Postal Money Order Safe?

[flumazenil]

I am selling my GMT TT Ceramic and the buyer wishes to pay by Postal Money Order. Any comments? I have been advised on this and other boards that wire transfer is the only way to go. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[scottschoe]

Take wire...anything else can be faked.

[kcmo]

I received payment for a GMT II coke insert via postal money order and it was fine....though it didn't exactly sell for thousands like your GMT TTC. Essentially the buyer goes to the Post Office and gives them the cash and they give him the money orders...which he mails to you....which you then take to your Post Office and exchange for cash. I've heard it's quite difficult to 'fake' these money orders as the Post Office will test them and know immediately if they're real (and while you STILL have the merchandise in your hands).

Others will probably chime in with more info....

[Wolfgang427]

Wire is best but USPS M.O. are just as good as they can be cashed at any USPO aswell as verified as real.

[diablojota]

USPS Money Order is definitely a very safe method. You can go to an USPO (as Wolfgang mentioned) and verify it. I would recommend to make sure the money is in your account before you ship the product. Always a safe bet.

[TimeToGo]

You can go to your local post office and ask for them to verify the serial numbers against the amount on the check BEFORE you mail your item, as a precaution!

[Lamone]

Money Order is great as long as it is genuine. They are alot of fake money order going around.
Make sure you cash it out before sending anything.

[Balboa]

USPS money orders are generally quite safe. Before you ship your watch, go to the post office and get cash in hand. If there is any problem with them the post office will be all over the sender very quickly.

Keep in mind, that they have a limit of $1,000 so you will be getting a bunch of them.

On a transaction of this size, a direct wire transfer seems the best way to handle it. The money goes directly into your account. Eliminates having to go to the post office and then deal with a big pile of cash. Remember, other people in line can see this happening. Adds unnecessary risk as far as I am concerned.

If the buyer is unwilling to do a wire transfer, I would be concerned.

Mark

[SirLoki]

USPS money orders are the safest i think, the post office sends a tracking number when the payment is sent and on this tracking number you can track when the money order was cashed.

[scottschoe]

Originally Posted by flumazenil

I am selling my GMT TT Ceramic and the buyer wishes to pay by Postal Money Order. Any comments? I have been advised on this and other boards that wire transfer is the only way to go. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Your local PO will likely not have enough money on hand to cash your MO's, thus sending you to a bank, thus you won't be able to verify jack diddly on them. Save yourself the runaround and ask for a wire.

[diablojota]

Originally Posted by scottschoe

Your local PO will likely not have enough money on hand to cash your MO's, thus sending you to a bank, thus you won't be able to verify jack diddly on them. Save yourself the runaround and ask for a wire.

The local PO will be able verify that the MO is legitimate. They'll use the barcode scanner and they can verify the values, etc.

However, to be safe always wait until the money clears if the PO does not have enough cash on hand to cover the cash.

[drtooth73]

Originally Posted by diablojota

The local PO will be able verify that the MO is legitimate. They'll use the barcode scanner and they can verify the values, etc.

However, to be safe always wait until the money clears if the PO does not have enough cash on hand to cover the cash.

Good advice. You can be paid by a money order or a cashiers check. Just wait till the bank gets the money. For a cashiers check it might be 2-3 weeks.
Like everybody else said: the fastest and most secure way is wire.

[Bisquitlips]

USPS money orders would be extremely difficult to fake as they have some of the same security methodology as US currency.

Wire is safest, but USPS MO's are second to none when considering a transaction that has to be paid using a financial instrument. One draw back is that the highest denomination is $1000.00. International limits are $700.00.

To ensure you are accepting or cashing the real thing, look for these features on genuine postal money orders.

1. When held to the light, a watermark of Benjamin Franklin is repeated from top to bottom on the left side.

2. When held to the light, a dark line (security thread) runs from top to bottom with the word “USPS” repeated.

3. There should be no discoloration around the dollar amounts, which might indicate the amounts were changed.

[rcher]

The single thing that I find most secure about USPS Money Orders is that IF fraud is perpetrated with one, you can bet the Postmaster General will bring all of his considrable resources to bear on the offender and make his life miserable....particularly when it concerns several thousands of dollars.

Kind of like messin' with Sasquatch....bad mojo.

[camster]

If it were up to me I would insist on wire transfer. But for that kind of money I would not do the USPSMO. My brother works for a very well known bank and he investigates fraud of various types. And he says the sophisticated methods that todays criminal minds comeup with are absolutely mind blowing. He has told me stories of people selling expensive items such as a Rolex and waiting for the check to clear. The check clears, but then gets kicked back in 14-21 days because the check is fake,and my brother has to tell these poor unsuspecting people why their account no longer has the $5000 available that it had yesterday because the bank check or money order was a fake.

[jaelyncruz]

i think wire transfer is the safest.

[flumazenil]

As usual great advice. Thanks!!