how does the For Sale board work re payments?

[elliott]

Sorry if I'm being a bit thick or have missed this somewhere, but I am thinking of selling some stuff on the for sale boards and wondering how it all works. i don't want to make my e-mail address public as some people have. What sort of payment method do people use? Is it too risky to just ask for a cheque up front? I'm normally a pretty trusting type but after recent goings on....

[WigWamBam]

I have sold some stuff on the for sale boards, and haven't had any problems at all. Don't put your email address on the message; if someone is interested, get them to CAT you with their details. Ask for the cheque to be posted to your home address, then when the cheque arrives, send the stuff out.

[secur]

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[elliott]

Thanks WWB!

[elliott]

and secur too. that seems a good idea but a bit of a hassle - do you just use a hotmail address or something? But presumably you have to give out your real (postal) address anyway so not sure how you would decide someone was ok?

[secur]

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[Gwenick]

I@d say it was worth the hassle too - fine they'd know your home address BUT what's the chances of getting spam at your home address. Once you let your email address 'out' into the WWW it's very easy for viruses, cc emails etc to spread it around and hey presto your inbox is full of rubbish

[hub2dee]

I'd add that if you don't want people to know your home address (to send a cheque to), you may want to use an online payment service such as www.paypal.com

You sign up with your credit card / bank details and can then send and receive money to other paypal users. It can be a bit of a mare to set up, but it is certainly one of the most used online payment systems between individuals. A lot of ebay auction sales are settled via paypal. (I think they bought them out a year or two ago 'n all).