kiddo2
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posted on October 22, 2001 12:09:55 PM
(This is my own new TOS posted today)
***PLEASE NOTE***
We ONLY accept online payments.
Please do not bid if you are unable to pay via Yahoo PayDirect, C2-it or Paypal.
We are not currently accepting any other forms of payment.
Thank you ..
OK, all you macho seller guys...have a laugh with this one but what I am looking for is sort of a poll as to how sellers are really feeling about this! And, no Anthrax lectures, please...we hear them 24-7 on all the news stations!
So what is your verdict? Yea or Nay?? Too extreme? Stress reducer?? Worth the loss in sales from money order bidders? Could help reduce deadbeat bidding, at least? Simply paranoia or is it just taking ones head out of the sand and acknowledging that cross contamination is a potential reality?? Odds are greater for cross contamination simply by virtue of the amount of mail sellers receive from litterally everywhere! Online bidding makes me less nervous because I do not bid very often and I can choose which geographical areas I want to purchase from, so the odds are less. I did receive a purchase today from New Jersey which did give me pause for thought for a moment but I bravely (tongue in cheek) opened it anyway and was delighted with my purchase. BTW, I purchase all my postage stamps at the local PO once a month and all my outgoing packages are picked up at my mail box by USPS or shipped Fedex.
Well, Ya'll, whats your thoughts.
[ edited by kiddo2 on Oct 22, 2001 12:30 PM ]
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holdenrex
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posted on October 22, 2001 12:20:40 PM
Why assume that they are only taking online payments due to the anthrax scare? Some sellers only accept online payments because they don't want to deal with depositing checks and money orders, and have been doing so since long before the current situation.
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shrty411
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posted on October 22, 2001 12:21:55 PM
Sounds good to me. Then all those check and MO people can come my way. Less paypal fees!!
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kiddo2
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posted on October 22, 2001 12:22:21 PM
I am not assuming anything since I am the one posting this notice on my auctions.. 
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litlux
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posted on October 22, 2001 12:44:44 PM
I would discourage any limitations on how a bidder can pay since it will discourage some bidders and ultimately hurt sales.
To modify your auctions because you "could" be the target of some whacko is not rational. Driving your packages to the post office is many times more dangerous.
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sadie999
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posted on October 22, 2001 12:47:09 PM
It's a bit paranoid for me. I'm going about my life the same as usual. If I get a payment w/something on it, I'll go to a doctor.
Today I might go out in my truck and be hit by a drunk driver.
I might fall and break my neck in the shower.
I might give myself a concussion retrieving a paper clip from under my desk and while doing so, knock over the ashtray and burn the house down w/me in it.
But, I'm still going to go out in my truck, take a shower, and retrieve anything I drop under my desk. And I'm not going to change my payment options.
You need to do what makes you feel safe. But you did ask.
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rancher24
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posted on October 22, 2001 12:52:45 PM
I've thought about limiting my payment options to online only, but I just keep thinkin' that besides driving away potention customers, it just doesn't seem fair. The seller protects themself, but the buyer has no choice but to had the seller mail them a package in return...hmmmm....JMO
I'm not thrilled about this anthrax stuff & I wish that I had more protection, but if I allow myself to drastically change my habits, I know I'm doomed...
~ Rancher
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ok4leather
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posted on October 22, 2001 12:56:52 PM
I believe your going in the wrong direction here. The ideal is to make the payment process as convenient as possible for your prospective customers. Ideal situation would be to take at least the same forms of payment as your local Walmart and anything over the norm would be an advantage over your competition.
Good Luck
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mballai
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posted on October 22, 2001 01:01:47 PM
I'd love it if all my bidders paid online. I just know it is not likly to happen.
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justgeorge
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posted on October 22, 2001 01:09:58 PM
I really do hope you limit your auction winners to only paying by electronic payment.
My auctions and many other's are doing poorly right now and the fewer options you give your customers, the more likely they are to become my customers.
Just curious, but aren't only fairly well-known individuals being targeted with the Anthrax?
I think it is silly that so many auction sellers are so freaked out and feel they are going to be the target of an Anthrax letter. Kind of egocentric, doncha think?
______________________________
I am justgeorge here only.
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capotasto
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posted on October 22, 2001 01:11:13 PM
There is one Very Good reason to use this TOS:
If you are on the road, travelling cross country, here and there, hither and yon, in your RV or trailer.... retired, footloose and fancy free...
