For Those Who Buy...and Sell

i'd be interested in knowing a few things.

for the sellers...how do you accept payment?
and do you run into problems accepting those payments?
bounced checks? forged checks? credit card fees?

for the buyers...if its something you really want, does convenience really make a difference?

i'm going to be listing some auctions soon...and having a dilemma on how to accept payments.
i'm an old timer on ebay...and had serious issues with paypal, so I stopped accepting payments that way.
the only way I would accept payment, was a postal money order or bank cashiers check.
i would NOT accept business/personal checks. no acceptions.

what is the norm these days when it comes to accepting/making auction payments?

i would really appreciate comments/opinions about this.

My experience with selling on ebay is limited, but I have never had a problem with PayPal (except perhaps with their fees). I will continue to use it in the future. I have heard of people yanking their payments from the seller after the item has been shipped. Maybe I have not sold high enough value items where that might be a temptation.

ebay will not let you use the words "money order" in their auction listing. Rumor has it that people are scamming money orders as well (I would only accept USPS money orders, and would only ship after the MO clears (if it doesn't clear you can bet the USPS will come back at you for the money).

I would not accept checks either. Even if you wait for them to clear before shipping, you will get dinged by your bank (charged a fee) for cashing a bad check.

There is the old saying . . . cash is king. I send cash in the mail from time to time with no problems (sent $100 bill recently) and would not have a problem asking for cash. If the purchase amount was not an even dollar amount you can always send the change back (coins or unused US postage stamps) back with the item.

One further point: if you don't accept PayPal, and only accept money orders and bank cheques, you effectively restrict your sales to the US only. That mightn't be so much of an issue if you're only going to sell material of interest to the US market, but if you were hoping for a broader market ...

I don't pay close attention to this, because I stopped selling on ebay many years ago, but I thought that you now had to accept P-Pal? I still buy there occasionally, and I'd say more than half of the sellers that I deal with are happy to accept cash or USPS money orders in lieu of P-P.

I think what you are selling will have an impact. Hundred-dollar items and up will allow you to be more selective in your payment methods. Ten- and twenty-dollar items are another story. Buyers are going to be less likely to jump through hoops for low value items. I know people who won't bid if P-Pal isn't an option, and considering the hassle of getting to a bank or post office during a busy week, I understand why...

Let us know what you decide.

really? since when did this begin?
and yes, I am aware of the money order scams.
thats why I said...postal money order.
and not just a generic money order.
cash is great but many people dont like sending cash. for obvious reasons.

i've dealt with international shipping. its a little more involved and not sure yet if i'm going to be listing internationally.

paypal, is not a bank. i'm not fond of a business handling money that can choose who gets paid, and not paid. not to mention, their fees.

i used ebay back in the late 90's. it was a great place back then. then I used them in the early 00's and had issues with buyers and sellers (from a fraud standpoint), paypal, and ebay's increased fees. i'm not really fond of ebay anymore. and dont think i'll be using them this time around. that debate is still way up in the air. but chances are, I wont be.

back when I did offer internationally, I offered a link to western unions website, where the buyer could buy and send their money order right from WU's website. it was a convenient way to offer the money orders, plus the confirmation WU would send.

Cjd...yes, I understand how inconvenient going out and getting a money order can be. I was not a seller who demanded payment (say) within 3 days. I allowed up to 2 weeks for the buyer to make their payment. 99% of my feedback was positive. it wasnt until I ran into the fraudulent issues that I began getting that 1% negative feedback. and thats another reason I dont care for ebay anymore. there's no way to "prove" the fraud with their feedback system. those issues created a no win situation. and ebay didnt care to get involved, but allowed the feedback to stay.

I've had problems listings items of postal history related to money orders. It's silly on ebay's part. Buyer's can email you and ask if you take alternative payments which is fine. ebay only allows Paypal, other online payment services like Moneybookers (yes, it works in the U.S. - I've done it successfully) or direct credit card payments if you are set up for it. IMHO - shipping worldwide is really no problem. You can set it up through Turbolister easy enough and it helps to broaden your potential market. I sell a lot of even U.S. covers overseas and the market overseas seems to be a whole lot bigger than the U.S. market. Of course if you use Delcampe, you can ask for payment in anything.
Will

i accept personal checks,cash and paypal...sure theres always a chance I could get stiffed..but if you are not willing to take a chance what kind of business would you do ?

I've paid for items using PayPal ever since it got started, with never a problem. I think Okonoko is sounding a bit "hard nosed" about the whole thing. Must have been burned badly. If he makes potential customers have a difficult time paying, he's not going to see much action.

Paypal wins for convenience but I detest how they misuse their market power. I use Moneybookers but I have to transfer out of my bank account to theirs, a step that paypal does not require.

I was stitched up a couple of years ago where I sold a £1 Brown and Blue kangaroo for $AUD1,000. The purchaser claimed it was not received, paypal withdrew the money from my account and overdrew my paypal account by about $AUD900. I closed the credit card attached to the paypal account and as far as I know I still owe paypal the money. I haven't heard from them since and have managed to establish a new account with other details.

There is little defence a good seller has against a bad buyer and it is this imbalance that I don't like.

I have received cash money in the mail as payment. I have also sent cash through the mail with no problems. I prefer to get cash in payment because then I don't even have to go to the bank.

On ebay, as much as I hate it, I basically have to list Paypal as really the only option although I believe I can add Moneybookers now. If someone emails me asking if they can send another form of payment, that is fine - I'll take checks, money orders, cash, whatever. I just cannot advertise it like I can on Delcampe.
I've only received one bad check in 11 years - statistically insignificant compared to the number of sales over the years. I've also never had money pulled out of my Paypal account because someone claimed they haven't received an item - knock on wood. If it's $100 or more, you bet I'll send it registered or certified, but 99.9% of people out there are honest in my opinion.
Will

As a newbie to ebay, I only buy up to around $60
and if it is not paypal, I don't buy.

I have recently purchased an item through another company
and a friend in GB is going to pay for me, and I will paypal
his account.
the item is around 24-30 GB pounds, how much roughly would
an ebay style account charge him ? (so I can re imburse my colleague)
Thanks

If you accept checks and money orders, do you not wait until they clear before shipping?

Now as a buyer---I guess that I am both lazy and impatient. If I can't use a couple of clicks to pay, I avoid the seller. I use both pay pal and google checkout. I have gone down the road of having to write a check or get a money order, mailing it off and waiting for almost forever for the item. Not for me anymore. If pay pal or other online methods of payment are unsatisfactory methods of payment for the seller, I say that I am sorry, but I will go elsewhere.

when I sell one of my aviation items on ebay I check the reputation of the buyer, how many comments they have and the Percentage of feedback. if the customer pays by check and they have 100 or more feedback at 100% I ship right away, if they don't I wait for the check to clear. most of my items are $20 range so far since 2003 I've had only one non paying customer, using this formula. however I cater to the aviation profession, which tends to be more reliable then some areas of ebay.

as someone else stated I would consider tracking, or return receipt for anything over $50 or a questionable feedback on a buyer. the USPS offers these services very cheap, you can start a collection of them LOL...

I have over 1400 sales on ebay and except when you have a buyer dispute - paypal is OK. (Except for their outrageous fees on small sales of course).

In all those sales I've only had maybe a dozen bad experiences.(No pay, disputes, alleged item never arrived, etc.)