ptimko
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posted on September 27, 2002 09:52:11 AM new
I was wondering if anyone could answer a quick question for me. I just received a payment in the form of a postal money order. Unfortunately it's the wrong color (it's green and I live in Canada). I don't anticipate a problem with the buyer, but I'm unable to cash the money order and plan to return it to him so that he can send me a pink one or a cheque which I can cash...
Anyway, my question is, do I need to endorse the back of the money order and make it payable to him so he can cash it or can he cash it without my signature?
Thanks in advance...
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kengraham
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posted on September 27, 2002 09:58:57 AM new
Are you sure you aren't able to cash it? We live in Canada, and we have never had a problem with cashing the green money orders at our bank. You might want to check with them first, could save you some time.
If your bank is not as accomodating as ours, you shouldn't have to endorse the back to return it, if it is going back to the original purchaser.
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tomyou
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posted on September 27, 2002 10:36:40 AM new
you should have no problem casding it in canada. However if you do send it back there is no need to endorse it. A money order can be cashed by either party the purchaser or the party it is made to.
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ptimko
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posted on September 27, 2002 10:44:25 AM new
Thanks for the quick responses...
I called my bank, it's a privately owned credit union with no US partners. The person I spoke to wasn't sure if it was negotiable or not. Guess I'll have to send it back to the buyer... 
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rarriffle
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posted on September 27, 2002 11:12:54 AM new
you make one phone call with an answer of "I'm not sure" and you give up. Persistent little fellow aren't you?
I think you should try a little harder to get it cashed before putting your buyer or yourself to any more trouble.
If you do send it back, do not endorse it. It will be much easier for the buyer to just get it voided and a new one issued without your signature.
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stopwhining
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posted on September 27, 2002 11:23:49 AM new
have you tried your post office?we can cash canadian us dollar denominated postal order at our post office here in usa.
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slabholder
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posted on September 27, 2002 11:43:02 AM new
ptimko,
This is really an inconvenience for the buyer. Don't be shocked if you receive an unsatisfactory comment, posted on your feedback profile regarding this particular transaction. I believe the pink money orders are $3+ change.
Perhaps, you should start considering stating in your TOS, that you only accept the "pink" money orders from international bidders.
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kengraham
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posted on September 27, 2002 11:44:59 AM new
Our Canadian bank is also a locally owned credit union - still no trouble cashing the green MO's.
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coralreef
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posted on September 27, 2002 01:35:34 PM new
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you do cash that here, it will be in Canadian, so you will get US dollars for whatever the current exchange rate is. Which is not necessarily the same as the amountof yor money order. So technically, the buyer underpaid you. I think it is the same as her sending Canadian cash, so to speak.
I THINK......LOL!
coral
Edited to add......I just re-read this and realized the seller IS in Canada.....so never mind.....slumping away with my tail between my legs........
[ edited by coralreef on Sep 27, 2002 01:54 PM ]
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ptimko
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posted on September 27, 2002 02:57:33 PM new
I state in my TOS that I accept "international money orders", if the buyer finds this to be inconvenient that's too bad. If they want to leave negative feedback, so be it. I'll simply reply to their negative comments stating the facts of the situation...
If the cash instrument states on it's front and back that it is "negotiable only in the USA and possessions" and my bank won't cash it, then there is not much else I can do. The buyer should be aware that Canada is NOT a US possession (at least not yet...  ). I'm not selling things just for the convenience of my customer and if it costs them extra to pay me that's not my problem.
[ edited by ptimko on Sep 27, 2002 02:58 PM ]
[ edited by ptimko on Sep 27, 2002 03:16 PM ]
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slabholder
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posted on September 27, 2002 03:30:45 PM new
[ edited by slabholder on Sep 27, 2002 03:52 PM ]
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kengraham
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posted on September 27, 2002 03:35:39 PM new
ptimko, I agree - the buyer should know better. You are completely within your rights to return the payment to the buyer.
My suggestion is only that it will be faster & more convenient for you if you can manage to cash it, rather then waiting for the buyer to receive the returned MO, cash it, purchase a new MO, and mail it back to you.
