Getting Paid without getting scammed

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Dixieblade57

Joined
Jun 20, 2007
Messages
1,361
Another thread got me thinking about asking this question.

What do you consider other than cash on the barrel head as a safe way of doing bussiness. It is so easy to get scammed by almost any money medium now days?

I will accept check and money order but only if you are willing to wait for the money to be deposited into my account. In some cases that can take up to 10+ days. If you go with paypal you basically have to add on to the price if you are selling many!

Other than selling in person for cash what do you consider safe! I would really appreciate the knowledge that some of you have out there on this subject.

I have lost out on a couple of knives in the beginning trying to be a nice guy, and it really just whizzes me off!!!!!!!! :mad:All that hard work and then to get ripped off.
 
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i only deal with postal money orders or cash, no personal checks or other money orders. that is the best way to do business and not get ripped off.

also the jerkit smiley is not allowed to be posted out of w&c so you might want to remove it.
 
I have been using PayPal for about 7 years with (knock-on-wood) no problems at all. With PayPal, the customer has the option of using his/her credit card. As for their fees, even though I hate paying them, I consider it as a necessary evil in conducting business. When pricing my knives, I consider these fees as well as shipping charges (within the U.S.), and price accordingly.

Several of my customers have indicated that it is a "turn-off" to see a knife priced on a forum or website with the statement: "If using PayPal, add $xx.00 or xx %".

I also accept U.S. Postal Money Orders. When they arrive, it is just a matter of stopping by the local P.O. They can instantly verify the money order and you receive the cash on the spot. No fees (they were paid by the purchaser).

Cash is hard to beat, but only works with local sales.

I accept checks only from trusted repeat customers.

Robert
 
I've used several PayPal accounts with different businesses since 2001. I've never had any problems other than the few days it takes to get the money from my PP account to my bank account. Funny how it takes them days to get the money to my bank, but if I buy something, the money's gone from my account instantly!

Others have had problems with PayPal though. So it's not 100% safe. If someone files a complaint against you, for example, saying they never received the knife, you could end up losing the knife and/or your PP account. Others have also had their accounts frozen for a variety of reasons, some legitimate some not. Paypal tends to favor the buyer in many of their complaints, even if you can show proof that you sent the item.

I like PP, but just be aware that things can get sour and I try and not keep too much money in my PP accounts.
 
So far, I've had nothing but good experiences collecting funds by PayPal, USPS MO and personal check. (I only take checks from repeat customers.)

On another note, PayPal has screwed me over a few times when I was the one sending funds. I never received the product, and PayPal refused to refund the money.

The recent Western Union issue has me a bit paranoid, so I'm extra cautious now.

I may go to USPS MO only.
 
I've been using PayPal as buyer and seller on eBay since the 1990s. People whine about the fees, but if you look into setting up your own means of accepting credit card payments you quickly discover the fees are not excessive when you consider all the costs of direct CC acceptance. This is especially true for a smaller business. Bottom line for me was always to find a way to build the cost of the financial transaction into the sales price and not worry about the fees.

- Greg
 
I have been using Ppal for years as a buyer (never a seller) and I only had one issue with a seller who I believe became gravely ill. I never received my purchase, but going through the claim process I was refunded by paypal. I have heard some horror stories however, so you do it at your own risk I suppose. Money orders seem the safest way.
 
Hey, thanks everyone, it looks like most of you use the paypal option even if like me you hate the fees.

Quote from: Robert Dark
I also accept U.S. Postal Money Orders. When they arrive, it is just a matter of stopping by the local P.O. They can instantly verify the money order and you receive the cash on the spot. No fees (they were paid by the purchaser).

