Vent! Rant!

[pharman]

I need to vent here...recently had items for sale here on the Forum. Had a couple of buyers that wanted me to take PaypaL. I do NOT have a Paypal account. I told them I would take MO or personal check. Never heard another word from them! My question is: how hard is it to get a money order or make out a personal check and mail it out? Give me a break here....they must not have wanted the items very badly to begin with! Is this the epitomy of laziness?

Also had occasion to locate a certain S&W revolver for a member wanting to buy one. Didn't get a response back as to whether he bought it or not...or if he is still looking for one!

I wonder...what happened to common courtesy!!!

Thank you for letting me rant....

 

[dant]

hope you now feel a bit better, and yes I totally agree with you, BUT it boils down to people, humans, and the lack of common sense.........wether its in making things (manufacturing), doing things (service), or buying AND selling things, and its every day.....sad really

 

[labworm]

A simple explanation, Paypal - pay with plastic.

Personal check or MO, cash is needed.

 

[boykinlp]

It also is a time thing. In today's world, we want it now. If you use Paypal, you don't have to go buy a MO, you don't have to wait for the mail to deliver your MO, and you don't have to wait for a check to clear. This may mean receiving what ever you bought days or weeks (in some cases) earlier. The seller gets their money faster too. Lastly, if there is a problem with what you buy, the is another layer of protection, either thru Paypal or your credit card.

I, like you, did not have a Paypal account but have relented. It also makes buying on ebay much easier.

 

[A10]

I have used all three methods to purchase. The postal money order was a pain due to having to deal with the post office. The check makes me a little nervous, since the person recieving it gets both your account and bank routing number.

 

[handejector]

I have used all three methods to purchase. The postal money order was a pain due to having to deal with the post office. The check makes me a little nervous, since the person recieving it gets both your account and bank routing number.

Mark 'em out with a black magic marker.

 

[Alpo]

I have used all three methods to purchase. The postal money order was a pain due to having to deal with the post office. The check makes me a little nervous, since the person recieving it gets both your account and bank routing number.

Why do you have checks at all, then? If it makes you nervous for me to have your account number and your bank routing number, then it must certainly make you frantic to know that thirty people have access to those numbers at the electric company, fifteen at the phone company, twenty-two at the water department, eleven at the gas company, not to mention every employee at the bank.

 

[chief38]

A sign of the times. Today's generation does everything on the computer unless they have no choice in the matter. While we go into showrooms to buy a vehicle, today's kids buy them on the internet! Just a different mentality I suppose.

It was just 9 years ago I had never made an internet purchase. Now it is rare that I don't. Just so convenient and so easy. You can shop without leaving your house. NOT sayin it's better, just saying that's the way it is.......

Chief38

 

[novalty]

All the routing number identifies is the banking institution--so unless you are the only member--it ain't going to get thieves anywhere.

 

[Ptarmigan]

Pharman, this is a situation where you may need to put aside your reluctance to use PayPal to actually save yourself some problems (hence your two prospective buyers that weren't willing to jump through more hoops). It is actually quite tough to conduct commerce online without either accepting credit cards or PayPal.

You may have some philosophical bias against PayPal or perhaps a slight fear of a "new thing", but it would be worth your while in the long run to set up a basic account. It's really very easy and very safe. And I'm pretty low tech . We can't turn back the clock, and for the last ten years or so PayPal has been the way to go.

One of the best things about it is that you no longer need to give your credit card number and other personal info to someone you are buying from. PayPal protects that card info. And as mentioned above, buyers don't go out and buy money orders and mail checks to strangers and wait for all that processing time before their item is even sent. It's just not done anymore when a PayPal payment is instant and the seller has the money safely in their account. It speeds things up tremendously.

 

[Martimus]

Personally, and I apologize for this semi-rant which is marginally off topic, I feel the same way about people wanting payment by USPS Money Order. For their convenience I have to drive to the post office, stand in line for an hour, to get a money order so the other party is comfortable with the payment method.

Why is a USPS money order better than a Western Union money order (which can be purchased in 5 minutes at many local super markets)? Last I checked the post office was a short hair away from bankruptsy. Will it go under? Nope! The Federal government won't let that happen... but it has defaulted on a multi-billion dollar payment that it's not able to make.

http://www.businessweek.com/article...dot-s-dot-postal-service-default-really-means

USPS Money Orders can be counterfeited just as easily as any other money order/check. And the availability of Postal Inspectors to investigate in the event of a loss is not a guarantee of quick reimbursement as the post office typically moves at it's own speed.

To take a comment by the OP and completely turn it around, "How difficult is it to log onto PayPal and create an account?" What does it take? 5 minutes? 10 minutes?

The challenge here is that people, both sellers and buyers, want the transaction to be convenient to them... the convenience of the other party is usually not quite as high on their list. As such buyers and sellers regularly run into impasses such as what's been documented in this thread. For what it's worth, I am not directing this comment at the OP... rather making a general comment.

 

[A10]

Why do you have checks at all, then? If it makes you nervous for me to have your account number and your bank routing number, then it must certainly make you frantic to know that thirty people have access to those numbers at the electric company, fifteen at the phone company, twenty-two at the water department, eleven at the gas company, not to mention every employee at the bank.

'Cause I'm old, and primarily use them for payments to banking institutions. That and once in a while it saves me a trip to the post office for a money order

All the routing number identifies is the banking institution--so unless you are the only member--it ain't going to get thieves anywhere.

