posted on January 10, 2001 05:15:53 AM
Why do some sellers refuse any type of payment except money orders or cashiers checks? I understand that there is an occasional bad check, although I have never had one. Also it eliminates waiting for the check to clear, but some sellers actually leave negative feedback for buyers who send a check after their TOS specifiy money orders. I just don't get it. As long as I get paid when selling, that is a good thing, right?
posted on January 10, 2001 05:20:29 AM
Then you wouldn't mind if someone paid you in glass beads or Mexican peso, as long as you got paid?
If you bid on someones auction, you should go by their terms. If you don't like the terms, don't bid. It's as simple as that.
While I don't agree with only accepting Money Orders, the seller has the right to set the terms, and to Neg if the buyer tries to change the terms after the fact.
posted on January 10, 2001 05:26:34 AM
Actually, I would not neg someone for paying with a check, if i specd a money order. money is money, beads are not.
posted on January 10, 2001 05:29:44 AM
I accept almost any form of payment as I want to make it EASY for a bidder to buy my item!
However, after a little incident with PayPal and a stolen credit card this week, I've seen firsthand why some sellers prefer only certain kinds of payment. I guess if you've lost money, gotten screwed, or had a big hassle, you might want to eliminate any chance of it happening again.
I still will accept various types of payments, but I've become much more cautious.
posted on January 10, 2001 05:30:56 AM
I accept about 9 different methods of payment - but I do not accept checks or Paypal. And I DO understand why some sellers only accept MO's. To them that's the safest method of payment. I can understand that. I've had PLENTY of bad checks. One month alone I received 10 bounced checks from Ebay customers. I no longer accept checks because of all the problems it caused.
I do agree that if an auction says "MO's only" then you must abide by that seller's terms. If you don't like their terms - you need to move on.
posted on January 10, 2001 05:32:54 AM
I agree with busybiddy, when dealing with cheap items, i try to make it easy for buyers to pay with cash (oh the horror! I have heard all the horror stories), by telling them they can send unused fully gummed us postage stamps for amounts less than a dollar with the rest in cash. this works well for small amounts, say less than ten bucks. i send cash myself sometimes. just a trusting fool i guess.
posted on January 10, 2001 06:06:24 AM
I think the question was not "should one" but "WHY would one" accept only MOs.
My guess is that these folks may feel (rightly or wrongly, we're not debating that here) that they'd have to hold a check for a certain amount of time don't want to deal with keeping track of what check was deposited when. They may also not be depending on their ebay sales for income (i.e., this is not a biz for them), so their own convenience is more important than being able to get as many bids as possible for their stuff. To them, the extra trouble it may cause THEM (again, trouble's in the eye of the...troublee) just isn't worth it. They may also not want to deposit that $ in their checking account, and there can be a whole lot of reasons for that, from tax evasion right down to not wanting your spouse to get his/her hands on or even know about the money.
Incidentally - why would any other seller care about another seller's terms, particularly if the other seller's terms tend to turn away bidders?
posted on January 10, 2001 06:13:44 AM
thanks quilts for the reply, that is what i am trying to understand..the motivation. the reason i (another seller) care about such, is just the old "wonder if i am missing someting" question. i have a friend who was negged over same months back (i was looking at his feedback today), and that was what he was negged over. i do buy things on ebay, and generally i try to avoid any items that require money orders only, or cashiers checks only..as it is too much trouble for me. i would of course make exception if the item was priced low enough, but that rarely happens, matter of fact has not happened to me at all in over 2 years of ebay buying and selling...thanks again.
posted on January 10, 2001 07:41:40 AM
Due to their financial history, some people are unable to open checking accounts. I would guess that people in this position would have a good reason to not accept checks.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:10:56 AM
Jerseylilly,
I don't accept personal checks any longer because of this:
I had a widget on auction - had a bit of a bidding war (a good thing for me) and ended the auction. Sent email letting them know who and where to pay (I took personal checks back then).
The buyer promptly sent me a check. I waited the 10 days to ship the widget. I ended up sending that widget to a PO Box addressed to a business name.
30 days after the auction closed I got a letter from my bank announcing that the check deposited was stolen and that a statement of affidavid was filed. The money was withdrawn out of my account and I was out my widget. I lost big on that deal.
10 days is generally enough time for a check to clear - but in my case it wasn't. The actual time period that a person has to file an affidavid of stolen property is 90 days! Who wants to hold their widgets for 90 days?
