Is it safe to pay by money order?

[chimi]

Hey guys,

 

so i'm on the verge of getting a guitar but the seller does not have a paypal account. He wants a money order (and this is not an ebay transaction).

 

I was wondering how safe it is to do this, would there be a way for me to be safe if something should happen? I've never done this before.

[Steadfastly]

It is very safe as long as you are picking up the item in person. If not, tell him to ship it and you'll pay him when you receive the goods in good condition.

[chimi]

That's the thing, he's supposed to ship the guitar after he gets it. I honestly have never used money order so i'm trying to figure out how this works

[chimi]

The thing is, i also have his home address and phone number.

[Poltergeist]

its not safe to buy stuff with it. it's safe to get paid with.

 

if you get scammed there is almost no chance of getting it back 'cose WU simply couldn't give two {censored}s about its costumers.

 

my 2 cents.

[Angry Tele]

its the same as cash.

[magentaplacenta]

Anytime you're buying something over the internet there is a risk.

 

You get some "protection" with a US Postal Money Order in that if you get scammed it's a Federal charge (cuz it's the Post Office and your case will go to a Postal Inspector - not that that guarantees anything). Also, if you're mailing this out of state, I think that becomes Federal as well - inter-state fraud or something?

[chimi]

so would it be better idea to do a COD?

[Steadfastly]

Let me spell it our for you. Anyone can give you his address. Unless you've been there and seen him and he showed you three picture id's you have no idea whether it's his home or just an address he gave you. This guy is a scammer. If you really need to get rid of some money, PM me and I'll give you my address.

[DaleH]

There is risk.

How I did it was send the money order registered mail to him. That way he had to sign to get it. A little proof that he recieved it. I kept all emails I had with him about the transation.

 

He sent my guitar the same registered mail so he new I had recieved it.

All worked out well

[Angry Tele]

COD? they did that in the 70s...Cash on Delivery? Nobody does that now.

 

Basically you are getting shafted...Ok maybe not, just something to think about.

[CoqBelliqueux]

Ask for COD.

[EADGBE]

 

Hey guys, so i'm on the verge of getting a guitar but the seller does not have a paypal account. He wants a money order (and this is not an ebay transaction). I was wondering how safe it is to do this, would there be a way for me to be safe if something should happen? I've never done this before.

 

 

It's safe if the other guy is honest. Does the other guy have a good rating?

[twofoolsaminute]

You can do COD. I did one recently. You must pay on delivery. The worst thing that can happen to the seller is that you refuse the delivery, in which case he just gets his mail back. To me it's a win-win on a deal like this.

[MuyLoCo444]

I used to use a money order all the time when I bought vinyl and CD's off ebay. You get your own copy of what you fill out and it always worked fine for me. Now I use Paypal, I think money orders are sort of out of date.

[tomh777]

USPS Money Order & send certified return receipt. If he rips you off it is a federal crime. USPS will go after them too. No guarantee but, nothing ever is either.

I went a long time without a paypal account. To me paypal puts the control of my money in someone else hands, I don't like that.

 

I'd rather take a United States Postal Service (USPS) money order. I would steer clear of the western union, convenience store money orders. Counterfeit laws do not apply to them.

[soundcreation]

I can understand a seller not wanting to do paypal over a long distance. Buyer has too much power right now.

 

It's you who wants the goods. So you have to decide weather you can trust him or not. If you think you can then do it. If not, don't.

 

Personally I go with the attitude that 98% of these people are honest and you'll have no trouble. Just check feed back, and get info about them. Ask for his address and check it with online white pages etc...there are a ton of ways to verify is someone is who they say, and that way if there is a problem you can track them down. If it seems dodgy it probably is. If they don't want to give you personal info then alarm bells should ring.

 

I'd say it would be better to do a bank transfer straight into his personal account. Get him to give you his name and bank account number. Check that against his address etc...If he's not willing to give you his bank account then he's dodgy or just paranoid. In either case don't do the deal.

[tim gueguen]

Note that chimi said this wasn't an eBay transaction, so the seller may not have any feedback to look at.

[shaun126]

It is not safe.

 

Period.

[rvschulz]

pass. i never pay without some recourse on the seller. i have had "attempted" bad transactions and recouped my money.

[d_dave_c]

Really? I almost always use USPS Money Orders. Never had a problem.

 

Every one of my 'good transactions' here has been with a money order.

[jerry_picker]

 

Really? I almost always use USPS Money Orders. Never had a problem.

 

 

Me too.

[Ralph onion]

If it is a rip off it will take months to trace the MO. If you have to do MO use USPS and send registered mail.

[Wyatt]

Buying long distance has it's risks.

 

Before Paypal and even for the first several years it was around, everyone paid for their eBay and online classifieds deals with USPS MO's. It is a convenient way not to pay cash. But as noted above, it is very much like paying cash, there is little recourse, besides filing charges with the PO, if the deal goes bad. Of course, Paypal only offers buyer protection on eBay and certain other purchases, and then there is no guarantee they will decide for you, it's not as good as using your credit card and being able to call up Visa or Am Ex and disputing a purchase. I have been lucky that the two Paypal disputes I have had I ended up with a refund, but still at some shipping expense.

 

And it was the status quo that MO or check was sent to the seller who waited until the cleared before shipping merchandise. There is absolutely nothing unusual about the sellers request. It's just about a decade behind the times. But I still get requests for MO or even offer it as a way to save the sellers some PP fees and use them it situations where I know or trust the seller, hell been using them since the '80's, so they don't seem like a hassle to me.

 

Ultimately you have to assess the situation and decide if you trust him. Where did you find the item for sale? What is the amount of $$$ being dealt with? Does he have good standing and references on this or other sites? Look him up online and double check the address. Give him a call.

 

COD is definitely an option if he's willing to pursue it.

 

Beyond this, you have to worry about how he is shipping and insuring it. If he packs it himself, even if he buys insurance through the USPS , FedEx Ground, or UPS, they may decide not to honor any claim (if there is damage) if they deem the item incorrectly packed. And guitars and amps get destroyed in transit everyday.

 

I never buy guitars long distance, beyond the above risks, I prefer to play them and see how I like the feel and playability (and weight and resonance and everything else) before laying down the cash. Though the internet has made this harder by driving many used gear shops online or at least driven up their prices..

[EADGBE]

I bought a Kramer Baretta off of ebay about five years ago with a Western union money order. There was no problem. I've also bought things from ebay with a personal check. You just have to work it out with the other person first. But a credit card may be the only safe way to buy anything these days over the internet. Someone told me if you lose the money from a USPS money order it's almost impossible to recoup it.