ebay blues ....help ?

[tchlfxvt]

hello all,
I sold my L-o9 a couple of weeks ago on ebay .
The person who bought it is from Canada ,
He paid with a Canada Post MO...you would think this would be a good thing !!
I deposited it in my bank the day it came in..........Last Monday
The bank has made the funds available but they can not guarantee that the check is good for 10 days .
The buyer has been patient so far ,He has over 100 feedbacks and is  100% pos.
I feel lousy making him wait ,I would like to ship it to him ...but I am afraid of getting burned
What is the right thing to do ? What should I do ?
Tom

[sigurdd48]

Canadian sellers/buyers can chime in here, but there appear to be a few oddities doing tranactions across the friendly border

I bought an archtop from Canada, and it was held at the border for like 7 days, waiting for some customs thing... and then I received some other customs bill (which I was unaware of, so I passsed it on to the seller, who gladly paid). Be patient

I also did a tranaction going the other way (actually sold a Larrivee BACK to a fella in BC.) I recall now that my bank held up waiting for the MO to clear.

[D_D_D_Daffy]

There is no right or wrong thing to do. It is a business transaction and good business sense says make sure you do not get burned. No one can fault you for waiting. If it was a $25 or $50 item it would not be quite so hard to take a chance and ship, but the cost of a guitar would be hard to lose. This example is the exact reason I do not buy or sell over ebay. I personally have no patience and would not want to wait to receive what I purchased, but I would have to accept that the seller needs to cover his/her own best interests and make sure the money is good. Isn't Paypal a faster/better way to go?

[tchlfxvt]

Thanks for your comment .
I was reluctant to take Paypal because they charge you a 3%
I didn't want to pay the $30.
knowing what I do now I would gladly have taken it (paypal)

[sayheyjeff]

I agree with DDD Daffy.  For me the wait is expected as part of the price.  I paid the price trying it the other way to the tune of about $150 a couple of years ago.  It wasn't worth it.  The other party should not take offense.

[hotsauce]

This is a long wait tho...

But even though canadians are not nigerians, there have been so much talk about the "nigerian scam" that went just like that that I think i'dd be careful.

Good luck with the buyer, hope he understands...

[ronmac]

A lesson learned. It is important for both the buyer and the seller to understand the impediments when completing a transaction. The border does cause some problems, but it is possible to have things go smoothly if you do your homework.

The seller will need to understand that sending payment in a currency (Canadian Postal Money Order) not readily accepted in the US is going to slow things down. If a buyer form the US sends me a US Postal Money Order (unless it is specifically the International MO) I can not redeem it in Canada, period. It would have to be returned to the US and have another issued in the correct form.

[Randy_R]

My opinion is that the Canada Post MO is likely good and there will be no problems with it.

I have bought numerous items off ebay where the seller has sent the item immediately upon receipt of a money order.

I will also note that several years ago I paid for an ebay item from a seller in Canada, and never received the merchandise. After several fruitless email with the seller I contacted the police in the Canadian Territory and eventually received most of my money back. ie: the Canadian police will work with you if there is a problem...

Ronmac or others in Canada; are American Express money orders or Traveller's Checks available in Canada?

[ronmac]

Ronmac or others in Canada; are American Express money orders or Traveller's Checks available in Canada?

Yes. I agree with Randy, the MO is likely OK. It is up to your local bank on what they accept, and the conditions placed on that acceptance.

Personally I prefer PayPal, even though their fees are a bit high.

[fitness1]

just as a sidelight......the paypal fee for an "international" transaction has an added 1% charge, so nearly 4% (I found out the hard way on a 2900.00 guitar......)

[Ratishna]

If the guy has a lot of feedback, and therefore lots of ebay experience, he probably understands the vagaries of buying from another country.  Extra time waiting for funds, customs, etc. are all part of the deal.  Sometimes you just have to wait, but you should always protect yourself.  Even a deal with a good person can at times go south because of events outside your control.

E. Shoaf

[tuoti]

I would wait for the funds to clear.  Sound like a transaction for close to a grand, and it wouldn't be too fun to get burned for that much dough.  Yes, it probably is a good payment, but why risk it?

[brimc76]

I have had wait problems in the past with Canadian Post Office Money Orders sent to the U.S. as well. The money orders are good it's just that they have to wait until they can clear them. I use the money orders/bank drafts from my local bank now as they are taken from a U.S. bank (in Delaware I believe) which is associated with my local bank. There seems to be no problems with cashing these on the U.S. side once received.