Robert thanks for the info on this, I did not know it was that easy! :thumbup: I will definitely have to keep that one in mind.
That looks like a great alternative to those who don't like paypal. I have had some customers who hate paypal about as much as I hate Wallyworld! In fact I had one guy tell me that he absolutely refused to use paypal and if that was the only way he could b one of my knives he would pass! I am going to guess he had a really bad experience with them!:eek::D
 
Paypal. Never had any problems. I also accept Postal money orders, nothing else. I need to have real funds in my hand or in my Paypal account before I ship a knife.

I think PP fees are reasonable. I add that and shipping into the price of a knife. Sure, the knife looks a little more expensive that way, but it's all inclusive and people like a streamlined buying process.
 
PayPal fees are just the cost of doing business through them, a necessary evil just like taxes. I do agree how ever that those fees should be included in the list price, same thing with shipping. That way in the long run the customer sees it as a freebie in the purchase "look no shipping or PP fees:thumbup:". Yes you may lose a little money on some sales because the shipping was more expensive than you planned for, but you will also gain on some sales because the shipping was less so it all works out in the end.

I have been lucky enough that all my sales have been in person except for one, and that was in trade for credit. I would accept PayPal, Postal or Bank money orders no problem, as long as the customer was willing to wait for the funds to clear. Personal, or any sort of check, only if I know the person well and trust them.
 
We accept personal checks, money orders and plastic but not Paypal. No particular reason, just never got hooked up with em. I was just reading an article that there is a pretty big backlash right now in online retailers against Pay Pal. Many are checking out Google's and Amazon's alternatives. Apparently Pay Pal has made a lot of arbitrary decisions that have angered both consumers and retailers, so lots of folks are quitting em. Definitly have your money in hand before shipping and or doing any custom order that might be difficult due to uniqueness or personalizastion to resell. I make a lot of custom sheaths and holsters and offer tooling of intials and or brands on them. I got kicked in the head a couple of three times before I got that figured out. Interestingly, we have never had a problem with a personal check. Always a few CCs that folks need ya to rerun.
 
This!

I will add that I've never been burned by Paypal as a seller...but I've always been very particular about who I take money from through PP. Follow PP rules and you should be fine.

Robert Dark said:
I have been using PayPal for about 7 years with (knock-on-wood) no problems at all. With PayPal, the customer has the option of using his/her credit card. As for their fees, even though I hate paying them, I consider it as a necessary evil in conducting business. When pricing my knives, I consider these fees as well as shipping charges (within the U.S.), and price accordingly.

Several of my customers have indicated that it is a "turn-off" to see a knife priced on a forum or website with the statement: "If using PayPal, add $xx.00 or xx %".

I also accept U.S. Postal Money Orders. When they arrive, it is just a matter of stopping by the local P.O. They can instantly verify the money order and you receive the cash on the spot. No fees (they were paid by the purchaser).

Cash is hard to beat, but only works with local sales.

I accept checks only from trusted repeat customers.

Robert
Click to expand...
 
I've used Paypal as a buyer and occasional seller for years. Never had a problem. I've had problems with just about everything else except cash. Not keen on standing in line at the bank to purchase a US$ money order, then standing in line at the post office to send it express, then hoping it actually gets there, then hoping his bank doesn't hold all foreign money orders for 30 days (even when drawn on a partnered American bank).

I've even had a wire transfer get fouled up - funds left my account, then got lost in the ether and never arrived in his. The screw-up was by my bank, but it took weeks to sort out - during which I had neither the money nor the product.

Paypal has worked great for me as buyer and seller. A few clicks and the funds move. Immediately. No excuses. Just about every knife purchase I have made (outside of a show) for the past several years has been via Paypal. I have even passed on the odd impulse buy of an inexpensive knife because the seller said "No Paypal!" and it just wasn't worth the hassle to me.

Roger
 
Roger made a good point about convenience.
If you make it easy to buy, you will sell a lot more.
Paypal's fees are just the cost to use their service. They make it convenient to sell to a worldwide audience.
I have used them for several years now with no problems.
I also like the added convenience for shipping. Click the link to print postage and refer to the paypal log for tracking.
The time it saves me is worth way way more than the fees they charge.
 
