I didn't quite know where to post this, but here goes: I've got a bidder who can't make PayPal work (I've sent 2 invoices) she says all her credit cards are still tied up with PayPal (because she apparently entered my email into the system incorrectly and ignored my invoices) now she's requesting that I send the merchandise via C.O.D. I've never used this service before and I'm rather leary as I've been to USPS.com and they mention that personal check are accepted as payment (I don't accept them) what if it bounces? This is worth $130 to me.
posted on August 13, 2001 09:05:04 AM
My advise is don't do it! Too many hang ups with sending stuff COD to strangers. Not only could they get away with the mdse by defaulting on payment (bad ck, stopped money order, etc...) but you have to spend the $6 (or whatever it is) AND postage to send it and if they don't accept it or the carrier is not able to catch up with them, you end up with it back and the money for shipping & cod fees lost. Or, the parcel could get lost and trying to track cod parcels is no easy task. I am in the middle of one at work and it's not going well. (Not my parcel, but that of a customer)
posted on August 13, 2001 09:06:51 AM
If you don't want to do COD, don't do it. Explain that the paperwork and expense are not feasible for a small business. Explain to her that a postal money order only costs 90 cents. If she has the money to write a check for cod, she should have the cash to buy a money order.
Think of this $130 sale like you would a $20 sale - don't sweat it. She wanted it enough to bid $130, she'll figure out a way to pay you.
If you want to bend the rules this once, take her check, and explain to her that you won't ship until it clears. Get the routing number, a/c #, etc. off of her check and the name of the bank, phone number, etc. and call her bank about 7 days after you deposit to see if it's cleared her account. I take checks and have only had one bounce - the writer informed me before my bank did, and overcompensated me so that I had to send him change.
posted on August 13, 2001 09:12:22 AM
Yeah, if the customer DOES have the money in her checking account, then she can take it out and buy a money order with it and that will cost WAY less than a COD...
I don't take personal checks either, but will sometimes upon approval, but if a sale started out like this one I would be more than leery to bend my rules to accept a personal check. ESPECIALLY for a COD!
posted on August 13, 2001 09:21:57 AM
This is why I think it's a good idea for sellers to take more than one payment service. I occasionally get a customer who can't make a particular service work for him, then I just suggest another. C2it and Achex are both free to sellers. Achex is free to buyers. C2it is free for the first month and even gives the buyer $10 back on the first payment. After that it's only 1%. If you have a personal Paypal account, you can accept non credit card payments for free and you can have both a business and a personal account. I once started dealing with a seller and ended up spending about $5,000 with him. Good thing we were able to use different services because we kept hitting the limit on each.
posted on August 13, 2001 09:37:42 AM
NO C.O.D.s - can't imagine wanting to LOSE $130.00 (plus the merchandise) bad enough to agree on C.O.D. from buyer of items over the internet.
Don't Do It!
Have them send a Money Order or Check (if they send a personal check, wait 'til the funds actually clear before shipping)...
posted on August 13, 2001 09:45:44 AM
Okay! I'm sooo glad I asked. I'll be telling her that the answer is Absolutely NOT! Thank you all for your timely replies, you've been a life saver (certainly a small business saver) and I will definately check out c2it as an alternative to PayPal.
posted on August 14, 2001 06:10:46 AM
You might suggest Yahoo's PayDirect as an alternative. A bidder led me to them, and I've been very happy.
#1) NO fees at this point, be it a balance transfer or credit card payment (and no, they aren't promising free forever)
#2) Relatively simple to set up. In that I send the link to my bidders and in just a few minutes I've got the money. It takes them about four days to get the money into my account (done it twice) while PayPal transfers arrive in a couple or three days.
Not a lot of experience with paydirect as of yet, but from what I've seen, I like it. Oh, and there's another cool feature. You are sent the link where "you've got $" but you have a choice once onsite, rather to accept or decline it.
Free Advice: Worth what you paid.
http://paydirect.yahoo.com/
[ edited by janice142 on Aug 14, 2001 06:11 AM ]
posted on August 14, 2001 07:59:50 AM
If you notice infomercials do not take COD anymore. I would tell the buyer to send a money order for the item. I have had several people confused when registering for Pay Pal, I hope they make their system more user friendly someday.
