General question about MOs

einsteinjon

einsteinjon

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Don't know if this is the right area to post, but I'll try anyway. I "sold" a knife through the Exchange, and agreed on a money order sent from Canada to me in the U.S. I have been waiting now for 16 days, and still no MO. The post office said it should only be 6-10 business days. At what point should I be worried? I tried contacting the buyer by email, and haven't heard anything back in several days.

Anyone have experience with this? Should I wait a few more days for the MO to show up? If the buyer was legit, is there a way for him to get me a new MO if the old one was lost (i.e. is there a way to track that I never cashed the original)? If he doesn't reply back to me in a given time frame, is it legit for me to re-post the item and chalk it up to the buyer as being a liar?

Thanks for the input!
 
Communication, or the lack thereof, has had a big impact on many a knife sale. It sounds like your buyer has disappeared. I might try a couple of more efforts (days too) to contact the buyer but it wouldn't take long for me to lose patience and relist the item.
all da best,
rats...
 
It's not uncommon for a buyer to bail after agreeing to complete a transaction.



einsteinjon said:
The post office said it should only be 6-10 business days.
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"Should" is the operative word. If the moons are aligned (remember, you're dealing with USPS) it should take the amount of time you were told. I've had several transactions where it took more than 21 days for me to receive a simple envelope in the mail. . . . .from Canada.



einsteinjon said:
I tried contacting the buyer by email, and haven't heard anything back in several days.
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Do you know their user name? If so, have they logged onto BFC since sending the email?

There can be circumstances beyond your buyers control.


I normally give three days from the last email sent. . . . .then relist the knife.
 
GigOne said:
"Should" is the operative word. If the moons are aligned (remember, you're dealing with USPS) it should take the amount of time you were told. I've had several transactions where it took more than 21 days for me to receive a simple envelope in the mail. . . . .from Canada.
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This is good to know...21 days. Was this business days or calendar days? Because I am now at 16 calendar days from when he said he sent it.

I explicitly asked him to let me know "for sure" when he sent the MO, and he told me he did indeed send it.

His last login to BF was the same day he first emailed me. However, I have been in email contact with him since then, just not within the last week and a half or so (it was when he told me the MO was sent, again 16 days ago from today). I tried emailing again today, so we'll see. Unfortunately he has no ratings and no posts, so I don't know his reputation. I guess I will give it a bit more time to see if Canada comes around.

It just worries me that if the MO was lost, or is still on the way, and I relist the knife too soon, all of a sudden I sell it to somebody else and Murphy's Law says I receive the original MO the following day I ship it.
 
