I have always used Money Orders and have had no problems. But I work for a bank and I know that is really no guaranty. You would not believe the number of forged and counterfeit money orders and cashiers checks that get passed. They are actually the most popular ones to be counterfeited because the recipients tend to trust them. Fortunately, forging and counterfeiting are not a common thing in the traditional archery community. The people that tend to do that kind of thing generally aren't interested in bows. They want cash or something easily resold.
Paypal is a very good option, although of course there are fees involved. Well worth it though if there is any concern. This is especially a good option for international payments. A check drawn on a foriegn bank can take weeks or even months to "clear". If it comes back bad, your bank will hit you for it no matter how much time has gone by. They could send it for collection though, where they will notify you when payment is received, and then you would know for sure. But again, it can take weeks for that to happen, and the buyer probably won't want to wait that long. There are also additional fees involved for that.
The best protection you can get is to do your homework. How long has the buyer been posting here? Does he/she know someone that you know that might vouch for them? Get a phone number and address, and check it against the internet or phone company records. And never, NEVER, accept a cashiers check (or any other type of check) for more than the purchase price and agree to send money in return. This is a very common scam, and they are hoping you will send them the difference before the original check bounces.
I don't want to scare anyone out of doing business here at Trad Gang. I have bought and sold a pile of stuff here with no problems, and you can too, if you will just use a little common sense and proper procedures. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.
Topic: Safest method of payment? (Read 662 times)
