Ebay advice needed!

[Squirrelypaws]

I'm not sure if this belongs here, as it's not pony-related at all, but my grandma sold a baby doll on Ebay a few days ago, and we've been waiting for the bidder to pay.

Today, we get this message from the buyer:

Hello, I can not believe that I won this beautiful doll!!!!! Now a big question. Can I pay you for her with a US Postal Moneyorder? I can use Pay Pal but I am short and would have to use overdraft money which will cost me an extra $33.00. I will get the postal money order in the morning and send it to you  registered. But, if you must , I will use pay apl ( ouch! ) or if you could wait until Friday of this week my husband gets paid and I will not be overdrawn and it would not cost me the extra $33. I really did not think that I would win her but even at 55 years old, I still love my baby dolls. I will do what ever you ask though. Thank you, *name here*

Does anyone have any advice on what we should do?

[HawaiianRain]

You are not covered with a MO. It's up to you if you want to wait until Friday for payment. It couldn't hurt to wait unless you need the quick sale. If it was me, I would wait but be sure to let her know that you do need payment by Sunday night at the latest otherwise you have no choice but to move on and leave appropriate feedback.

[rosierjay]

i guess i would accept a postal money order, but not any other kind.
those are easier to forge and when you take it to the post office you get cash right there. so no worries on the money suddenly disappearing from the bank (what happens with a forged money order)

one good point, is you don't need to pay paypal fees on it, another is you'll have the cash in hand and won't need to do anything else except send the package.

if it turns out not to be legit. you just don't send the item. mail the money order back and tell them to pay via paypal.
but if you don't get it by friday i would ask for alternative payment. some times people do this just to buy a little time. when did the auction end?
do you have a "pay by" time restraint listed on the auction?
doesn't seem like it could hurt in any fashion.

[ClosetAvalanche]

You can accept a postal money order, but before you send anything out, cash it at the post office. It might just be easier to wait for them to pay on Friday though.

[Sunshine]

I mean eBay used to be Money Order and Cashier Check only before Paypal ever existed... I remember having to send out my Money Orders with honestly no guarantee of the seller letting me know that it arrived or actually sending the item to me...

So, I don't necessarily think they're trying to scam you... I mean if you get something other than a money order from USPS, then you can decide then but, yeah if you didn't get the MO ever, I suppose you could leave appropriate feedback at the time and move on, try to resell it... you can open a case to get your fee back from eBay as well...

[Arianna]

I'm not sure if this belongs here, as it's not pony-related at all, but my grandma sold a baby doll on Ebay a few days ago, and we've been waiting for the bidder to pay.

Today, we get this message from the buyer:

Hello, I can not believe that I won this beautiful doll!!!!! Now a big question. Can I pay you for her with a US Postal Moneyorder? I can use Pay Pal but I am short and would have to use overdraft money which will cost me an extra $33.00. I will get the postal money order in the morning and send it to you  registered. But, if you must , I will use pay apl ( ouch! ) or if you could wait until Friday of this week my husband gets paid and I will not be overdrawn and it would not cost me the extra $33. I really did not think that I would win her but even at 55 years old, I still love my baby dolls. I will do what ever you ask though. Thank you, *name here*

Does anyone have any advice on what we should do?

Well, it can be kind of a pain when told at the last minute.  Still, it sounds sincere - yes, could be trouble, but you could tell her you won't ship the doll until the money is cleared and in the bank.

I get paid on a set schedule, so I try to ask if I buy, could the seller hold.  Once I was told yes, sometimes I've had the seller agree to a sale at a later date (meaning, if no one else purchased the item, s/he would relist and I could purchase then.)  One even did an off eBay sale with me.  Just some personal experiences.

I would just say "we won't ship the doll until your payment has cleared the bank" and let her know your address.

Or, you could wait until Friday, and get paid via PayPal.

Point is, she could have told you earlier, but maybe something came up and took some extra money away from her.  She could be 100% sincere (as said), and I don't think should be shunned.

You are not covered with a MO.

That - is a shame, but good to know.

[Katai]

I would get the money order, cash and see if to clears THEN SEND THE DOLL.

Do NOT, I repeat do NOT send her the doll until payment has been received and cleared. And make sure she knows it. The way she repeats "postal money order" makes me suspicious.

[Shiromisa]

She sounds sweet! Unless you need the money right now, I'd probably wait til Friday and get the Paypal payment, but I've never used money orders before. But I do agree with everyone else, do wait til you have money in hand to ship. On the internet, you never know who really is a sweet old lady.

[rosierjay]

Well, it can be kind of a pain when told at the last minute.  Still, it sounds sincere - yes, could be trouble, but you could tell her you won't ship the doll until the money is cleared and in the bank.

actually you can't count on this either.
most counterfeit money orders clear the bank fine, but when the bank finds out that it's not real they pull the money from your account. no questions asked.

that's why it's important to get a postal money order. one that can be cashed with out being attached to a bank account. but because of that you need to cash it at the post office and not at your bank.

[Sunshine]

I would get the money order, cash and see if to clears THEN SEND THE DOLL.

Do NOT, I repeat do NOT send her the doll until payment has been received and cleared. And make sure she knows it. The way she repeats "postal money order" makes me suspicious.

Really? I think if I was sending a message like that to a seller I would definitely repeat myself saying what kind of Official Money Order I was sending. They also offered to send it registered mail so... I dunno. I don't really see anything suspicious myself... but that's just me...

[nhal039]

She sounds sweet! Unless you need the money right now, I'd probably wait til Friday and get the Paypal payment, but I've never used money orders before. But I do agree with everyone else, do wait til you have money in hand to ship. On the internet, you never know who really is a sweet old lady.

agreed, she does sound sincere and sweet

[FoolBornUnicorn]

My gramma loves baby dolls too.
She seems very sweet and sincere, she even said she's willing to overdraw to pay.
I'd wait until Friday, for the simple fact that I trust PayPal a little more.

[Katai]

I would get the money order, cash and see if to clears THEN SEND THE DOLL.

Do NOT, I repeat do NOT send her the doll until payment has been received and cleared. And make sure she knows it. The way she repeats "postal money order" makes me suspicious.

Really? I think if I was sending a message like that to a seller I would definitely repeat myself saying what kind of Official Money Order I was sending. They also offered to send it registered mail so... I dunno. I don't really see anything suspicious myself... but that's just me...

Just something about this message strikes me as suspicious.

[scarletjul]

Honestly, unless you're dying for the money, I would wait until Friday and get the Paypal - I just trust it a little more.

[Rapunzel]

I prefer Postal Money Orders myself, now and then a buyer still asks to use one, they are the best to get, I just take them straight to post office and cash them and have the item ready to ship with me (if it clears fine, then purchase the postage when you get the cash then and there)

I dont deal with depositing money orders at banks anymore, because you never know, so I prefer the postal ones since you can cash them there with no fees