There is a snake I am interested in, but the seller has asked me to pay by way of money order because they do not have a Paypal acct. I cannot find anything bad about them on the BOI, but I don't see anything good about them either. I have asked if they have positive feedback anywhere. Should I just pass?
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Paying with a money order?
- Thread starter Alicia P
- Start date
crackerhead
Hug Free Zone
Are they a member here?
I have purchased snakes in the past using a Postal MO and haven't had any issues. I knew the people I was buying from and Paypal wasn't as readily available at the time. Some people prefer the MO because they don't lose fees to Paypal. It is kind of dicey though if something goes wrong with the deal.
I say follow your gut feeling.
Terri
I have purchased snakes in the past using a Postal MO and haven't had any issues. I knew the people I was buying from and Paypal wasn't as readily available at the time. Some people prefer the MO because they don't lose fees to Paypal. It is kind of dicey though if something goes wrong with the deal.
I say follow your gut feeling.
Terri
xoxocammyxoxo
New member
This kind of thing makes me super cautions too. With all the scams going on these days it's really hard to know whether or not it is going to be a good thing. There's really no way to trace a money order and there's really no guarantee. If you can write a check, then at least you have some proof the cashed it. Maybe write up a purchase and sale agreement. Send the check with a tracking number and signature. At least those are things I've done before in the past.
If it were me, I would use a postal money order. Defrauding someone using the postal service is a federal crime, and the postal inspectors will usually take such things very seriously.
Truth be known, there will always be an element of trust involved in long distance transactions. The reason I started the Board of Inquiry in the first place was because I found out first hand that NO ONE in law enforcement will help you if you get scammed.
Also, one thing you need to bear in mind. You will quickly forget losing out on a good deal because you were overly cautious. But you will NEVER, EVER forget sending your money to a black hole that then vanishes without a trace.
Truth be known, there will always be an element of trust involved in long distance transactions. The reason I started the Board of Inquiry in the first place was because I found out first hand that NO ONE in law enforcement will help you if you get scammed.
Also, one thing you need to bear in mind. You will quickly forget losing out on a good deal because you were overly cautious. But you will NEVER, EVER forget sending your money to a black hole that then vanishes without a trace.
HerpsOfNM
My name's Blurryface...
I stopped taking paypal LONG LONG LONG ago due to 3 things:
1. Unless you pay via "gift", which is circumventing PayPal TOS, last I looked it is a TOS violation to charge a customer for the 2.9% or whatever it is these days service charge for the transaction. This has been hashed over and over and over. I view the service charge as part of doing business, but I also view it as an unnecessary inconvenience too.
2. PayPal seems to pick and choose if they are going to cover claims on live animals, and again IIRC their TOS does say they do not.
3. If memory serves me right, I've had a PayPal account since 2003 or 2004. On multiple occasions I've had attempts to access my account after notifying an individual that I've shipped. I use to leave funds in my PayPal until the animal(s) arrived safe and sound, in case I had to refund due to death, etc. Because of this, and to avoid getting scammed, have my account info leaked/hacked, etc. I've pretty much stopped using it.
I have an old school thought on this matter. Postal and Bank money orders are easily covered should anything go wrong. My bank treats MOs as checks, which can easily be canceled or fought. Last time I used one, Postal MOs are covered up to $1000, so if you get screwed you're covered. Plus what Rich pointed out...mail fraud.
I view the purchase of any animal and any incurred expenses (most bank MOs are free, Postal you pay for, and the cost of shipping [both MO and shipping to receive the animal]) the responsibility of the purchaser, unless the seller states free shipping or factors shipping into the cost of the animal.
Example: I've been doing payment plans with Steve Roylance. Because I'd rather not screw him out of 3% each payment and because I personally view the cost of an MO and shipping it out my responsibility I've done just that. With my bank, MOs are free unless I need 3 or more at 1 time. I've then probably spent about $35-45 bucks in sending MOs via USPS priority. I feel this process is more secure, though time consuming, than logging into an assumed secure site with my banking details, etc available. The MO can be tracked and I still have a verifiable transaction log if someone tries to screw me.
1. Unless you pay via "gift", which is circumventing PayPal TOS, last I looked it is a TOS violation to charge a customer for the 2.9% or whatever it is these days service charge for the transaction. This has been hashed over and over and over. I view the service charge as part of doing business, but I also view it as an unnecessary inconvenience too.
2. PayPal seems to pick and choose if they are going to cover claims on live animals, and again IIRC their TOS does say they do not.
3. If memory serves me right, I've had a PayPal account since 2003 or 2004. On multiple occasions I've had attempts to access my account after notifying an individual that I've shipped. I use to leave funds in my PayPal until the animal(s) arrived safe and sound, in case I had to refund due to death, etc. Because of this, and to avoid getting scammed, have my account info leaked/hacked, etc. I've pretty much stopped using it.
I have an old school thought on this matter. Postal and Bank money orders are easily covered should anything go wrong. My bank treats MOs as checks, which can easily be canceled or fought. Last time I used one, Postal MOs are covered up to $1000, so if you get screwed you're covered. Plus what Rich pointed out...mail fraud.
I view the purchase of any animal and any incurred expenses (most bank MOs are free, Postal you pay for, and the cost of shipping [both MO and shipping to receive the animal]) the responsibility of the purchaser, unless the seller states free shipping or factors shipping into the cost of the animal.
Example: I've been doing payment plans with Steve Roylance. Because I'd rather not screw him out of 3% each payment and because I personally view the cost of an MO and shipping it out my responsibility I've done just that. With my bank, MOs are free unless I need 3 or more at 1 time. I've then probably spent about $35-45 bucks in sending MOs via USPS priority. I feel this process is more secure, though time consuming, than logging into an assumed secure site with my banking details, etc available. The MO can be tracked and I still have a verifiable transaction log if someone tries to screw me.
xoxocammyxoxo
New member
I have had a paypal account for as long as I can remember and really now only use it for two things (being paid for my blog and buying stuff off Ebay). I've always used checks but thinking about that now, it's probably not a good idea to do that anymore because then they would have access to my routing number and account number. But I agree, you shouldn't have to pay 3% on a transaction in fees. It may not seem like a lot, but for a $100 snake that's $3.
I guess my concern is the scam side of things. Sometimes people pop out of no where and want to sell a snake. I have been thinking about that a lot lately because I'm working on purchasing snakes to start my projects and many of them are scattered over the US. I have checked the forum, BOI I think it's called, but some people aren't on there. Maybe if someone who WAS on there knew that person it might help me trust them a little more.
I know that goes both ways too. If I manage to get a pair to breed next Spring and go to sell the babies. I don't expect people to jump on the bandwagon about me either since I am a noobie. But I guess time will tell.
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