einsteinjon said:
I personally don't know...anyone?
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Nope. Been down this road before. Its my understanding that once its purchased by the payer it must be redeemed by the payee.
~~~~><>~~~~

Regarding the non-received MO: IMO, currently with No MO recieved yet with 17 days and counting, coupled with the fact of the non-contact by the knife purchaser in this transaction.. One would have to question whether this fellow actually sent the MO as he alleged.. I believe one can now conclude that a reasonable human being would have contacted you by now wanting to know whether you received the MO in good stead and if the knife was in route. The fact that he has not contacted you on this front would would make me question his claim that your payment was ever sent.

Who is this proposed mystery buyer?
 
It appears to me one might be able to get a refund as the USPS lists on their "PS Form 3533":

Part 5 - Disbursements for Refunds (Issued Locally)
4) For cash refund issued, obtain payee’s signature below. For money order refund issued enter the money order serial number below.
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http://www.usps.com/form/_pdf/ps3533.pdf

If somebody got Esav's attention, he probably knows.
all da best,
rats...
 
ratstuph said:
It appears to me one might be able to get a refund as the USPS lists on their "PS Form 3533":

http://www.usps.com/form/_pdf/ps3533.pdf

If somebody got Esav's attention, he probably knows.
all da best,
rats...
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If it's coming from Canada I doubt that it is a USPS MO so the above would not necessarily apply, It could possibly be a canadian Postal MO or a generic MO like you buy in a store. I have had to redeem MO's that I had made out to others and then never used for one reason or another or had returned to me because the seller decided not to sell the item. I have not had a problem returning the MO for cash as long as I had the stub and the MO.
Another question: Did the buyer pay ( have the MO made out ) in US dollars or Canadian dollars? Today $1.00 Canadian is equal to $0.81 US. (put another way - they should pay $1.22 Canadian for something priced at $1.00 US.
 
I have been wondering whether or not the buyer ever sent the MO in the first place as well. But then why would he have honored my request to email me that he sent it? Just to screw with me? I don't have any enemies that I know of who would do this...perhaps just a troll.

In relation to Canadian $ vs. US $, I told him the amount to send me in US $ and told him to be sure whatever he sent equated to that, but I don't know for sure if that was done because I have no MO.
 
I sent a USPS Money Order for what has since become a centerpiece of my collection, a knife I wanted very much. Weeks went by and the MO did not arrive. I was in regular contact with the seller and he told me to be patient, that this happens from time to time. When it did arive, the envelope was notated that it had been opened in error in the postal system. (?) No idea how THAT could happen, but the MO was in there, he cashed it, and sent me my knife.

Constant communication. That your correspondent isn't in touch with you on this means 1) he doesn't care and lied to you about sending money on a deal he abandoned, or 2) he's out of touch for reasons of health, travel, tragedy -- who knows what.

You can't know at this point. Since he hasn't tried to contact you and you have tried to contact him, I suggest you would be OK with relisting the item whenever you like now.

If you want my personal advice, I'd give him a full 21 days before giving up. You have every right to feel that his possible problem is not your problem, but I wouldn't want to bail too soon on a guy who may be hurting.

If he is just being stupid about it, and it turns out he's the one who bailed, please let us know who he is. A new guy with no standing here should be more careful in how he presents himself.
 
A few points, although I'm not trying make a point.

--I sent a money order from Toronto to Costa Mesa, California late on Monday (which means it didn't start its journey until Tuesday) and it arrived today (Thursday)

--the business to which it was sent expected it to take up to over a week, as it has in the past from Canada... just based on the whims and traffic of the US and Canada postal systems

--the money order was issued from my bank in Canada... I don't think we can get generic MO's from general stores here in Canada, with the exception of Western Union and places like that

--the MO was made out in USD, paid for in CND that were subjected to the official currency exchange rate at the time of the purchase transaction

--should this potentially botched sale/purchase be the fault of a shoddy buyer, PLEASE DO NOT let it colour your opninion of Canadians and especially transactions with Canadians (when responsible people are involved there should be no ripples involved in an international transaction)

--I hope your sale is successful

--I hope the buyer is okay
 
KarlMaldensNose said:
--should this potentially botched sale/purchase be the fault of a shoddy buyer, PLEASE DO NOT let it colour your opninion of Canadians and especially transactions with Canadians (when responsible people are involved there should be no ripples involved in an international transaction)
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No worries...I have done business with my neighbors to the north before with no problems :thumbup:. I only brought Canada into it b/c I have never attempted to receive a MO from Canada before, and thought it to be a relevant issue. I may have to be a bit more discriminatory in dealing with persons having no feedback, however.

I hope the buyer is alright as well, but considering I have received no MO as of yet, I am growing more and more suspicious, as opposed to more and more concerned. We'll see...
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I sent a USPS Money Order for what has since become a centerpiece of my collection, a knife I wanted very much. Weeks went by and the MO did not arrive. I was in regular contact with the seller and he told me to be patient, that this happens from time to time. When it did arive, the envelope was notated that it had been opened in error in the postal system. (?) No idea how THAT could happen, but the MO was in there, he cashed it, and sent me my knife.

Constant communication. That your correspondent isn't in touch with you on this means 1) he doesn't care and lied to you about sending money on a deal he abandoned, or 2) he's out of touch for reasons of health, travel, tragedy -- who knows what.

You can't know at this point. Since he hasn't tried to contact you and you have tried to contact him, I suggest you would be OK with relisting the item whenever you like now.

If you want my personal advice, I'd give him a full 21 days before giving up. You have every right to feel that his possible problem is not your problem, but I wouldn't want to bail too soon on a guy who may be hurting.

If he is just being stupid about it, and it turns out he's the one who bailed, please let us know who he is. A new guy with no standing here should be more careful in how he presents himself.
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The Best Rule of Thumb Guidlines for trading I've ever read, bar none.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ><> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

einstienjon,

Did you ever search this forum for any of this member's past trades and research his Reputation here?. If not, you may want to. It may save you some time. Personally, I come here first on every prospective transaction.

Anthony
 
Anthony, the man is a newbie with no posts here and no profile filled out. I would be VERY hesitant to deal with someone like that. At least Jon had the sense to wait for the money before shipping.
 
sunnyd said:
einstienjon,

Did you ever search this forum for any of this member's past trades and research his Reputation here?. If not, you may want to. It may save you some time. Personally, I come here first on every prospective transaction.

Anthony
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I looked at his profile, which was started the same day he emailed me (so no previous reputation, which is a potential red flag, I know). I gave him the benefit of the doubt - and somewhere inside of me the nice guy still gives him a tiny glimmer of hope - and figured I would give it a shot to help him build his reputation. It was not too long ago that I was a newbie w/ no rep. But like Esav said, DO NOT EVER SEND A PRODUCT BEFORE RECEIVING THE MONEY!!! :thumbup:
 
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