It is really the only sensible way to accept payments.
What think?
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kiddo2
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posted on October 22, 2001 01:19:50 PM
Thanks for all your input!
Ref to response(To modify your auctions because you "could" be the target of some whacko is not rational.)
I agree with the above in theory and most AW posters so far are in agreement with you and I respect that. However, I feel, in actuality, cross contamination ( Piggyback anthrax on normal mail) is a very real potential threat. . As for bidders receiving mailed packages, it is their choice to bid or not, since they can not receive their packages online.
Also, since I pay all my personal bills online and have for years for the convenience, about the only mail I get at all is auction payments and junk mail. I have also found that most bidders with 0 feedback and no credit card are often deadbeat bidders anyway. I prefer online payments anyway and save a little paypal fees when I get a moneyorder..I never take checks anymore, but then there is the inconvenience of a trip to the bank...even our paychecks are automatically deposited..So, if the online payment thing works out, I may keep it even when the mail situation returns to normal and hope most people use Yahoo Pay Direct..free and simple for everyone!
[ edited by kiddo2 on Oct 22, 2001 01:24 PM ]
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BJGrolle
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posted on October 22, 2001 01:37:58 PM
I've been banking online for the last couple of years and I understand what you mean about the convenience of it all. For awhile I was mailing in the deposits for my auctions, but when a $60 deposit never arrived, I opened up a free checking account at a local bank for the sole purpose of depositing my auction checks.
I find it no more inconvenient to go to the bank to deposit these checks every week or so than to go to the grocery store once a week to do my shopping, drive my son to preschool 3 days a week, and other necessary duties of life.
I still get enough people paying with money orders and personal checks to not want to shut them out.
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justgeorge
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posted on October 22, 2001 01:47:10 PM
There is a thread in the Roundtable on Anthrax. I did not read the entire thread but someone mentioned that you can either microwave or iron your mail to kill the spores.
I don't know if this is really a true and tested way to kill Anthrax spores or not but I thought I would mention it anyway.
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=28&thread=128551
As far as "piggybacking" I don't think this has happened has it? (I could be wrong)
______________________________
I am justgeorge here only.
[ edited by justgeorge on Oct 22, 2001 01:49 PM ]
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holdenrex
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posted on October 22, 2001 01:50:07 PM
The chance of cross-contamination are ridiculously small. The chances of getting struck by lightning are much higher. Maybe you could do like Kramer tried to do in that one episode of "Seinfeld," and cancel your account with the USPS.
To answer your original question, I prefer to receive both online and snail mail payments. When I have a lot of auctions ending at one time, it breaks up the packages that I have to haul to the Post Office on any one visit.
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Pocono
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posted on October 22, 2001 01:58:21 PM
You'd lose me for sure.
Only crooks won't take a MO.
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justgeorge
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posted on October 22, 2001 02:01:46 PM
Only crooks won't take a MO.
You aren't serious are you??
There are many reasons one may choose not to take MO and not necessarily because one is a crook.
Why do you think that?
______________________________
I am justgeorge here only.
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kiddo2
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posted on October 22, 2001 02:42:56 PM
Whew! Thanks for bailing me out on that one, JustGeorge Maybe nuts but I am no "crook"!
REF:Pocono
posted on October 22, 2001 01:58:21 PM new
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'd lose me for sure.
Only crooks won't take a MO.
justgeorge
posted on October 22, 2001 02:01:46 PM new
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Only crooks won't take a MO.
You aren't serious are you??
There are many reasons one may choose not to take MO and not necessarily because one is a crook.
Why do you think that?
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sweetpotato
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posted on October 22, 2001 02:52:23 PM
I know people are scared but it does strike me as more than a little extreme. The chances of catching anthrax from one of your payments is miniscule but I understand that doesn't lessen your fear. I guess you have to do what you feel comfortable with.
Me - I'll take their money anyway I can get it but I would love if they all paid online (heck I'd love it if they all paid!)
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ThriftStoreQueen
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posted on October 22, 2001 03:07:02 PM
Doing that wouldn't work for me because the majority of the payments I receive are money orders and checks even though I accept online payments.
But as others have stated, you do what you feel comfortable doing.
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kerrigirl
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posted on October 22, 2001 03:10:21 PM
No money orders or checks? Good luck.