Our experience has been that Canadians & Canadian banks are aware and accomodating of the narrow minded and USA-centric actions of American buyers. "Oh, I didn't even know Canadians used different money from us!"
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ptimko
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posted on September 27, 2002 04:15:03 PM new
I talked to 2 different people at my bank, neither of them would agree to cash it. I was basically told that if they cash it and it turns out to be non-negotiable for them then it would get charged back to my account.
I wish I could cash it, it would be a lot easier. But if I cash it at my bank and they charge it back to my account in one or two weeks then I have to chase after my customer for payment. I've already sent an email to the customer, the amount of money isn't that great. If they don't want to pay the extra money for the international money order, I'll just relist the item for sale and void the transaction...
I told the buyer that they could also send a personal cheque drawn on a US account (which my bank will accept) or cash...
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sparkz
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posted on September 27, 2002 08:37:53 PM new
Am I understanding this correctly? Your bank will accept a personal check in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank and not charge you if it bounces. Yet they are reluctant to accept a U.S. Postal money order, and even go so far as to warn you that if it bounces or is kicked back for any reason they will charge it back to your account? Sounds like they have more confidence in your bidder's financial stability than they do in the U.S. Postal service. Who is this bidder, Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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ptimko
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posted on September 27, 2002 09:14:57 PM new
No, if I cash a cheque drawn from a US bank account and it bounces my bank will charge me for that too...
The problem is not that they don't cash money orders from USPS, the problem is that the money order I have states on its face and on its back that it is "NEGOTIABLE ONLY IN THE US AND POSSESSIONS". It is a domestic money order and not an international money order. I understand the the international money orders are pink instead of green. I honestly don't know what the difference is, maybe they just don't like the colour...
I realize that the current US president has recently adopted a "first strike" policy but until the he decides to invade Canada my bank will only negotiate a USPS money order if it is an "international" money order...
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sparkz
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posted on September 27, 2002 10:15:14 PM new
I just re-read your second post and saw that you are dealing with a credit union. I don't know how it works in Canada, but here there's a BIG difference between a bank and a credit union. Fortunately most CU members never find themselves in a position to discover that. I would suggest that you open a small account with a major bank just for these types of situations if you sell internationally. You will eventually get into a difficult wire transfer or currency conversion transaction that only a full service bank can handle. As far as green vs. pink goes, every time I go to the post office, there is someone from Mexico purchasing a money order to send back home. They are all green and they never have a problem on the other end. There is some type of system in effect down there where green money orders are routinely purchased for Pesos and the banks send them back north for redemption. I'm not sure how it works, but it's been in effect in Mexico for many years, so I'm sure the Canadian banking system has a similar proceedure. As long as you continue to sell to us here in the states, there will be a certain percentage of us who will send the green ones Don't cuss them, spend them.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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ptimko
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posted on September 27, 2002 10:46:43 PM new
I used to have a bank account at a large bank, the service fees were higher for fewer services offered...
At present I can do online banking (which is good since I live 3000 miles from my bank). They've provided me with a $5000. line of credit (which is pretty good considering that I'm just a university student and have no assets to speak of). Whenever I borrow money from them I usually get a small percentage of interest paid back to me from the annual profits. When I do make it to my bank, they usually know my name even though I live very far away and only make it back once every couple of years. They offer mutual funds and Registered Retirement Savings plans which are competitive with the current market...
The only requirement to receive all of these benefits is that I have to keep $1000. worth of shares in the credit union. And I usually get a dividend (paid in additional shares, typically worth about $80/yr) from the annual profits so my shares grow without me having to purchase them directly...
Don't know too many BIG banks that do all of that...
My credit union offers most services I need, haven't found anything yet that I can't do there. They are growing, in the past 5 years or so they have acquired 2 other credit unions...
If I keep getting green money orders I'll just keep sending them back and maybe start suggesting to my customers that they start being tested for colour blindness...
