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vintageblend



Posts: 17

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 2:00 pm    Post subject: Payment options Reply with quote

Hello,
I would like to add to my store additional payment options: money order, personal check and cashier's check.
Could you please, share your experience with those forms of payment?
Did they improve your sell and if something went wrong how did you handle it?
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tigercreekgifts



Posts: 6293

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most of us only accept electronic payment forms because 98% of customers here NEVER follow thru with payment when they promise to mail in a paper based payment. Some of us have even had customers lead us on for several days "I promise I'll send the check tomorrow, please keep my items on hold for another few days" and then a week passes, still no payment in sight, and the customer suddenly stops responding to our emails. So it's a lot less hassle to just require electronic payments only so the buyer has no choice but to pay up front and you will know that they are serious about their order. Mostly only old people who are uncomfortable with paying online use paper payment methods so if you expect your items to attract mostly older customers then check and M.O. may be a good option for your store.

Even on ebay this can be a problem for me sometimes. I allow customers to ask for a combined shipping total if they want to purchase more than one item and over there, most of the time the buyers follow thru with payment but occasionally I get a customer that expects me to wait 3 weeks before they pay.

Used to be on ecrater, older stores had the option to accept paypal standard which meant the buyer could still order and select to pay with credit card but wait as long as they wanted to pay and again, most buyers never came back to pay so now, all newer stores can only accept paypal express which requires the customer to pay before they can submit the order to you and it has eliminated all non-paying buyers for those of us with older stores who only accept paypal express and those with newer stores that only have the paypal express option. If you're willing to wait several days and deal with customers that never mail in payment and ignore you when you email them to ask what's going on, then it's your right to accept paper payments but most of us here do not accept them because of past experiences.

And keep in mind, if a buyer sends you a check with insufficient funds your bank will hold YOU liable and YOU will be charged like $30-$45 in fees because your customer sent you a bad check. And one more thing, cash on delivery is NOT for local buyers to meet you in person and pay with cash, cash on delivery means that you agree to send your buyers the items first and let them pay AFTER they receive the items, and the post office collects the payment from the buyer on your behalf upon delivery. Not only is there a very expensive fee for this but mostly only dishonest buyers that have no intentions of paying use that service and they never pay for their items even though they've already been delivered and there's nothing you can do about it because you agreed to send the items before getting paid.

The post office has no rights to force the buyer to pay, they just deliver the package and if the buyer doesn't pay they report back to you and say sorry they wouldn't pay but you still owe us money for the COD service. So never use cash on delivery options, that's an ancient payment method that was designed before credit cards and online ordering was a normal thing several years ago, and these days it only gets used by scammers looking to get their merchandise for free. So make sure the COD option is NOT checked in your payments section.
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FoxAndFish



Posts: 1585

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 4:32 pm    Post subject: Re: Payment options Reply with quote

UnexpectedBenefits wrote:
I would like to add to my store additional payment options: money order, personal check and cashier's check.
Could you please, share your experience with those forms of payment?

I do not accept personal or cashier's checks b/c it is not worth the risk. I do accept US Postal Service Money Order...but only USPS. If a customer wants a product but doesn't want to use electronic payment, they can go to the post office. If they don't want to do that, fine. I have never had a negative experience with USPS Money Orders, even for high amounts. I alerted my post master that I had a big money order...he made sure he had enough currency at the end of the day...I cashed the money order and shipped the product.

UnexpectedBenefits wrote:
Did they improve your sell and if something went wrong how did you handle it?

There's no way to evaluate if accepting non-electric payment has improved sales. The option is there if the customers want it. Some do. Nothing has ever gone wrong b/c USPS Money Orders are not high risk. My store policy is clear that I will hold an item for 7 days, after that, it goes back in inventory until there's payment. Only one person failed to send a money order after ordering...but she was once well-known on eCrater for doing that with other sellers, so it was no big deal.
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vintageblend



Posts: 17

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 4:48 pm    Post subject: payment options Reply with quote

Tigercreekgifts,

Actually a while ago I have read some information in this Forum what "cash on delivery" really means for sellers Smile
but I wasn't aware that sellers can be responsible for "bad checks" as well.
Appreciate your help.
Thank you very much. Great advice.
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vintageblend



Posts: 17

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 4:54 pm    Post subject: payment option Reply with quote

FoxAndFish,
Sounds like money order via USPS are rather safe.
Thank you
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FoxAndFish



Posts: 1585

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 5:07 pm    Post subject: Re: payment option Reply with quote

UnexpectedBenefits wrote:
Sounds like money order via USPS are rather safe.

I don't see how they can go wrong. You take them to the post office...they run them thru a processor and hand you the cash. Then you ship the package. If the money order won't process for some reason, which has never happened to me, you don't ship the order. I never take them to a bank, only the USPS. I always take a scan of the money order before cashing it and notify the customer it has arrived.

