No trust left in our society anymore. On this forum when selling I always will asked to be paid by check or USPS money order, which ever is more convenient for the buyer. I have had to pass on a lot of things I wanted because only PayPal was accepted. Any thing can be counterfeited even greenbacks, so I guess you roll the dice and take your chances.
I don't have a Paypal, Zelle, or other online account. I will take a personal check or USPS money order because I realize it's a hassle for some people to get to the PO. I much prefer a USPS MO because most banks now will not tell you when a check has cleared the account of the person who wrote it, so I have to arbitrarily decide how many days to wait to make sure its a good check. My bank tells me to wait 5-7 business days to be sure. I had one bank recently that wouldn't even tell me if the account on which the check was written was active.
If you send me a USPS money order, I will have your purchase in the mail within a couple of hours if my PO is open. Beats waiting several days for a check to clear. My local semi-rural PO never seems to have enough cash reserve on hand to case anything but a MO less than about $40, but I can wait till I go to town and cash it at my bank.
I don't know why anyone would risk sending cash unless it's a very inexpensive item. If it's stolen or the letter is eaten by a routing machine no one has proof of sending it, I have no proof of receiving it, there's no process for getting a refund, so I assume it would be an unhappy ending.
GONRA pays CASH at gas pumps, DINNERS OUT to avoid "skimming" the physical CC.
Mr. & Mrs. GONRA are NOW using CC's for groceries, etc. - seems easiest....
These days its easy to keep "computer track" of the CC and any other financial accounts.
PayPal is great for (rare for me) overseas transactions.
Internal US&A - just send a Personal Cheque and
tell 'em to wait until it clears Bank before sending goods.
Verks for us, in our particular area, situation, anyhow.... (Yer milage will vary!)
I have to want or need something pretty bad to stand in the line at the post office to get a money order. When I see USPS money order only I generally just keep scrolling. Not worth the hassle when with just a few key strokes the payment is sent in seconds with paypal. Gp
Funny thing, I ordered some parts from a fellow in Canada he specified a money order, not a problem, WRONG. Found out a USPS money order isn't worth the paper their written on out of the US but a Walmart money order is good as gold anywhere in the world.
Lots of good information on this thread. One thing about personal checks is even if you wait for it to clear and it bounces you might not be out the price of the sale( because you still have the item) but most banks will charge you a fee( so you still loose $$).
I think the main takeaway from this is that we have many opinions pro and con about every method of payment. No problem, but we all should respect what method the seller prefers and just scroll past if it doesn’t suit us. No right or wrong here.
My post office usually doesn't have enough cash to post a money order over $50. Also, I can't electronically deposit a money order to my credit union like I can a check. Money order are mostly a hassle but I will do one for the right deal.
I was a dog on a short chain.
Now there's no chain.
Jim Harrison
That has been the system in Europe for many years. It allows the card holder to maintain custody of the card. They also used the chip readers long before the U.S.A. switched over. The information stored on the magnetic strip is easily copied but the chip allows for a one time authorization for each individual transaction, which makes cloning the card much less attractive to thieves.Originally Posted by MT Gianni
Because of the enormous number of point of sale card readers on gas pumps, those devices were allowed to remain in use but for the most part, all other transactions that actually require the card in the U.S., use the chip technology. It is an improvement.
I don't know what the PO charges but Western Union was horribly expensive to send my daughter a couple bucks. PayPal was cheap and easy and they never lost a dime. It's also great for ebay purchases. The one dispute I had they covered.
I probably wouldn't take PayPal as a seller. Too easy to get ripped by an unscrupulous buyer. There are ways to check out buyers and cancel orders but that's learning more stuff I'd rather not.
Mal
Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.
It's a very popular scam. The criminal (which is sometimes the employee of the gas station) adds a "skimmer" (second card reader) to the card reader and just captures the card information. The locks used to secure the display panels on some pumps are easily defeated by picking or just obtaining the correct key (again the employee is the weak link). Sometimes the skimmer is simply placed over the existing reader.
It became such an issue in some areas the gas stations started placing tamper proof tape on the pump panels so that customers could see if the panel had been opened by an unauthorized user. (which isn't foolproof but it's another layer of security). If you must use a pump that is far from the clerk and/or video cameras - pay a little extra attention to the pump panel. Those pumps that are distant from surveillance are the most popular ones to target.
These gas pump skimmers fall into two categories: Ones the employees are in on, and ones the employees are not a part of.
The credit card provider is usually the one on the hook but if one of your primary credit cards gets compromised - it's a real PITA. It why I use a dedicated card for high risk transactions (internet sales, unknown merchants, ect.) At least the damage will be contained if there's a breach.
Last edited by Petrol & Powder; 01-12-2021 at 02:10 PM.
/\ well stated /\
I don't do paypal, so if its paypal only, I just keep on scrolling. I go to the PO at least every other day, so a MO isn't that big a deal unless its a small amount.
I was at the PO the other day and a fellow that seldom works the window told me he didn't have enough money to cash the MO and I needed to go to another clerk, so waited for the other fellow.
The good looking lass behind me gave the first clerk a $100 bill (remember he couldn't cash my $93 MO), so he went to the back and got more money to give change for the gal!!! She was done before I got waited on!!
