mail Fraud if it becomes necessary.

 

[Bob]

I've found that explaining mail fraud to them REALLY scares the scammers.

YEAH, RIGHT!

 

[railhead]

"reason for the differences"???? If you sell on eBay you should know. What do you want the guy to do? Send the item just because you told him you will send the payment? I sell some on there too (but buy more). I want my money before I ship. I pay before I expect someone to ship. 300 plus transactions on eBay. NEVER been screwed.

 

[rockyhawaii]

This thread is really depressing and makes me wonder if there are any honest people left. Forum members excepted, of course.

 

[Roy Suomi]

I always look at their feedback for "Red Flags". A bad feedback record is an instant indicator as to what kind of people you're dealing with..I have bought a ton of stuff from Ebay, and have been stuck only once..One time I lost my money [29 bucks] and another time I received a good check for return of wrong wheel I purchased from a seller ..Misrepresented as a Toyota Avalon wheel/rim..Wouldn't fit my Avalon.. He didn't accept the wheel from UPS , so it was returned to me again..I not only got my money back but, I also ended up with a real nice garden hose hanger..

 

[Slowpoke]

There are no guarantees that you will get your item. Or that it will be as the seller described it. I bought a 4-1/2" grinder that was described as probably having a bad bearing due to a grinding noise. The seller had less than 100% rating. When I switched it on there certainly was a grinding noise: along with a heavy shower of sparks and smoke from the motor. A couple of weeks later he threatened to give me negative feedback because I didn't leave any feedback for him. I said if you want it, it will be 100% negative. No point in returning it for a refund because of shipping costs. I used some of the parts for another grinder since I always buy the same identical model.

So try to stay with 100% sellers if possible. Check feedback always.

 

[Slowpoke]

I have never had eBay tell me I must accept any form of payment until today. I just listed an item and PayPal did it's best to get me to accept their account to sell. I was unable to finish the listing without checking the PayPal box, so I emailed eBay and they said I could use the "customized" feature to get around PayPal. With ebay fees and PP fees I would get 43¢ on a 99¢ sale. So I only take money orders and cash.