I was also charged an $8 service fee because of this transaction. Not to mention my product cost, listing fee and selling fee. I really lost big on that deal.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:24:39 AMLLampi I understand it is your right to accept any form of payment you want.
What I don't understand is why you are judging the honest 95% (or more) of buyers who will send you a good check by the 5% (or less) who send you a bad check.
Seems like you are excluding a segment of bidders by not accepting checks. I don't like the online payment services, Money orders are not free (and take about 30 minutes of standing in line), and my bank limites the number of free cashier's checks.
I don't usually bid if personal checks are not accepted. I am making a wild guess that there are many people out there who feel the same way.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:47:37 AM
I've always accepted checks, never had one bounce on me.
Only held one shipment for check clearance and that was an auction that I thought would go for 50.00 to 100.00 and ended up at 616.00 (that's when I finally realized I didn't know everything)
Anyway, his check was good too and he was extra nice about having to wait the extra time for his item.
I agree with trying to make it easy for your customers to pay but I draw the line at accepting Paypal. Had to add to my terms that I will not accept Paypal (as opposed to saying nothing) because someone took it upon themself to use it without asking.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:55:36 AM
How can you know upfront which category (trustworthy or not trustworthy) the buyer falls into? Some sellers (me included) have to go with what we feel comfortable with, and taking personal checks from complete strangers is a touchy area. I will accept a check upon prior approval and some buyers just send one anyway. I have graciously accepted all of them so far, but am sweating for a couple weeks that it will come back nsf. An nsf check will adversely affect MY checking account and I want to avoid that preferring to be in charge of the integrity of my own account.
It's like picking up a hitchhiker. You don't know upfront which one will kill you and which one won't, but if you pick up just one you are taking that chance. Probably only 1% of them are going to kill you.....
posted on January 10, 2001 08:56:01 AM
Money Orders, Pay Pal, coventional Credit Cards are real fast ways of doing business with little risk. The theory of checks as "good and reliable" from all buyers/sellers, has come to pass. Blame the bad ones for making checks too expensive and risky particularly around the Holidays. We still take them but grudge all the way with bad check fees so high.
posted on January 10, 2001 10:29:21 AM
Many forms of payment have flaws:
CC payments can be reversed - and one has lost both the money and the item; and there is a high incidence of fraud involved with CC.
Checks - well, it is not ONLY the 10.00 or 15.00 fee charged against the seller's account for Bidder's bad check, (which is SO wrong!), but also, as pointed out, Banks have been known to send "bad check" notices way past the amount of time one would expect. There are some high money sales made...which means Seller is prevented from using the funds right away, JUST IN CASE. Not everyone is affluent; many of us sellers depend to some degree, on the funds generated by those sales. Some people may be disabled, and a reversal of funds could have very serious consequences.
A little less worry with Postal Money Order, or Cashier's Checks (in MOST cases)
Like L.C., I have been fortunate to never have had a bad check yet in over 2 years....but it is only a matter of time... Gosh Shosh!
posted on January 10, 2001 12:23:45 PM
oooh I hate postal money orders...
I reside in Canada and prefer that people pay with their credits card because it's faster, cheaper and more convenient for the buyer.
I've found that a lot of american buyers send me a U.S. Postal money order that is only negotiable in the U.S. I clearly state that money orders should be either international or bank-issued. It's a lot of wasted time whenI have to send back their MOs and wait another week for a proper money order. Although I understand that Postal money orders are cheaper, but please, read what's written ON your Money Order and the TOS!!
posted on January 10, 2001 01:40:16 PM
I never bid on auctions where the sellers want money orders only.
My customers tell me the same thing. They are leery of sellers who have such terms because they feel it shows the sellers lack business experience and won't provide customer service. Additionally many customers don't like using money orders because of the high cost to them if the post office loses the envelope containing the money order during transit.
Getting a bounced check is the cost of doing business. eBay fees are a cost of doing fees. Billpoint fees are a cost of doing business. Other things are a cost of doing business. Getting a bounced check is just one aspect of the business, just one cost among many.
The more convenient a seller makes it for a buyer to bid, the more bids the auctions will generate. Increased bids offset the costs of bounced checks. When the TOS are too restrictive, bids are lost, the repeat customer base decreases and revenues decline.
posted on January 10, 2001 02:28:42 PM
I've seen some sellers that accept Cash or USPS Money Orders only. Usually those sellers forget two important things.