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sparkz
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posted on September 27, 2002 11:22:52 PM new
Why not open an account with a bank in the U.S.? There are thousands of banks who offer student accounts at virtually no fees. I don't sell internationally as a general rule, unless it's an item that I know for sure will only appeal to international bidders. Yet I have had a lot of winners from Canada who maintain P.O. Boxes and bank accounts in the U.S. I currently have a customer from Guatemala who uses a friend in Miami to receive his goods and pay his bills.I realize this could be more trouble than it's worth, but if you sell big dollar items on a regular basis, it might be worth looking into. And if your bank ever has any doubts about a green money order, have them mail it to me. I'll be happy to take it to my bank and "test" it
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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ptimko
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posted on September 27, 2002 11:38:08 PM new
Actually I can open a US funds account at my credit union. I've thought about it but decided it wasn't worth it...
I just sell things as part of my hobby of stamp collecting. Typically I buy larger collections, keep the stamps I want, sort the rest and keep them until I feel that I have enough to sell in groups that I hope will bring me an average price of about $10.00 per auction. It seems to me that with all the fees charged for listing and image hosting etc that if I can't sell something for at least $10.00 then it's probably not worth selling. The money order that started this thread is only for US $32.00
Right now I'm trying to sell off everything I don't want to keep because I expect to finish my degree in the new year and might be moving to Australia for a post-doctoral position after that. If I wasn't planning on moving such a large distance I probably wouldn't be selling everything I'm trying to sell right now but I figure it's either sell it or pay to move it...
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ptimko
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posted on September 28, 2002 01:26:04 PM new
Just a quick update...
I heard back from my buyer. He said he has had mixed results when he has sent US domestic money orders to Canada in the past. Said that he understood the situation and apologized for the delay in payment...
I told him not to worry about it and to resend the payment when he receives the original money order back. Also told him I would send him the item he won at the same time as I send the money order back to him...
At least that way I'll save a little money on postage...
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docadoodle
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posted on September 28, 2002 01:55:41 PM new
My bank won't cash them either -TD Canada Trust. They will only accept the pink international ones. I got one a few months ago and since it was only a small amount, I figured I would wait until the next time I'm in the US to cash it at a post office. Well, I still haven't got around to it. Does anyone know if these things expire? I'll be in Florida in December; will it still be good by then?
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ptimko
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posted on September 28, 2002 07:59:17 PM new
At sometime since I started this post I looked at the USPS website, I believe it said that they never expire but I could be wrong...
Maybe you should check at:
http://www.usps.com
Can't remember where it was on the page but I'm sure it's there somewhere...
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litlux
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posted on September 29, 2002 07:40:20 AM new
I avoid these sort of hassles by accepting international payments via Paypal, and having found a bank with a free checking account that accepts virtually any form of payment without a service charge.
As a seller, the important thing is to make it easy for the customer to pay me, which means I get my money fast. If I started getting all convoluted with my international terms of payment, I would lose bids that help drive the price up, and payments.
If I sent a money order back, there is no guarantee that the buyer is going to get a new one to replace it. Bird in the hand etc.
Being stubbern is not good business. Using a half-assed credit union because it pleases the seller to do things that way is no way to sell on ebay. Going to war with a buyer because the money order is the wrong color is pretty self defeating too.
The money orders have a bank clearing number on them, just as every personal check does. If a financial institution can process a personal check drawn on a US bank, they can process a postal money order drawn on a US bank.
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gk4495
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posted on September 29, 2002 06:38:25 PM new
You might want to consider the fact that some parts of the dear old USA make getting an International Money order damned near impossible. I tried to get one last year to refund some money to a Canadian buyer. I hit every bank in town and Battle Creek has several. Each one told me various versions of the same song: "We have to order those special out of our home office in Chicago ( Detroit, Columbus, Newark, Rio, Sao Paulo or whatever ) It can take up to two weeks for it to arrive here." If your buyer ran into the same roadblocks I did, he/she probably tried to do the best they could in a very bad situation and make their payment in a timely manner.
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sparkz
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posted on September 29, 2002 07:26:30 PM new
Did you try the Post Office?
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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ptimko
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posted on September 30, 2002 09:33:46 AM new
*wonders how hard it must be to get a money order in NYC*
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