Could something go wrong? Sure. Anything is possible. But in the hierarchy of payment risk, USPS money orders seem rather low on the list.
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tigercreekgifts



Posts: 6293

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, USPS money orders are low risk like Fox and Fish said, especially if you only get them cashed at the post office so they can verify the authenticity. Now, I don't have M.O. listed as a payment option but occasionally an older customer will ask me to make an exception because they don't feel safe paying online and I have made exceptions for USPS money orders a handful of times, never had any problems with those.

And yes, sellers are liable to the bank if a customer gives them a bad check because the bank has no way of knowing if the funds are in the buyer's bank account until several days after the seller has already cashed the check and shipped off the order, so the bank contacts you like 2 weeks later saying sorry your buyer doesn't have any money in his bank account so you owe us the $36.50 that the check was written for and you owe us $30 for a bad check fee, not to mention if you already shipped the items, then you lose those too because I doubt the buyer will send the unpaid for items back to you. They may have sent a bad check on purpose.
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vintageblend



Posts: 17

PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:35 am    Post subject: Payment option Reply with quote

Stories about checks don't sound encouragingly to use checks as a payment options. FoxAndFish and Tigercreekgifts thank you for sharing your experience with me. Very helpful.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do not accept checks, period. I used to have a money order option and no matter how I tried to word it that it was for US customers only, those in the UK would constantly check the box for a MO. Foreign MO and checks (even from Canada for those who tend to think it is the 51st state) usually have a fee associated with cashing them. At my bank it is $8 at the minimum, or was the last time I checked. I had a woman ask if she could send a MO and I said sure but didn't have my thinking cap on and forgot to ask where she was from. When I got it I found out she was from Canada and I wouldn't be able to take her MO, she basically told me too bad so sad. I had to send her item and took the MO to the bank. Since it was a small purchase, the $8 cashing fee wouldn't even be covered by the MO. So the MO got trashed and I was out the item and the postage to Canada and payment.

I would not advertise that I take MO. If someone from the US asks if I would take one, I will work with them on it, but some customers are determined to do what they want. Even after they ask about a check I tell them no but I will take a MO, they go okay and then promptly send me a personal check. Then I promptly write void on it and tear it in half, scan the two pieces and send the customer a scan to show that it couldn't be cashed.

I think having both Stripe and PP for payments are your best bet since some people HATE PP so you are giving them a different option. But even during the days I had MO advertised I only maybe received 1-2 of them a year, so no I don't think they would effect sales at all.
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vintageblend



Posts: 17

PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you
MoonwishesStore, tigercreekgifts and FoxAndFish for your your words of wisdom. Priceless advice for every seller.
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tigercreekgifts



Posts: 6293

PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 2:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your welcome! Happy to help.
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theartsandlettersofmaggiethecat



Posts: 2099

PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I never accepted personal checks or cashiers for that matter. It is too easy to fake them. I've been in this game long enough that people used to send cash in an envelope across an international border. They always got a big charge out of it, knowing they were breaking the law.

For a time I accepted USPS money orders as the post office can tell if they are legit but.... Most people who claim they are sending money orders change their minds before they do it.

You are left with the choice of emailing to see if they sent it or changed their minds and if they did change their mind they will ignore the email or they will claim that they just sent it and it still never comes. The small amount of money you lose by not taking them is inconsequential compared to the aggravation and uncertainty of waiting.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
The small amount of money you lose by not taking them is inconsequential compared to the aggravation and uncertainty of waiting.


Absolutely correct!
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Shaelily



Posts: 328

PostPosted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tigercreekgifts wrote:
Now, I don't have M.O. listed as a payment option but occasionally an older customer will ask me to make an exception because they don't feel safe paying online and I have made exceptions for USPS money orders a handful of times, never had any problems with those.


Ditto. Once in a while an older customer will respectfully request paying by money order or personal check. I've taken both and have never had a problem. I've had two customers send me cash in the mail for FeeBay items and they didn't tell me ahead of time. I'm honest and don't care, it's all green to me, but I would never do that myself or even tell someone I take cash as payment unless they are local and picking the order up in person.

When I very first started I had money order listed as a payment option. Wouldn't you know it, my very first sale, the buyer got totally confused and was having trouble with PayPal so she clicked Money Order. She double ordered. It was a mess! LOL It all got straightened out just fine eventually but I removed the option after that to prevent any future problems. If someone asks about check or money order I do tell them I take USA only USPS money orders.
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adelowokansboutique



Posts: 25

PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 11:50 am    Post subject: Payment Exceptance Reply with quote

My personal policies i sell all potential customers items must be paid in full before any shipments are made. This policy ensures of receiving payment and customers get what are paying for.

Upto this point ive always just excepted paypal express & the stripes system.
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