-
Forum Update: We've upgraded the software to improve security, performance, and the overall experience.
👉 Read why we made the change | Support the Forum
Money order vs cashiers checks as payment?
- Thread starter nsl
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
m1gunner
US Veteran
Postal money orders only. And cash them at the post office before shipment.
Lots of fake cashiers checks, and it can take longer than you think for your account to get charged back.
Even some fake postal Postal MOs, but they can and will check them when you try to redeem them at your local Post Office.
Lots of fake cashiers checks, and it can take longer than you think for your account to get charged back.
Even some fake postal Postal MOs, but they can and will check them when you try to redeem them at your local Post Office.
italiansport
Member
Yes: Both are being faked:
I've never had a problem with either. I think most gun buyers are honest and they have to provide specific shipping information so they should be easy to track down should there be a problem.
Jim
I've never had a problem with either. I think most gun buyers are honest and they have to provide specific shipping information so they should be easy to track down should there be a problem.
Jim
Fishinfool
Member
m1gunner got it right. Even if your local post office does not have the funds available to cash the Postal Money Order, they can at least tell you if it is good before you ship. I once shipped a camera lens on a "Certified Bank Check" that my local bank said looked OK. Turned out it was not. At least it was only a couple hundred dollar item. And good luck getting legal satisfaction if it is from out of state. As much as I dislike Pay Pal's policies, it is also a safe way to send and accept payment, as long as you follow the rules, and deal with verified members.
Larry
Larry
lonejacklarry
US Veteran
Something else to consider is that bank cashier's checks can have the payment stopped. If a person sends you a cashier's check and then claims it was lost, the bank will stop payment on it.
I'd trust a Nigerian banker before I would trust the run of the mill cashier's check.
USPS money orders for me.
I'd trust a Nigerian banker before I would trust the run of the mill cashier's check.
USPS money orders for me.
CATI1835
US Veteran
USPS money order only. I occasionally sell on GB. I state my preferred form of payment is USPS MO. I will accept a personal check, non USPS MO, or cashier's check but there will be a 10 business day hold before shipping. I stick to that without fail. Generally that convinces the buyer to get a MO. I did get burned on a "cashier's check" once. Won't happen again.
Farmer17
Member
I've heard US post office money orders are the safest and if there is a crime it is a federal offense and the Feds are a lot better at going out of state after a problem than local law enforcement.
Arik
Member
For me its very simple. Not shipping till money clears. I tell my buyer that I take personal checks but I will wait till its officially cleared. Be that 2 minutes or 2 months
well here I go I only send cash, I know I know. But I only deal with persons that are vetted. Have been doing so for 20 years or so, approx 4-5 hundred transactions never had a problem. But usually under 1000$. Someday I am sure but always a quick turn and no wait. I don't advocate but it works for me. No Nigerian dealers need reply.
Not exactly.
A Cashiers Check is a check written by the bank on itself and has that wording on it. There is no stop payment option or replacement option unless the purchaser jumps through lots of hoops and signs an indemnity agreement with the bank, in case the item ever turns up.
What they make you think is a cashiers check is probably a "draft" type item or Official Check or Officers Check. It does NOT say Cashiers Check on the face. The bank has a checking account at another bank, and is writing checks on that account. It can stop payment on checks written on that account.
And yes, there have been many cases of counterfeit Cashiers Checks as well as every other type of check or money order.
LVSteve
Member
I would sooner sell Bible's to ISIS members than go to a Las Vegas post office for a money order.
I had an insured parcel that was "said" to have not been received by the out of state company I sent it to. Yeh, I did the USPS paperwork and all that goes with it and guess who lost $100.
I had another deal where I claimed fraud through the mail-guess how that one ended. Guy was selling ebay stuff that was non-existent. I had an actual confirmed street address too! USPS is like a pure waste of time!!! It was an in-state deal & I did persist(through Louisville, KY police) and after a year or so (and a much longer story) I got my money!
Good luck if you try to deal with the USPS agency, as you'll need it.
I've sold many vehicles to strangers and there is NO way to be totally safe-maybe cash-IF it's real.
I wrote a personal check for a UTV this week-no problem and that's typical, same deal when I bought a new PU truck in March. Dealers know how to find you. i always ask for a contact person at the bank/CU that issued the cashiers check and I do call them before I release the vehicle.
Paypal is a money suction device but it does make things safer in sales to strangers and I use it often for that reason alone. Widely used for some very good reasons.
There is almost nothing convenient about the USPS either. People that work for a living, try and stand there in line in most cities!
Last edited:
gdnagle
US Veteran
Large dollar amount I would think a escrow service would be best, smaller items USPS MO cashed at the PO before shipment.
Stevie
Member
This is true..do not presume that because you paid somebody with a postal money-order that it will provide you with any sort of recourse or protection from fraud!
USPS MO are the most counterfeited MO out there. I work 4 10's and have to wait til Friday to find a PO to cash one and in MT they never have over $40 in the till until maybe after 4:00 PM. I run mine through the bank and treat it as a cashiers check. I cannot understand why some sellers prefer a MO over a cashiers check direct from a bank or credit union.
same thing at my post office did not have 60 bucks in the till told me to come back later in the day are you kidding, now i just go to my bank with them im not like the maytag repair man sitting around waiting 4 the phone to ring
rog8732
US Veteran
I hope you luck with those cash transactions. I think they are a little "iffie";... I like some form of official-like records, other than just an honest man's word.
Example: I sold two gunsmithing books for $55.00 shipped, and stressed postal m/o. I received $35.00 cash, about four days later. 20 bucks short, counted 10 ways from Sunday !
Of course I had the upper hand, I would not ship without payment in full, and after a couple emails back and forth the other $20 came.
Look at the deal from both sides. I had no proof he only sent $35,(instead of $55 ), and, while he admitted he must have counted wrong, he had no way to be sure I wasn't "hooking" him for another $20.
hoosierone
Member
Glad I read this thread. Never knew you could cash a postal MO at the post office.
chaparrito
Member
I recently sent a MO to a member here for a revolver purchase. Sent it USPS priority mail 2nd day. It took over a WEEK to get from AZ to Michigan. Pins and needles and endless waits on hold to be told nothing by the post office. Got my fee back at least. I don't think any payment method is foolproof. Cash? Make darned sure you're checking big bills with a counterfeit pen. My local feed store deals mainly in cash, and they report getting at least 2-3 bogus 100s, 50s and even sometimes 20s a month. So many they don't bother reporting them. They just give them back to the customer and let them deal with it.
USPS money orders
(https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/raddocs/consumer/mofeatur.htm)
The best way to identify a genuine postal money order, postal service officials say, is to look for the telltale watermark, which, when held up to the light, should reveal an image of Benjamin Franklin. Genuine postal money orders also have a security strip running alongside the watermark, just to the right. If held to the light, a microfiber strip will show the letters "USPS" along its length.
Hold the USPS money order up to the light at an angle or on a flat surface to see their watermarks.
(https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/raddocs/consumer/mofeatur.htm)
The best way to identify a genuine postal money order, postal service officials say, is to look for the telltale watermark, which, when held up to the light, should reveal an image of Benjamin Franklin. Genuine postal money orders also have a security strip running alongside the watermark, just to the right. If held to the light, a microfiber strip will show the letters "USPS" along its length.
Hold the USPS money order up to the light at an angle or on a flat surface to see their watermarks.
