Accept Cashiers Checks and Money Orders for your eBay items

I begin my discussion of payments with money orders and cashier’s checks because I think they’re the greatest way to receive payment. Money orders and cashier’s checks are fast, cheap, and negotiable (just like cash). Cashier’s checks are purchased at a bank and are generally debited immediately from the winner’s checking account at purchase. For some unknown reason, banks take it upon themselves to charge a minimum of $5.00 to issue a cashier’s check. This is a pretty steep charge to the buyer, which is why I suggest money orders.

Money orders are available almost anywhere. In my neighborhood, the stores I called charge from $0.50 to $1.29 for a money order up to $500.00. There has been a spate of forged and counterfeit money orders. Beware of all money orders and delay shipping until the money order has cleared. If you have a U.S. post office money order, cash it at the post office. Postal counter workers will be able to identify counterfeit money orders immediately. Never accept a money order for more than the total price of the order, where the buyer asks for a refund for the excess amount tendered. A request like this should set off warning bells.

If you want to accept money orders, you should familiarize yourself with the various charges so that you can recommend to your auction winners the service with the most reasonable cost. Saving your customers money (especially when it’s not going to you) is a sign of good customer service. Asking buyers to pay a large additional fee is unfair unless the buyers are international. In that case, the best way for them to pay you is by money order through an issuer such as American Express (which has offices in most countries). International buyers deal in the currency of their own countries; when they purchase a money order and send it in dollars, you’re paid with cash in good old American greenbacks.

United States Postal Service

Most sellers love USPS money orders, which have all the benefits of a regular money order plus, because the post office issues these money orders, the nice clerks at the post office will graciously cash them for you with proper identification. Postal money orders are safe, too, and acceptable everywhere. The post office goes to great pains to ensure authenticity by including a Benjamin Franklin watermark, a metal security thread, and a double imprint of the dollar amount on the money order. (No more fears that you’ve received a color copy of a money order.)

Western Union

Western Union is the most popular money order seller, probably because it was the first or maybe because it promotes better than anyone else. Depending on the purchase location, they accept cash (duh), Visa, MasterCard, and Discover payments from your buyers (both in the United States and internationally). To purchase a money order, go to the Western Union Web site, www. westernunion.com/info/osMoneyOrder.asp, and click the Find a Location link. Type in your ZIP code and you’ll get a list (including phone numbers) of the various locations that sell money orders in your area. Give a few a call and find where you can get the best deal different vendors charge different rates.

Pay Me When You Get This: Cash on Delivery

I can’t say enough to discourage you from using C.O.D. as a payment method. But I’m gonna try! You give your package to the post office, UPS, or FedEx, which collects the payment after delivering the package. Sound straightforward and easy? What happens when the carrier tries to deliver the package and the recipient isn’t home? Your items can sit for a week or two, during which time buyers may decide that they don’t want to pick up the items from the shipper. If you’re lucky, you’ll get your items back in two to three weeks. Not only that, but it’s also expensive. In addition to postage, the post office charges from $5.10 to $16.60 for C.O.D. services (based on the amount collected).

Another bad part of C.O.D.? You might wait a month to receive payment, even when the addressee is home the first time and accepts delivery. Do yourself a favor and don’t offer it as a payment option. You’re only asking for trouble. You’re not a bank, and you’re not in the finance business. Get your money up front.