Legitimate ways to get paid

okee

Hi, probably should have posted this before placing an ad but
was hoping for a local buyer that would meet but anyway.

What's a legitimate way to get paid for an item before posting
The buyer is in Ireland but a good distance away and she wants
to pay with a money order, i've seen on a lot of sites to avoid
western union etc but is it better to avoid money orders completely ?
Do An Post do Postal Orders still ?

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

okee

Nody

Anything but cheque (i.e. Western Union etc. are all ok) is ok as long as you're the one getting paid. Ensure the money is in your hand/bank account before sending it off and you're grand (the reason WU etc. are not recommended is because you can't get a refund from them as a buyer in case of a scam).

jor el

WU is fine when you're being paid, as you collect the cash, and cash is king. A money order, bank draft or postal order can be faked, and it can take the banks quite a while to discover the fake, but they will often credit you the balance before it is cleared. If this happens, then it may be one or two weeks after you receive it before you find out it's fake.

If you can cash the draft at a bank, then that's fine, or if you can get them to verify it's real before lodging it to your account, then that's fine too.

the groutch

as a seller, postal (money) orders are best because you can cash it in the post office at the same time that you post the item, so it weeds out most of the potential paypal/cheque scammers