Cash sent over registered mail

j4vier

hi,
i recently bought few things from a seller in the states.
I paid by cash sent over registered mail.
The seller has loads of good feedbacks thats why i did it.
Im just wondering in case i get ripped off , am i protected in anyway and exactly what would be the procedure to try to get my money back?

Ruu_Old

I doubt you are covered at all. Its a waste of time sending cash, a big no no imo.

j4vier

so whats the point in gettin things registered then?

jhegarty

j4vier wrote:

so whats the point in gettin things registered then?

to make sure he gets it... an post don't care if he is a con artist...

Ruu_Old

Even if it was registered mail, I dont think its any use once its mailed outside Ireland anyway.

j4vier

so if im sure he gets it, and he doesnt send me anything
can i not just go to the police with the proof that i posted the money or they cant do anything either?

Ruu_Old

They will probably tell you to go to an post, who will tell you they arent allowed access the US mailing system to see if it actually got there

j4vier

Uhm pretty useless i must say.
Well I can just pray he wont rip me off then

DublinWriter

Nope, never send cash, or anything else of any value, via registered mail.

I was stung once by An Post when I was sending cash that never arrived to someone and they wriggled out of it.

j4vier

what if you send payment via courier , ups or tnt
would that be more secure?

Ruu_Old

It might be but the most secure way would be a bank draft or money order. Just sending cash anyway in general is a bad idea.

Our man in Havana

I agree that sending cash by any method is a bad idea.

j4vier

ok thanks for the help to u all

secret_squirrel

I cant believe you were desperate enough for something that you posted cash to the states? Wouldnt it have been better waiting until you could find it locally?

I would even suggest Western Union is an improvement over posting cash, you still might not get your goods, but at least you would have the small consolation of knowing who robbed you. With cash through the post you dont even know that.

Whats wrong with paypal? Or a credit card?

Honestly some people deserve to be robbed.

j4vier

secret_squirrel nobody deserves to be robbed as a start.
then with all the experience i have with WU , with them the money is lost for sure cos the person's address might be fake since all ur asked if for ID when u collect the payment and although u might ask where are they gonna collect it
,that makes no difference since they can collect it at any agent.
The person i sent the payment to has over 13000 feedbacks on ebay and has a store.
I know the address of this person which must be real since i sent it by post
and i know its him since he has to sign it.

Paypal already ruined me once so i have no intention of using them ever again.
(well they didnt really ruin me but they didnt do me a favour either).

secret_squirrel

j4vier wrote:

secret_squirrel nobody deserves to be robbed as a start.

Doing the postal equivalent of walking through a dodgy area waving your wad, I beg to differ.

j4vier wrote:

i know its him since he has to sign it.

You have a copy of his signature do you?

Im no great fan of paypal, but would always use it in preference to Cash for Ebay and the like.

Ruu_Old

He wont have to sign for it, I have sent things over by registered mail before (from Ireland to the US, bank drafts mostly) and no signature is required. In Ireland yes, but overseas no.

j4vier

i post to italy regularly via registered mail and there they have to sign it.
Is it just an american thing this ?

j4vier

I dont have a copy of his signature , but i would expect some sort of security measures in the usa.
I mean I am a foreign myself and I dont consider Ireland to be the safest place in the world but when i collect my stuff here at least they ask me for id.

dingding

j4vier wrote:

so whats the point in gettin things registered then?

No point as there are limits to the ammount that you are covered for. Also if someone dishonest the other end gets the cash they can trouser it.

Better to use some form of bank transfer, pay be credit card etc...

Let us know how you get on.

I hope your transaction goes OK.

smashey

When you send something by registered mail, you get a tracking code. You should be able to check this online, or failing that, go to your local delivery office and they will be able to do it for you.

j4vier

ye i got the trackin code but on anpost it just says that the item was sent, nothing about bein received.
Anyway Im not too concerned since the person seems trustworthy and he's keeping in touch

smashey

j4vier wrote:

ye i got the trackin code but on anpost it just says that the item was sent, nothing about bein received.
Anyway Im not too concerned since the person seems trustworthy and he's keeping in touch

That usually means it hasn't been received at the other end yet. When it finally gets delivered, you should be able to see what time the delivery took place.

secret_squirrel

smashey wrote:

That usually means it hasn't been received at the other end yet. When it finally gets delivered, you should be able to see what time the delivery took place.

Depends - sometimes that doesnt work on international tracking. It depends if they have linkups with An Post or not.

Explosive_Cornflake

Is it not illegal to post cash, well in the US anyway?

j4vier

Ye depends on the country.
Some other stuff that i sent to the Uk says they have the signature held locally,
other stuff that went to canada and japan 1 month ago still says only dispatched, even if I already got feedback from them.
I never heard of it being illegal, news to me

Explosive_Cornflake

Hmm, I can't find anything on it, I swear I could have read it somewhere though. Must have dreamed that one up.
It was on a website years ago. These people tested the USPS by sending lots of stuff through the mail, like cheese and a dollar in a clear envelope, to see if it would arrive. Anyone ever seen that site?

Our man in Havana

http://www.zairmail.com/A%20light-hearted%20look%20at%20the%20delivery%20practices%20of%20the%20U.S.%20Postal%20Service.PDF

Some mad stuff in there!

Explosive_Cornflake

That's the one ^^^

nlgbbbblth

I have sent cash as payment for six ebay auctions I have won.

Three to England - all received ok. Small amounts - not more than £20.

Two to USA - all received ok. Something like $15 and $20.

One to Germany. This was the only one I sent registered. The amount was €25. The seller emailed me three days later to say that the postman had attempted to deliver a registered letter to him but he was out. When he went down to the post office to collect the letter they told him that they were unable to find it. He then requested me to send payment by bank transfer which arrived there in two days. I filled out a claim form with An Post who said they would take it up with the German post office. Within ten days I received a cheque from An Post for €25 along with a letter stating that the German post office had admitted liability for losing the original envelope.

Ironically if that letter had been sent unregistered it would have arrived ok.

j4vier

I just confirmation from the seller that he received the money,
so everything should be ok

Ruu_Old

Good stuff, hope you get it in the end.