We had solved that issue very easily by just putting photo ID required on the back of the card. No need for an expensive chip that in my opinion is worthless.
https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Money...al_money_order
How do I Verify a Postal Money Order?
USPS Money Orders have distinguishing marks you can check to make sure that the money order is valid. By holding a money order up to a light, you should see:
Ben Franklin watermarks repeated on the left side (top to bottom).
A vertical, multicolored thread that weaves in and out of the paper to the right of the Franklin watermark. In the light, the thread appears continuous with alternating horizontal dark and light bars behind it and the letters “USPS” repeating backward and forward throughout the thread.
Signs of a fraudulent money order include:
If the denomination is discolored, it may have been erased (indicating fraud).
The dollar amount should be imprinted twice.
Maximum value for domestic money orders is $1,000.
Maximum value for international money orders is $700 ($500 for El Salvador and Guyana).
Still not sure whether your money order is valid?
Verify - Call the money order verification system at 866-459-7822.
Report - If you suspect fraud, call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service® at 877-876-2455 (Follow the prompts).
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2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
"Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of different perspectives? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point."
– Amber Veal
"The Highest form of ignorance is when your reject something you don't know anything about".
- Wayne Dyer
Unfortunately that doesn't stop someone from stealing the information stored on the card; which is really what they're after in the first place.
The chip isn't silly, it is actually a far more secure system than the magnetic strip that just holds the information and allows it to be accessed by a card reader. The chip allows for a point of sale, one time authorization for that particular transaction.
The magnetic strip can be cloned and it can be cloned quickly. The information can be stored on another card (hotel key cards are a popular format) and used until the credit card company blocks that card number.
Often the thief doesn't even use the stolen information himself or herself; they sell the stolen credit card numbers to a third party.
Writing "Photo ID required" on the signature line of your credit card may make you feel better but it does nothing to stop the thief from stealing the information on your card.
Now, in today's world that information is only good at gas pumps (which still use the old magnetic strip reader), internet and phone sales (where the card NUMBER is the key). So the damage will only run until the theft of the card number is reported. It can still be a PITA for the legitimate card holder.
Last edited by Petrol & Powder; 01-11-2021 at 11:41 PM.
I've had that written on the back of my cards for years. I can count on one hand the number of times anyone actually asked to see ID...
Hey there folks, I sell Champion bloodline AKC and OFA registered puppies. We only accept U.S.Postal money orders for our down payment. Unless the client is close enough to pay in cash. After reading this form yesterday I decided to cash them at the post office. I went to the largest in town and got in line. When I got to a teller I inquired about cashing them.The immediate response was don't you have a bank account. I explained to the person that they were U.S.postal money orders and as such were honored by the post office. Then they informed me I would have to go to the other line where they do the passports. The guy there said they didn't have enough money to cash them and I would have to wait. Being as I am on disability I have endless time so I took up a chair. About 30 minutes later the guy took a bunch of cash back to the tellers and told me I had to go back there as he did not have the time to take care of me. When i asked if I had to go to the back of the line again he said no just wait there for a specific teller to be open. In the mean time a gal came with a postal Money order for $950.00. They quickly sent her away. Then they cashed 2 of my orders. It appears that the plan is to never have the cash on hand to cover these..considering you have to pay cash to get them? We use them due to the hard feat it would to counterfeit them . a few years back we had difficulty with a western union order. And any kind of a check has to go thru our bank. We are just simple old fashioned folks. My wife can barely operate her Phone And we have no trust in the paypal . They have tied up our house finances when we tried them years ago. So when I go back tonight about a hour before they close. I will have my coffee with me and a fresh charge in the phone.prepared to play the waiting game again. At least the odds are in my favor that they will have enough cash on hand to conduct business.
No need to play their game. They are required to cash the USPS MO. Call the postmaster for that office and tell them what time and how much you are cashing. They may not have it until the following business day but they are required to fulfill cashing them. If the Postmaster gives you any guff get the name and contact information for their supervisor. After you do that they once or twice they become much more helpful.
2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
"Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of different perspectives? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point."
– Amber Veal
"The Highest form of ignorance is when your reject something you don't know anything about".
- Wayne Dyer
It's not like I cash them every day but I have NEVER had a problem cashing a USPS Money Order at a post office, including some small rural post offices.
I did have a bank refuse to cash one and the excuse was the M.O, had been issued the previous day. The teller said I would need to come back after three days (I don't think she had a clue what she was talking about, but it wasn't worth a fight). I went to a post office about 2 blocks away and they cashed it immediately.
I trust a USPS money order and consider it to be as good as cash and clearly safer to mail/ship. As for the inconvenience of your local post office? I can't help you there but some are clearly better than others. I'm very fortunate to have several good post offices within 20 miles.
As I stated earlier, in today's world we have LOTS of options to transmit money. Pick the one you like, there's no shortage of options.
Think if I went into the PO to cash a large check, I would buy one for the same amount, then once I gave them the cash for mine, cash the one you got in the mail, then deposit the one you just bought in your bank!!
They couldn't claim they didn't have enough cash, since you just paid them!!!
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