1. A 30 minute trip to the Post Office isn't my idea of entertainment.
2. Another seller on eBay more than likely has the same item with buyer friendly terms.
PS: I'll never send cash unless my IQ drops below room temperature.
posted on January 10, 2001 02:46:00 PMGetting a bounced check is the cost of doing business, just one cost among many.
But for those sellers who don't consider themselves "in business" (e.g. just cleaning out the attic or getting rid of duplicate collectibles or hobby stuff), the risk of incurring a bounced check's "cost", which includes the nasty domino effect of screwing up your checkbook, simply may not be worth it.
posted on January 10, 2001 02:49:18 PM
I don't think that if you don't check the box that says "personal checks" on your auction you are being too restrictive. I also don't believe that will lose business. I don't place any negative statements on my auctions because, for me anyway, that would not set well. But I don't mention personal checks at all because my preference is not to take them. If someone would not bid on my auction for just that reason then fine, I probably wouldn't want that bid anyway. I am a nice person and my feedback is definately reflective of that. If someone emails me and asks me if I'll take a personal check I will make an individual decision based upon all pertinent known factors and have only one time refused. In that instance the buyer paid with money order or credit card (I don't remember which), but the sale WAS completed.
So, I believe that, yes, if you only offer ONE choice THAT IS restrictive, but if there are alternatives available MOST people will understand hesitancy to accept personal checks from a stranger.
One positive note on the personal check thing is that if they bank with a nationally available institution (such as BofA or WFargo) there is nothing to lose because you can take their check to the bank & cash it out.
posted on January 10, 2001 06:13:26 PM
I don't have a checking account. All my customers make their payments out to my boyfriend. Because of this I used to only accept money orders- because it's not fair for me to screw up his bank account with my Ebay junk if a check did bounce.
Well, I accept checks now, but mostly because getting people to actually send money orders was kind of like trying to swim upstream- not impossible, but not easy either. On my higher ticket items ($50 +) I usually offer a discount of $5.00 to anyone who pays by postal money order. I hate having to hassle with waiting for checks to clear, and bidders don't usually want to wait to recieve their items either. Usually $5 is enough incentive and both bidder & I are happy. Would be nice if every transaction made me enough money to do this across the board.
I have used the postage stamp method too. It's great to not have to ever deal with those bleeping vending machines! And I love getting pretty stamps from customers!
As far as cash goes, buyers send it to me all the time. I send it out as payment all the time too. Knock on wood, I haven't yet had any problem either way. I love cash!! Cash means I don't have to hunt down my boyfriend to have him endorse a check, and I don't have to borrow his ATM card & run to the bank. It is so nice and easy.
As a buyer I look for money order only auctions whenever possible, because that's how I'm probably going to pay for my auction anyway, unless it's a small item & the seller accepts cash. Auctions that have built in paypal/billpoint fees are something I try to avoid.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:23:14 PM
I received notice from my bank today that someone had sent me an insufficient funds check. I deposited it approximately a month ago (give or take a week), sent the item, gave the feedback...it was a done deal. So I thought.
In the meantime, my bank charged me a ridiculous fee for this buyer's bad check, which threw my checking account off (I'm a single parent and things are tight!) and I overdrafted my own checking account.
I don't say I will accept checks in my TOS and usually I have no problem with it, but I think I'm going to have to be specific and write in my TOS that I WILL hold all check merchandise for 14 days. That would not have done me any good for this situation but perhaps in the future.
This widget that wasn't so expensive when I sold it just cost me probably over $100 in checking account fee's, not to mention the stress and panic of bouncing a check.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:29:11 PM
"Bounced check fees are part of doing business."
Correct, and the overhead cost is passed directly to all my buyers like every other expense.
"Money is money, beads are not." First, U.S. currency and coins aren't techniqually money either. See the "Uniform Negotiable Instruments Act"- "Notes must contain an unconditional promise or order to pay a certain sum in money." U.S. money used to say that but doesn't any more. While beads aren't easy to determine "unit of account," stamps are, and some people here have discussed using that for payment. People who buy and sell beads and know the "unit of account" could use that for money but I doubt anyone else would.