Why do you think that we, as sellers, are important enough to get anthrax? Not to mention that your bills or ANY mail could get tainted by it.
I always leave this option open for the bidders, and many people use it.
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Pocono
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posted on October 22, 2001 03:29:40 PM
Only crooks won't take a mailed payment.
They are trying to protect themselves from being charged with mail fraud when they don't deliver the goods.
Crooks I tell you, all crooks.
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thewholenineyards
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posted on October 22, 2001 03:34:28 PM
I made a purchase last winter of over $200 (the ONLY time I have ever spent that much EVER on anything and it was a collection of multiple items) and the seller was "PAYPAL ONLY". PayPal only for a reason. Scammed about 25 people before he was NARU and no one got their merchandise. The anthrax thing has me cautious at most opening my mail but I will never go to "Online payments only" because I associate that with being ripped off.
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Pocono
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posted on October 22, 2001 03:54:09 PM
Yep...
Folks who won't give you their address to send a payment to are hiding something.
Using paypal protects scammers from being able to be charged with mail fraud.
Crooks all...
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fountainhouse
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posted on October 22, 2001 03:59:10 PM
According to the postal inspector this AM, a couple of billion pieces of mail have been handled by the PO since 9/11.
-Three of them were actually infected with anthrax.
-Those three were mailed in mid-to-late September.
-They were addressed to individuals targeted for their ability to garner headlines.
If you want my opinion, and that is what you asked for, you're allowing your imagination to run roughshod over common sense, probably to the detriment of your auction business.
But if that's what you want to do...
just do it quietly, because everytime the word "ebay" is uttered in the same sentence as "anthrax," a few more bidders decide to spend their money at the (disease-free) local mall instead.
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rbowen
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posted on October 22, 2001 04:14:31 PM
<i>there is a thread in the Roundtable on Anthrax. I did not read the entire thread but someone mentioned
that you can either microwave or iron your mail to kill the spores.
I don't know if this is really a true and tested way to kill Anthrax spores or not but I thought I would
mention it anyway. </i>
I had heard this too about ironing your mail, but on FoxNews the other night they said this was not correct. The heat, I believe, could actually cause the envelope to expand and possibly break open if something was in it.
Rebecca
edited to try to make the italics work.
[ edited by rbowen on Oct 22, 2001 04:16 PM ]
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kiddo2
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posted on October 22, 2001 05:21:11 PM
REF:fountainhouse
posted on October 22, 2001 03:59:10 PM new
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(According to the postal inspector this AM, a couple of billion pieces of mail have been handled by the PO since 9/11, etc.)
Excuse me but there are a lot more than 3 infected letters, and more than three that have contracted the Anthrax virus and among the dead from this disease, I do not expect the two postal workers from DC were trying to "garner" headlines. I would also suspect that all 2000 plus DC workers now being tested did NOT handle the 2 letters directly but possibly by CROSS CONTAMINATION as were possibly the 13 infected work stations. I would expect that is possibly why even residential mailboxes on a skin infected postal workers mail route are being tested. And, Oh Yes, for God Sake, protect the bidders from hearing ebay & anthrax in the same sentence, they probably would never think of it otherwise and are too busy bidding to watch TV..I am sorry that I do not subscribe to Ebay bucks no matter what the cost. Everyone does have to make up their own minds and I am interested in all opinions. In that light, thank you for yours.
[ edited by kiddo2 on Oct 22, 2001 05:24 PM ]
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wbdareme
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posted on October 22, 2001 05:35:46 PM
Kiddo2, YOU ASKED, then when Fountainhouse gave their opinion you flipped your wig. Why bother asking?
FWIW, my buyers may remit their payments in any form as long as they remit it. I refuse to give in to terrorist crap.
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kiara
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posted on October 22, 2001 05:57:46 PM
kiddo2, you state:
And, no Anthrax lectures, please...we hear them 24-7 on all the news stations!
But you can state your little lecture about it? Hmmmmm......
I agree with fountainhouse and I think folks are getting waaaay to paranoid.
Your customers are trusting you when they purchase your items. Trust goes both ways.
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amy
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posted on October 22, 2001 07:58:09 PM
Of course you should start refusing money orders...it is the most rational response to the current situation of rampant anthrax infecting thousands.
Actually, it would be better if you took ALL your inventory to a local auction house and sell it, then go home, crawl into a hole and pull the hole in after you. Stay there until ALL dangers of everyday life have passed.
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