payment by postal order?

[shelley72]

hi i have an item listed and someone has contacted me about a BIN price, and they are also interested in another item that i have not yet listed - it came up in ebay correspondence as they thought the original item was a dress. anyway i quoted a BIN price for both items, and said that if they wanted the second item i think i would need to add it to the listing/create a new listing before i sell to them - i think thats ok and not against the rules?

now they have come back to me and said they are having issues with phone / bank etc and can they pay by postal order? i was just wondering how this works as i have only ever used paypal on ebay before? do i wait for the postal order to arrive before i send the goods? its £60 or so so really dont want to be left with no money and no goods either!

thanks for your help

Definitely wait for it to arrive and don't send the goods till it's been exchanged for actual cash (in case its a forgery). However, be cautious that this might be a timewaster/attempting scammer - postal orders actually cost 12.5% of the face value in fees so it would be a big waste of money for anyone to actually use them. Proceed with extreme care!

sorry so do you mean that i have to pay 12.5% - or they do? i didnt even know you could forge postal orders .
does anyone know how long it would take for them to send and me to cash the PO? My item is due to finish this week and although no bids as yet there are a few watchers.
not sure what to do for the best...

They pay the 12.5% fee to create the postal order, you (iirc) cash it at the post office for no fee. I would certainly cash it before sending items! The issue is fpr them there's the fee to pay and little proof that they actually paid you so it seems a little odd they'd choose to do this rather than, say, send you a personal cheque (which you should also wait the 5days to make sure it clears in your bank before posting items, if they happen to do this instead). These faffs are the reason many sellers only except paypal.

does anyone know how long it would take for them to send and me to cash the PO?'

Depends totally on them, you could be waiting ages for it to arrive and them claiming it was sent... When they might not have sent anything! Though if genuine buyer it could be with you as quick as 2days (1st class). You could always say ok but send recorded delivery so you both gave proof of its postage and arrival.. But again another expence on the buyer.

ok thank you - they did offer to send it first class recorded to me, i guess as long as i wait until i have the actual cash before i send anything it should be ok?

Most postal orders are 'crossed' which means that they have to be paid into a bank account and would take about a week to clear (as if it was a cheque). You could ask for her to provide you with an 'uncrosses' postal order which most post offices will cash at face value.