Payment on Flea-bay

[Greg Cuetara]

I won an auction for a Pellet Stove on Flea-bay. In the auction the buyer said that he accepted Credit Cards. I am having the stove shipped from Iowa to Maine. When I received the invoice from the seller he said that he no longer accepts Credit Cards and wants a money order. One of the reasons that bought from such a distance is that I am protected by my CC if anything were to happen. I am a bit concerned about sending a money order and then either never seeing the stove or it not being what was advertised. The seller has 100% feedback and I spoke to him on the phone and he sounds ok but a lot of people sound ok.

Is there a way to send money half way across the country and still be protected? Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed?

I am hoping that I am just overthinking things right now and that it will all work out but I don't have 3k to lose to a mistake right now.

Greg

[Rob Russell]

If the auction listing says he accepts credit cards, then the seller needs to stand by that. If he refuses, you can leave honest negative feedback for changing terms of the sale after the auction closed.\

I always use a credit card to pay. We have a chargeback going right now for fraudulent merchandise and probably for less than the stove cost you. If you send a money order - you have no recourse.

Unless the seller's feedback is 100% positive with no neutral or negative comments embedded in the feedback text, I wouldn't do it without using a CC.

Just my opinion.

[Lee Koepke]

I typically use PayPal.

My Paypal account is backed by a CC, so I feel pretty comfortable.

[Doug Sewell]

Depends on how much of a risk you are willing to take. Too many things can go wrong with shipping, damage or anything else. I personally would pass on the deal. tell the Bay that it was advertized with the CC option but now it cant be done. I have a pellet stove and love it but lots could be wrong and not easily fixed. Good luck!

Doug

[Mike Henderson]

I would never send a money order. Once you do that, you have no recourse. I never buy unless the buyer takes PayPal. I've had a few problems and PayPal was there to get me a refund.

And as Rob said, the seller said he'd take a credit card. He cannot change the terms of the auction after the fact unless you agree. I'd tell him I'd pay him by PayPal.

Otherwise, tell him to ship and after you receive it and check it out, you'll send him a money order. Turnabout is fair play.

Mike

[Greg Cuetara]

Thanks. I was really leaning towards canceling the transaction if the seller will not take my CC. I don't want to say I don't trust the guy but I don't trust the guy being over the internet etc....There are too many scams out to not be protected.

[David G Baker]

Every time I do an Ebay auction I list the type of payment I will accept so your seller also had that option when he listed his item. I would communicate again with the seller and let him know that if he will accept credit card payment you will proceed with purchasing his item, if not, then you are not going to. If there is any problem contact Ebay and explain the situation.

[Bill Wyko]

I gotta agree. No CC, No sale. Or at least Paypal. Once that money order leaves your hands you have no ground to stand on. All he has to do is say he never got it.:mad:

[Denny Rice]

Greg,

Do not send that money order... Too many things cn go wrong with this transaction. Contact ebay, make them contact the seller and hold his end of the bargin up. Give the seller the option of paypal, if he will not take your credit card directly.

[Greg Cuetara]

Greg,

Do not send that money order... Too many things cn go wrong with this transaction. Contact ebay, make them contact the seller and hold his end of the bargin up. Give the seller the option of paypal, if he will not take your credit card directly.

Yes I agree with you here. I need to contact him again today and see if we can work something out. He said something about how he was doing too much business for paypal and they said he had to have a business account which he won't get or something like that. He said that paypal is supposed to only be for the small business person making a few transactions and not for people running a big business. Not sure I quite understand but I will give him another chance.

[Rob Russell]

If the seller has a "personal" Paypal account, he is limited to 5 credit card transactions a year. There is no limit to the number of CC transactions a premier or business Paypal account can receive. The downside is that, for a personal account, you can recive money free if it's coming from a checking or savings account. Once you upgrade to the higher level account that doesn't restrict CC usage, Paypal charges you for ALL incoming funds and I think that's what the seller wants to avoice.

The thing is, most people want to use a CC through Paypal because of the extra protection it offers. If the seller is planning to do a lot on Ebay, he might as well bite the bullet and upgrade his account. People bid less for sellers that don't offer Paypal.

[skip coyne]

ebay is getting ready to ban check and money order payments



Faster, more reliable checkout on eBay
Starting this fall, we're moving to an electronic checkout process that's faster and more reliable for sellers and buyers. As part of this move, checks and money orders will no longer be accepted on eBay, although buyers can still use these payment methods for item pick-up, at the seller's discretion. In addition, the electronic payment methods will be fully integrated into eBay checkout. For example, if a seller has an internet merchant account, a buyer will be able to directly enter a credit card and never have to leave the site.
Today, items paid with check or money order are 80% more likely to result in an item not received (INR) than those paid with credit card or PayPal. Also, buyers who pay with check or money order are 50% more likely to leave negative feedback than those who pay with electronic methods. So starting in late October, 2008, we are moving to 100% electronic payments - credit cards, ProPay, or PayPal.
This means that sellers will be able to offer credit card payments through their own merchant accounts, and payments through ProPay and/or PayPal, with all payment methods integrated into the checkout process on eBay. Seller will also get paid faster and be able to ship items quicker. And remember, for those buyers and sellers who use PayPal, we're backing every eligible transaction with our buyer and seller protections. (See more information on paperless payments (http://pages.ebay.com/sell/August2008Update/Payments) and more on terms for the PayPal Buyer and Seller Protection plans (https://www.paypal-promo.com/protection/terms/).)

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200808.shtml#2008-08-20070116



If he wont take the CC payment report him to ebay to protect yourself from his filing a non paying bidder on you