Maybe that's another thread, but what I'm saying is that the two people making a transaction decide how and what to use as money. If I don't trust U.S. currency, what's wrong with me taking payments in cigarettes, which the GIs actually did use as money in WWII. Some people don't trust checks as reliable. I don't trust paypal, but I still use it because it helps keep costs down. To each his own.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:45:29 PM
I have probally accepted a 150 checks ~ so far only one has bounced ~ in November ~ and I have not been able to collect for it. Because of it and the Christmas season ~ I did not take checks the month of December ~ did it hurt my business? Well the things I sell all the time ~ the small ticket items did no sell well ~ but my special stuff targeted to the Christmas market did very well. I took another look and decided it was in my best interest to continue to accept checks ~ most checks are for less than 15 or 20 dollars ~ I just keep a $200 buffer in the account so that someone bouncing a check does not get me in trouble ~ and for the big stuff ~ I do make them wait ~ 14 days ~ will I get burned ~ maybe ~ but it is a chance that I am willing to take for the business.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:59:13 PM
I accept money orders or personal checks, yes I have had a few that bounced but "knock on wood" the buyers have so far made the check good, I do not care for paypal or the other automatic payment plans, so far I have not had that much trouble, of course I have not been selling as long as alot of you people have, I guess with me it is trial and error
posted on January 10, 2001 11:15:32 PM
This Christmas I bid on and item that I was looking for, for such a long time and without reading the terms I placed my bid and won. We'll the only payment that was acceptable was a charge card threw paypal.....
So I had to regester my card number with paypal to make my purchase, I did't want to do that but that was the terms, After that I read carefully the terms.
When I first started out on ebay one of my buyers who was selling for awhile said to me.
I see you only accept Moneyorders, and you are new to ebay, I said yes, I am new to ebay, he said, "If you start to accept checks and mo you will have more sales, so I tried it and it has been going well, The only payment method I don't like any longer is paypal, I closed my account and I will not deal with them any longer, even if it means not getting bids. Bidpay has been working well for international sales, Just my opion.....
posted on January 10, 2001 11:46:44 PM
"Some people don't trust checks as reliable."
True, but personal checks are an accepted form of exchange, what the American public uses.
When new and occassional buyers click into eBay, they don't know who sellers are. On some auctions buyers can see that a seller might be a shop because of the links put into the auction pages. Buyers cannot tell if the seller is sitting at home in a wheelchair and only sells on eBay a few times a week or is someone selling old items buried in a closet too long. For all of the people who click into eBay to look for a specific item, who don't really know that much about eBay because it isn't a part of their everyday world, in their minds they equate eBay sellers with being an internet equivalent of a retail business, not an internet equivalent of a garage sale. They read in the paper that eBay is e-commerce, therefore commerce means business, thus to them ebay sellers are people who are in business.
When many of these buyers encounter auction pages that don't present well, that are negative in tone, that have strict TOS, these buyers won't bid.
It is simple really. These people know that if they go to a grocery store that they can pay for their groceries with cash, check, debit card, credit card, sometimes a payroll check, sometimes a third party check. If some of the checks bounce, the grocery store absorbs the loss as a cost of doing business after trying to recover funds. The store doesn't dwell on the intent of the payor of the bounced check, if the check was presented with a deliberate intent to defraud or if the payor merely made a mistake in their bank account balance. The grocery store isn't going to stop providing full customer service because of the actions of a percentage of their customers.
Many buyers on eBay cannot differentiate between the TOS of items being auctioned for sale and the business practices of the grocery store. The eBay sellers who understand their buyers, know who the buyers are and remain flexible to the buyers' needs are the sellers who prosper, make profits and grow a repeat customer base.
I can give you one example from my own recent auctions. A first time buyer to my pages was having diffulty with Billpoint accepting his new credit card. I remained calm and friendly, showed him a positive attitude. He decided to mail me a check. The payment didn't arrive but he remained in contact with me. I maintained my cheerful, friendly and positive attitude. About three weeks after the end of the auction the second check finally arrived. I did not hold the check, which I never do. I shipped out right away. The customer was happy. He came back to my pages, bid on more auctions, won some and bid up the final price of other auctions. This evening I looked at my records for this customer. He has spent $4692.37 on my auctions in the last 70 days.
It is easy to have good sales on eBay if you like your customers, always assume the best of them and bend over backwards to provide good customer service. The rewards can be more than profits and economic success; the rewards can be making new lasting friendships.
posted on January 11, 2001 12:11:48 AM
"..but personal checks are an accepted form of exchange, what the American public uses."
An accepted form of exchange for who? If I traveled out of my city, let alone out of state, nearly 100% of businesses would not accept my check. Why is it expected to be different online? Even in my city, many businesses won't take a check unless you have a check guarantee card.
