Is there any comeback when you pay by postal order? i need a little clarification on this before i pay and i'm not sure???

[sparklesandwine]

I have bid on and won a bundle of clothes for DD amounting to about £40 inc p&p, the seller stated that they were selling it on their friends behalf and that payment was required by postal order - which i would be ok with but....

.....i then got an invoice stating total amount owed saying that the postal order needed to be made payable in someone else's name and also to be sent to a different address

I checked the sellersfeedback etc and its 100% on over 100 sold/bought and i have no logical reason to think they may be doing anything other than what has been stated but i was wondering if there would be any where to go re: a refund or whatever should the sellers friend not deliver the goods??

can anyone advise me on the best way to go about this? or do i just pay up and hope all is ok?

thanks in advance

id email them asking if you could send it in their name to their address just so you are covered. they can then cash it and the give the cash to their friend.

i bought a 'bundle of 0-6' clothes off ebay who were also selling for their friend. i sent a cheque to her friend and the clothes were crap. werent 0-6 and were filthy. luckly the ebayer refunded me through paypal

POs are the same as cash, so you'd have exactly the same comeback in case of problems as if you'd sent an envelope full of fivers i.e. none. Making a PO payable to someone means it needs to be paid into a bank account, rather than cashed though, I think.

shrinking i think its the fact that the seller wants it addressed to someone else

oh, yeah, didn't read OP properly,that'll teach me to reply beofre i've had a cup of tea

If you do send it I'd tell them you are sending to them (not friend) and send it rec del.
Also cross the postal order.

If it states on the listing that payment has to be paid with PO then you have no other option (other than to back out completely and receive a neg and a strike.
If it states on the listing that you can pay with paypal then do that. tell them first.

You are only covered with paypal payments - any other payment and you have no protection.

oh, if it states on the listing that payment has to be made to someone else (and no other options) then you are kind of stuck with it. send it rec del tho

sparkles, as shrinkingviolet says, paying by postal order is the same as paying by cash. So you have none of the paypal protections, eg refund from paypal for non-delivery etc. But you cannot complain about that because presumably the listing made it clear that the seller did not accept paypal and only accepted postal order - and that is perfectly valid.

But that does not mean you are not entitled to a refund for non-delivery. You still have a right under the law. It is just you can't claim it quickly via paypal, but must pursue your claim against the seller. In the worst case scenario, this means suing the seller in a small claims tribunal for £40+. But in reality, the seller may refund you before you get to that stage if they are afraid of negative feedback.

Then there is the other issue of the seller requesting that the postal order be made payable to their friend and delivered to a different address. I think you are concerned that by complying with the seller's request, you are contracting with the friend rather than the seller, such that if the friend does not deliver, you have to go against the friend (whom you only have the sketchiest details), rather than the ebay seller.

For a start, your contract of sale is with the ebay seller. An ebay seller can legitimately ask you to pay someone else, and this deemed good consideration under the law to the seller even though it goes to someone else. Was the requirement of paying to the friend stated in the ebay listing eg under payment details? I would advise that you email the seller stating that you will comply with her payment instructions but you still consider the sale to have been made her, as per eBay rules. And give her an opportunity to reply before posting the postal order.

Is the seller a power seller or do a lot of selling? That way, the threat of negative feedback is stronger.

Thanks for your replies

blueshoes The seller did state that the selling was for a friend on the listing but did not state on there that the payment was to be issued to her friend and paypal is not an option.

I shall do as you have advised and email her, i don't like to doubt people who are probably completely lejit, it just raised a few alarm bells. tbh if it had stated on the listing the payment was to be made out/sent to the friend i probably wouldn't have bid on it in the first place - the clothes are lovely and i hope this will all work out ok, i feel a bit guilty being so suspicious of someone!

how does this email sound:

Although i was aware that you were selling the items for a friend and required the payment by PO (which is not an issue) I was not aware that the payment was to be made in another persons name and sent to an address other than yours, the seller. I will comply with your request regarding the payment on the understanding that I consider the sale to be made with yourself, as per ebay rules.

is that ok? too harsh?

AAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

anyone?

Sounds good to me. Not much more you can say, really. To soften it, you can say "I am happy to comply ...", rather than "I will ..." - ok, my wording to begin with

I was thinking whether or not to add this: "Please confirm this is ok before I post out the postal order." On the balance, perhaps better not to ask for confirmation because she might baulk if you seem too legalistic. After all, it is eBay rules that she is the seller and she does not need to confirm that.

Just give her a day or so in case she decides to reply.

thanks blueshoes

she has given me her own email address 'should i have any queries with the payment method she has suggested' so i shall email her own email and also send email through ebay as she may not read her ebay one or something - oh i don't know i'm a bit crap at this but thank you for your help i really appreciate it. I shallsoften up the email and send it now

how about this??

Hi thanks for your email. I just wanted to say that although i was aware that you were selling the items for a friend and required the payment by PO as stated on your listing (which is not an issue), I was not aware that the payment was to be made in another persons name and sent to an address other than yours, the seller, and think that if you sell for your friend again that you should state this in your listing.

I am happy to go along with your request regarding the payment on the understanding that I consider the sale to be made with yourself, as per ebay rules.

Hope this is ok with you.
Thanks

mind you reading that back i think that may just put her back up!

sparkles, I'd omit the ", and think that if you sell for your friend again that you should state this in your listing".

Like you say, it might put her back up. Just concentrate on getting this transaction out of the way and let her worry about future ones.

On the email point, you can either email to the email address she sent you or via the eBay listing - they are both likely to end up in the same email address inbox. The advantage of using the eBay listing is that you can hide your email address from her - presumably she has already seen it because she responded to you directly. So doesn't matter, either one will do. Email is more personal, but eBay is more official, in the sense that the email is squarely within the context of an eBay transaction and its rules ...

oops!

i sent it, although i did say after that bit that i hope she didn't think i was being rude by suggesting that i just thought it would help future buyers.

ah well done now!

Thanks again for your help and patience!