ebay and personal checks

[4fordisney]

I've been selling off my junk from my basement on ebay since last fall a little at a time. I've been taking personal checks, and though I have never gotten a bad one yet, I think I'm going stop taking them. Most of this past month's sales have opted to use personal checks, but it seems those are the ones that drag their feet the most. My terms of sale say they have 10 days to get the payment to me....some take that and more...sometimes several days more. Then I also state that I will hold the item for at least 10 busniess days giving the check time to clear (I know some take longer, but I risk it). Then before that 10 days is up I will get a nasty e-mail saying, "When are you gonna mail my item?" Arggghh...it's so frustrating. So they can take more than 10 days to get the check to me, but I have to send it out in less than the 10 day waiting period which was stated in my auction?!

It hasn't happened with every check, but a few can sour the whole experience.

So do you take personal checks? If so what has been your experience?

 

[Savin4Disney]

Nope I don't take personal checks. If the check bounces then my bank is going to charge me. And you know I am not going to get that money back.

So for example:
Sell and item for $10 and the check bounces and my bank charges me $30. No thanks!

I do all my auctions paypal and due within 5 days. I want all sales to go as quick as can be for both me and the seller.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Under the "Check 21" federal law, all checks have to be either cleared or bounced within three days. My eBay rule is I will deposit the check "promptly" (usually next business day) and then mail the goods a week after depositing. Since I view my account online, if any check bounces I am aware of it before shipping. A ten business day is, IMNSHO, ridiculous.

Mike, CPA

 

[*mama2aislinn*]

I used to take everything-checks, cash, money orders and paypal. I only take pay-pal now. It's just way too easy!

 

[Colinsmom]

I don't take personal checks any more after one bounced on me. It took my bank over 3 weeks to notify me and I had long shipped the item (after a 10 business day wait). The item wasn't expensive; I was ticked about the NSF fee. Fortunately the buyer reimbursed me the total amount, but after that I was done with personal checks on eBay!

 

[Ilovestitch]

I take Paypal only and I have a filter on my auctions that only allows people registered w/paypal to bid- it REALLY cuts down on non paying bidders. I used to get a lot of people who weren't even registered w/paypal and they were usually the people who didn't pay.

 

[DMRick]

Under the "Check 21" federal law, all checks have to be either cleared or bounced within three days.
*********
It may clear or bounce that fast, but the bank usually takes a couple weeks to let me know. I get charged $10 each time they put it through (they try twice). I've had a few, and the people have always paid my charges and made the check good. On most items I start over $30, I specify paypal or money order..stuff that goes higher I have no control over, so I've had some big checks. Those I wait til they clear.

 

[thelittlemermaid]

I use to take checks also when I sold on Ebay, but no more. When I did accept them I never had one bounce, but my bank increased the fee from $10 to $25 for returned checks. After I found that out I only accept money orders or Paypal.

Since I did away with personal checks I started accepting credit cards through PayPal. Most people I have run into would rather pay by PayPal. Plus the fees for PayPal compared to the fees at my bank if a check bounces is nothing. I would much rather pay the $2 or $3 fee or whatever it is to PayPal, then to pay $25 to my bank. Plus if one of my checks bounces because of that check, there is another fee on me. Just not worth it!!

When I first started on Ebay my rule about bidding was, if a seller didn't accept checks I wouldn't bid. That was long before PayPal came along. Once I found out about them, I would much rather use them, to get the seller done and paid.

 

[4fordisney]

If the 10 day clearance is "ridiculous" (and obviously it is considering some of your responses) I think I'll opt with just money orders and PayPal.

I'm still warring with myself about whether to accept credit cards or not. Most of my items don't sell for much and I don't sell a lot, but if I stop taking personal checks I may cut down on the amount of bids I get and that isn't a whole lot as it is.

 

[grlpwrd]

Under the "Check 21" federal law, all checks have to be either cleared or bounced within three days....

That's true, but every seller doesn't necessarily get immediate notice of when the withdrawal was made and may not be reflected in their account. That's why lots of sellers have that 10 day rule.

On that note money orders are not absolute either and should be deposited as soon as possible. Specifically, USPS money orders are the only money orders I accept since I can immediately cash them in at the post office rather than chance it.

The next best thing especially for non-US/Canada sales is to accept money orders via www.bidpay.com . You can set your account with Bidpay to deposit the money into your bank account rather than the buyer send a money order via snail mail. However, not many people (buyers) use this service.

Also, don't forget you can always accept an e-check via PayPal which tends to be a quicker transaction versus a personal check via snail mail. You could also always accept a cashier's check.

 

[pediatric-rnp]

I take Paypal only and I have a filter on my auctions that only allows people registered w/paypal to bid- it REALLY cuts down on non paying bidders. I used to get a lot of people who weren't even registered w/paypal and they were usually the people who didn't pay.

How did you get this filter? I haven't sold in a few yrs on ebay, but plan on starting up again very soon, and have decided to only accept paypal.

 

[seashoreCM]

but I have to send it out in less than the 10 day waiting period which was stated in my auction?! ?

NO you don't.

If the check bounces then my bank is going to charge me. Sell and item for $10 and the check bounces and my bank charges me $30.

That much if it was someone else's check that bounced?

That's true, but every seller doesn't necessarily get immediate notice of when the withdrawal was made and may not be reflected in their account. That's why lots of sellers have that 10 day rule.

Does your bank have a toll free number to call and get up to the minute (or at least since the last busines day) transaction information? You could see if a check bounced that way.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Laurajean1014]

I mostly buy off ebay and always use Paypal. It gives me a receipt and account of my transactions. It's not perfect, but it's better than MO, personal checks, etc.

I noticed that when I used personal checks, sellers would drag their feet. I would email the seller when I saw my check clear and still they did not send the goods; with paypal, it seems everything happens, quicker.

 

[CajunDixie]

Out of my last 12 auctions that sold 10 paid with PayPal and 2 with money orders. Usually, the ones that pay with PayPal are pretty quick but this time I actually received 1 MO before 4 of the PayPal people paid. After all the things I've read about checks being bounced and faked I don't think I'd bother with accepting them. I once had a guy send me concealed cash for a book.....guess he didn't want to bother with getting a MO. I know MOs can be forges but I think it's less likely to happen.

 

[tlbwriter]

I've never taken personal checks. In the past I have taken money orders (postal MOs only - as someone else pointed out, you can cash it at the post office, and you'll find out immediately, and before you ship, if it's no good), but right now I only take Paypal and I haven't noticed any effect on my sales. But if you only take Paypal, you'll want to consider upgrading to an account that accepts CCs, since it can be pretty limiting otherwise.

 

[DMRick]

right now I only take Paypal and I haven't noticed any effect on my sales.

How do you know? If I didn't want to pay via Paypal, and that's all a person took, I would just move on. I get a fair amount of MO/checks, so I know people still use them (why I can't imagine, since PP is sooo much easier).

 

[tlbwriter]

How do you know?

How do I know? Because my items still sell, and the prices are still in the same range. Because no one e-mails me and says "I'd buy this if you'd take a money order" (I've known sellers who had this happen). In fact, I have better luck with Paypal/CC alone than I did with money orders and Paypal/no CC.

 

[JoeThaNo1Stunna]

Well after PayPal stole almost $3,000 from me and told me I could get back on PayPal by refunding people who had already received their products, I moved to only checks and MO. Oh, I did what PayPal said, I refunded a plethora of people who I actually sent products to, so I could be reinstated, yet I was not. These people got tons of free tickets to baseball games, PayPal is holding my money for 180 days, and my sales have dropped about 5% but I don't care, I will NEVER deal with PayPal again.