posted on August 7, 2002 04:13:44 PM
Could you possibly tell me, if you (as a Seller) wait until you receive/deposit the Buyer's personal check, before you ship your product to the Buyer?
One of my friends sometimes ships his product, before he receives the personal check. I don't know, if I should pursue this policy.
posted on August 7, 2002 04:36:46 PM
we wait 10 business days before sending the item out. some sellers do less or more,
10 days (busniess days, that means almost 2 weeks which is almost 98% chance to find out if the check is good or bad)
dont forget to clearly state that in your auctions and your EOA emails
some sellers will only accept checks from buyers with minimum possitive feedback rating, that's not a bad idea either.
dont forget to keep the buyer updated while he/she waits,
posted on August 7, 2002 05:33:14 PM
As soon as I receive their check I ship right away but only if they have excellent feedback .. if any negatives ..... I wait for check to clear.
Must be honest .... out of all the checks I have received so far ( approx 150 )none have ever bounced
posted on August 7, 2002 06:35:24 PM
I NEVER take checks. Only money orders. If they want to send a check, they can go through Billpoint or PayPal or whoever. Too many bad horror stories with personal checks. Doesn't bother my buyers a bit. PatR
posted on August 7, 2002 06:38:17 PM
#1 rule in life, if you take a risk make sure you're compensated enough for it. If it helps you get repeat business, it may be worth sending out the item without waiting. If you don't get repeat business, wait 10-14 days.
posted on August 7, 2002 06:40:17 PM
I always ship my items as soon as I get my customers address, never wait for payment, have only been cheated twice in 3 1/2 years of selling on ebay, and I sell a lot, my fedback is over 1800.
posted on August 7, 2002 08:54:57 PM
Wow tank,
You have a lot more guts on that than I do. I take personal checks as well and only had one bounce in over 4 years. The good thing as it was for only 2 bucks and that bank only charged me $2.50. And the deadbeat didn't get his item. I also wait two weeks before sending an item.
posted on August 7, 2002 10:06:57 PM
TANK,,,,,,,FOR SURE,WHAT IF THE BUYER,,,,DIED? ONE OF MINE DID AND BOUGHT A COMBINED TOTAL OF THREE ITEMS....I THINK IT WAS LIKE $250.00.......HIS WIFE SENT OUT A MASS MAILER TO ALL HIS SELLERS INCLUDING ME. THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD EVER SHIP TILL I SEE THE FUNDS. WHATEVER WORKS.
posted on August 8, 2002 12:28:56 PM
Dear Sirs: I would like to order the 10 horsepower outboard motor shown on Page 32 of your Summer catalog. Once received I will try the motor and if it is any good I will send you a check. Sincerely, John Doe
Dear Mr. John Doe: Please send us your check. If it is any good we will send you the motor. Sincerely, Bob's Boat Motors
posted on August 8, 2002 12:58:27 PMI always ship my items as soon as I get my customers address, never wait for payment, have only been cheated twice in 3 1/2 years of selling
I'm impressed, tank!
I took a look at my blocked bidder list this morning. There are 107 id's on it. One hundred and seven.
*sigh*
Probably about 1/3 of them had responded to my EOA, sending me their address with their intended method of payment ...
can't believe everything you read, I guess!
posted on August 8, 2002 01:00:54 PM
I know this is a poor business policy in some eyes but I ship many times before receiving payment. If the buyer has good feedback I'll ship on their word. I've never been cheated and the average amount is $50.00. Very low or no feedback I wait for the check. I'll hold the check if it feels funny, the last one I held was because the buyer's name wasn't one of the names listed on the check and the address on the check wasn't in the same state as the buyer's address (the check turned out good.)
I don't advertise I'll ship before payment with good feedback, but I have seen sellers do that. I know of one seller that advertises if your feedback is over 10 they'll ship before your payment arrives. You might question that seller's judgement, but their record is VERY impressive, they are the highest volume seller on eBay with a feedback rating of 85777 (at the time of this post.)
posted on August 8, 2002 01:03:34 PM
ship before or after receiving chk?
I do not even take checks!!! I took checks for 2 years on eBay and sent item out when I recieved the check if it was under $100.00 and had 10 or more positive feedbacks. Then one month I had 2 checks bounce after depositing 28 & 30 days earlier. One was for $600 that I never recovered the other was for over $400.00 and I did recover it about one month later.
The $600.00 check was from a repeat buyer with over 100 positive feedbacks. If you take checks on eBay sooner or later you will get burnt don't make it easier for them.
posted on August 8, 2002 01:08:49 PM
If I understood your question correctly, it was not how long to wait after receiving check before shipping, but whether or not to ship before receiving it.
I have done it, but very rarely, and only with good reason to believe I would get paid.
But I also routinely ship upon receipt of check. My exceptions are 1) if a check is "messed up" someway, or 2) if a buyer has BOTH a lowfeedback rating and a low check number.
Another reason I ordinarily don't ship before receiving payment is because I need the mailing time to get things packed up usually.
But my best advise to you is do what you're comfortable with - what I (or others) do isn't important.
posted on August 9, 2002 08:52:48 AM
Never in a million yrs would I ship an item before recieving payment. Hell, I have a hard enough time just getting payments!!
posted on August 9, 2002 09:02:57 AM
Why would anyone ship prior to receiving payment?? Sooner or later, you are going to get burned. I don't accept personal checks & it hasn't hurt my sales one bit. I deal in collectibles & fine china. I have a buyer who right now has bougt over $600.00 worth & is still bidding on a specific pattern. He is in MD, I am in CA. I should ship without payment? I don't think so!!
posted on August 9, 2002 10:36:03 AM
i have one customer and for her I ship before she pays me, but i wouldnt do it for anyone else, I dont take cheques but occasionaly I get bidder asking if I will accept cheque, which I will gladly do if they are willing to wait till it clears.
I would definitly wait till it clears before shipping anything.