Checks have both the routing number and the account number. A person can purchase stuff with electronic checks, which require both numbers but usually no other form of ID.

I'm not trying to foment paranoia, and I'm not saying I won't us a check (like that double negative there?), just saying I'm nervous. Again, I'm old......

 

[JJEH]

Also had occasion to locate a certain S&W revolver for a member wanting to buy one. Didn't get a response back as to whether he bought it or not...or if he is still looking for one!

I hear ya. I look out for people as well, you know... keeping eyes and ears open. But if you find something, mostly they are not in the market anymore...

Bad thing, I don't learn. I still look out and share...

A sign of the times. Today's generation does everything on the computer unless they have no choice in the matter. While we go into showrooms to buy a vehicle, today's kids buy them on the internet! Just a different mentality I suppose.

Well, I prefer buying a car in the showroom as well. But when we moved back to the States, we bought our Ram over the phone. Talk about Service... thy even delivered the Truck 90mls to DFW w/o any extra charge. Therefore we didn't needed a rental car at all.

Bottom line: Sometimes it depends on what you buy and when you need it. I personally be very impatient... it's a weakness. But sometimes it's a strength

BTW: I prefer money order...

 

[Fishslayer]

Why do you have checks at all, then?

'Cause I'm old, and I use them primarily for entertainment. After the checker at the grocery store rings up my hunnert-plus dollar order, only then do I bring out the checkbook. Naturally I check to make sure the person behind me is totally committed to the belt. You know... more than half his order on the belt = committed. THEN I bring out the checkbook and begin filling it out. If I get an eyeroll, I might make the check for an even dollar amount, then bring out my little rubber coin purse and slowly count out the exact change. If I get an eyeroll AND a SOE (Sigh Of Exasperation) I'll exclaim "Oh! I forgot! I have coupons!"

Tell the truth. THIS is really you & you know it!

FWIW I prefer to pay for items from a private seller with postal MO.

 

[Gunslinger808]

Screw Pay Pal, I refuse to use them for several reasons:

1. Anti Gun stance, they even state that you can't use pay pal to buy firearms/accessories.
https://cms.paypal.com/cgi-bin/mark...ntent_ID=ua/AcceptableUse_full&locale.x=en_US
Item 2 (i)
If they find that pay pal was used to complete a transaction involving a firearm, they can and will freeze your account and tie up any money in that account.

2. I have an instance where the person used pay pal and then disputed the charge, result was my friend lost the item and never got paid.
Check other internet gun sites that have feedback sections, evidently this is not all that uncommon.

 

[ErnieDeBord]

walmart has them moneygram things

 

[novalty]

'Cause I'm old, and primarily use them for payments to banking institutions. That and once in a while it saves me a trip to the post office for a money order



Checks have both the routing number and the account number. A person can purchase stuff with electronic checks, which require both numbers but usually no other form of ID.

I'm not trying to foment paranoia, and I'm not saying I won't us a check (like that double negative there?), just saying I'm nervous. Again, I'm old......

Should have clarified it, that the routing number would be pointless to black out with a marker--only the account number would be pertinent to your account.

 

[StatesRightist]

Labworm hit it on the head, you can put Paypal on your credit card, whereas MO's require you to have the cash to buy it.

I'm not using Paypal for guns. all they need to do is get wind of the fact it's gun related, then they seize the funds and you are SOL.

As for those upset about having to use MO's. Sorry I'm not giving Paypal my banking info, they've been hacked twice in three years, giving up user info. I'm not "applying for" one of their debit cards, nor am I waiting 1 to 2 weeks to get my money and paying a fee to have them send me a check. Notta gonna happen with me. If you want the gun, you'll pay me the way I want to be paid or someone else will get it. I have yet to not sale a gun either on here or on Gunbroker. I price fairly, if you want to use paypuke or plastic, go down to the LGS or where ever and pay them the extra $100-$150 they need and deserve for having brick and mortar stores...everybody's happy then. I buy your gun, then I'll do it your way, turn about is fair play.

JMO, It would not be the first time I'm wrong or not subtle enough, my post in not aimed at anyone in particular.

 

[mbliss57]

I have found it interesting that about the only online purchasing that requires a M.O. or a Certified Check are gun forums where firearms are being sold. It's the only time I have ever used a M.O in the past 10 years. So I think this group ( who I am proudly a part of) is ultra conservative when it comes to buying and selling. I prefer my bank to you bank transfers which from my bank does for free. The $ ends up in your account in less than a day. I don't ever know what bank you the way it is handled.. only your email address. With a MO I have to wait , go to the PO wait in line and then send you a MO that includes my name and address..which I may not care that you have. That time at the P.O is not free for me as I work 50-60 hours a week.
I will also use Paypal but the 4% fee to the seller is prohibitive IMO.
I use M.O because some require it and if I want what you have I make the effort to get it. But I absolutely think its a method that is at least a decade if not 2 outdated. I would rather send a personal check. They clear from my bank in 24 hours.. it used to take days or weeks. Just my rant... Oh my favorite means of payment from a sellers is.. cash

 

[old bear]

Pharman, one of the assorted PayPal options is to use your credit card for payment; I do this for the added protection. It's possible that the potential buyers may not have had the funds to make a full cash payment????

Yes you are right I would be nice for folks to let you know they are no longer interested in your offering.