One time at the Blade show I accepted a out of state check. When I got home and deposited it, the buyer had had his bank stop payment on the check. There was nothing I could do about it outside of hiring a lawyer. I called the bank, they were no help. I called the local (Out of state) police, they were no help. I contacted the buyer, and of course he was no help.
I will not deliver a knife unless the check clears my bank first.
 
I have done everything on paypal for a while and never a problem. However, I did accept a money order one time and what a mess. I could not cash it because they did not recognize the number on the MO, but they would not say it was counterfit. I talked with the client and they insisted that it was legit and that I must send the knife, I had to send the MO back registered mail with a signature. They still gave me alot of grief, If had not sent it back and got the signature they could have come after me for not sending their paid for merchandise. After that I really want paypal, I do accept checks and money order but allow alot of time for them to process. Most people prefer paypal anyway so it saves alot of time and trouble.

Maybe someone could comment on the time it takes a bank to fully process a check or money order, for me the money will show up in my account within a day but it could be 3 weeks before they have actually processed the check or money order and notified you if it is legit or not, and at that time they take the money back out of the account.
 
Not to make everyone paranoid, but please don't assume cash is a fool proof method either. I've been seeing A LOT of counterfeits lately, and they are very well done. The last time I had counterfeits the business owner insisted that both of the bills were real (because he knew what to look for), it was just a coincidence that they had the same serial number. Pay close attention when getting paid at a show or something like that. And NO, the pens you can buy to check bills don't always work.
 
I have used paypal for quite a while, and don't have many complaints when it comes to the fees. The only thing I can see as an annoyance for some people is how the fees are based on a percentage, not a flat rate. 3% Fees for a $1000 knife can easily start to eat into profit margin... but I guess that is just about building in the fees to the base cost of the knife.

Never had a money order sent to me nor have I used one but if the request came I would probably accept it.

I had a customer mail me cash from the states a few months ago and it ended up getting lost in transit, luckily he insured it. The talk of counterfeit bills reminded me of that situation... I remember talking with a guy at a local pizza parlour about it. He showed me an envelope full of about 100 fake $20 bills. They were collected over the course of about 3 weeks when a new employee was working and wasn't checking any bills. They were good fakes mind you, holograms and everything... just shows you can never be too careful.
 
wolffbite said:
I have used paypal for quite a while, and don't have many complaints when it comes to the fees. The only thing I can see as an annoyance for some people is how the fees are based on a percentage, not a flat rate. 3% Fees for a $1000 knife can easily start to eat into profit margin... but I guess that is just about building in the fees to the base cost of the knife.

Never had a money order sent to me nor have I used one but if the request came I would probably accept it.

I had a customer mail me cash from the states a few months ago and it ended up getting lost in transit, luckily he insured it. The talk of counterfeit bills reminded me of that situation... I remember talking with a guy at a local pizza parlour about it. He showed me an envelope full of about 100 fake $20 bills. They were collected over the course of about 3 weeks when a new employee was working and wasn't checking any bills. They were good fakes mind you, holograms and everything... just shows you can never be too careful.
Click to expand...


For Canadian makers with US customers

Be sure you receive an INTERNATIONAL postal money order.
It can be cashed in Canada

A US postal money order requires you to actually be in the US to cash it.
 
I have used Paypal for a number of years as both a buyer and a seller. I have had my account frozen once in that time because of a "disputed payment" which was sent to me from a customer in another country. I never did get the why on that but it was cleared up in less than 24 hours and my account was un-frozen. Maybe I'm just lucky, but there are lots of satisfied Paypal users out there so I guess I'm not the only one.
I haven't done the research and math myself but from what I have heard, Paypal seems to be the easiest/least expensive way to send and recieve electronic payments. Can anyone shed some light on what it costs to take credit card payments directly, just for comparison?
 
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