Personal check on Ebay?

[la79al]

We're selling something on Ebay and someone has messaged us asking if they can pay with personal check. If we say yes, they win and send us the check, as long as we don't send the item until the check clears, are we okay? DH is paranoid that we will somehow get in trouble and it's a rather expensive item.

 

[lauti]

I suppose you could do it that way but I never would. Paypal only when I sell.

 

[LJSquishy]

You would be foolish to accept a personal check. Paypal is the way to go.

 

[Allison]

I would never do that.

 

[richmond282]

Ebay technically requires all payments go through Paypal. You won't be covered through ebay if there's a problem (like they cancel payment on the check or something).

 

[lovemygoofy]

No way am I taking a check from stranger! If you try to deposit the check and it bounces, you can be held responsible and have to pay the fees to your banks.

How do you even know that it's not a stolen check? No chance ever taking a check from someone.

 

[HookdonWDW]

Since anyone can set up a Paypal account, and pay through their checking account, I would be extremely wary that your buyer is somehow not authorized to use Paypal. If they are too big of a risk for Paypal, they're too big of a risk for me...

 

[akcire]

There are people that can't or won't use paypal.

I would not accept a personal check. However I would gladly accept a postal money order. They can buy it at any post office. You can cash it at your post office when mailing their purchase.

I have used these many times back in the "old" days of ebay.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You could as long as the address on the check is the same address you are shipping to. And you tell the buyer you will not ship the item for 2 weeks which is plenty of time for the check to clear.

 

[rantnnravin]

I would never accept a personal check from a stranger. There are too many ways to perpetrate check fraud for my tastes (and sometimes they aren't detected for 30-days or more). I think if someone is already trading on ebay and has a checking account having paypal isn't much of a stretch.

What did you put as your accepted forms of payment?

 

[Kies99]

I agree with AKCIRE... Postal Money Order is your best bet.

However, what is the bidder's feedback like? If it's large and all positive, I'd probably take it.

However the address on the check would have to match the address on the Ebay account and I'd only ship to that address and then only after the check has cleared (at least 7 business days).

 

[floridafam]

No way

 

[Sunnywho]

I would not take it

 

[3boymthr]

Technically you're not supposed to but some people don't want Paypal to have their info. Thing is no way would I accept a personal check, even when I accepted payments other than Paypal I didn't take personal checks. If it bounces they you are out the fees which could quickly amount to way more than the item sells for plus some banks will "clear" a check it because it's less than a certain amount and then reverse the deposit when it bounces a week later. If a person MUST pay by a method other than Paypal then Postal Money Order only and they must mail it with delivery confirmation and send you the tracking numbers.

 

[ellone]

No way. If they really want it tell them they can send a postal money order which you can cash at the post office. No other money order since they can be fakes as well.

 

[JB2K]

We're selling something on Ebay and someone has messaged us asking if they can pay with personal check. If we say yes, they win and send us the check, as long as we don't send the item until the check clears, are we okay? DH is paranoid that we will somehow get in trouble and it's a rather expensive item.

In the early days of eBay, many sellers (including myself) would accept personal checks, but hold on to the merchandise until the check cleared the bank. I eventually stopped accepting multiple forms of payment.

Technically, you still can accept personal checks, but there are some things you need to know from eBay, first.

Funny, but true: I was selling a cheap DVD player about 10 years ago, and someone overnighted me a money order for the purchase...

 

[SrisonS]

I agree with AKCIRE... Postal Money Order is your best bet. However, what is the bidder's feedback like? If it's large and all positive, I'd probably take it. However the address on the check would have to match the address on the Ebay account and I'd only ship to that address and then only after the check has cleared (at least 7 business days).

I'd take that bit of advice. Some people out there (and not just old folks) are still a little wary of PayPal, and other forms of quick payment. So if there's adequate feedback on them, then maybe they're legit.

I remember speaking to a guy in the post office a couple of months ago; and he had just gotten his first debit card. He was neither real young or old; but he was just skeptical about having one. We had talked about eBay some, and he would just send money orders (I believe) for payment. He knew it was an old school method, and that he would have to wait for clearance and stuff. But that's just the way he did things.

 

[DawnM]

I recently agreed to a Money Order through the Post Office. it was a hassle. Once I got the check, there is a USPS 800 number to call to verify. Then I took it to the post office for verification, but they couldn't cash it because they didn't have enough cash. I finally went to the bank.

It was all legit and no issues, but it was a hassle.

Dawn

 

[softballmom3]

Way back in the day I would accept them also and actually sent some in the beginning ebay days. I'm with the poster who said look at their feedback and do some research. If it's someone with a high count and positive feedback I wouldn't have a problem accepting it and waiting for it to clear before sending purchase.

To avoid fees, if it's a large bank that you have in your area you can always cash the check instead and not worry about it coming back. Before someone gripes I am specifically speaking of cashing it at the bank the check was drawn on ONLY if it's in the area you live.

I would prefer paypal also and it's simpler but would be willing if the above criteria was met.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

No way. If they really want it tell them they can send a postal money order which you can cash at the post office. No other money order since they can be fakes as well.

Postal money orders can be counterfeited as well.

I used to take checks all the time when selling on eBay in the 1990s and never had a problem. However, eBay is a great big cesspool of fraud these days and you should only accept payment through PayPal.