International Buyer Money Order?

~cleo~

Hi ive got a canadian who has bought one of my items and forgot to state only accept paypal for int orders she wants to send me a money order in canadian dollars, but im thinking this will cost me alot to cash can she send me one in UK sterling? any advice appriciated

Sugar_Coated_Owl

It probably would cost you a lot to cash the money order. Is it a high value item? I don't believe that she would be able to send you a money order in GBP. Have you asked her if she can pay via PayPal?

soolin

A Canadian dollar money order will cost you quite a bit to pay through your account. It is best to shop around if you have more than 1 bank account as I was quoted £12 to pay one in once, whereas others on here have suggested they only paid £5 or thereabouts. It can also take forever to clear and some cannot even be negotiated outside the country of origin, so beware.

Even a money order from Canada in sterling isn't simple as they can often be not negotiable outside Canada.

If your auction stated paypal and cheques etc, you can insist she pays you either by cheque or paypal but in sterling funds. The buyer should not assume she is able to pay in a currency other than that shown in the auction. She is very unlikely to be able to get a UK cheque without costing her an arm and a leg, so might be happy to pay up by paypal.

Soo

~cleo~

thanks it is a fairly low cost item £20 - so not worth paying lots of charges etc..

yes asked her if she could pay by paypal she said no i was thinking about a bank transfer - but cant check this out with my bank til monday - would this method cost me much?

Tribal

This will cost the buyer about £5-10, safe for you but expensive for her. Unless she can PayPal you, or trusts you enough to send cash, there is no third way to cheaply tranfer funds from America/Canada.

aycor

I have had an international postal order in sterling from Canada which you cash at the post office for items and as I did not post until I had received the money no problem.

frivolous_fay

You can exchange money orders for 50p a go at auctionchex.

jenniferpa

A canadian money order is an entirely different animal to a US one. For a start, you can get them in sterling, which means the purchaser pays the conversion costs up front. I don't think you should have any problem cashing them - there is a long history of canadians transfering funds back to the "old" country. It is not at all the same as a US money order. Make sure it's in sterling, though. Current rates are $5.50 for a sterling one, as opposed to $3.95 for a canadian one, so she's only be paying 1.55 canadian dollar more. A bargain compared to every other option.

~cleo~

jenniferpa wrote:

A canadian money order is an entirely different animal to a US one. For a start, you can get them in sterling, which means the purchaser pays the conversion costs up front. I don't think you should have any problem cashing them - there is a long history of canadians transfering funds back to the "old" country. It is not at all the same as a US money order. Make sure it's in sterling, though. Current rates are $5.50 for a sterling one, as opposed to $3.95 for a canadian one, so she's only be paying 1.55 canadian dollar more. A bargain compared to every other option.

would i cash that at the Post Office?

i spoke to my bank this morning and they said that is it about £7 to cash a canadian cheque and would take 28 days which all seems a bit excessive

thanks everyone for their replies

boglin

I have received Canadian money orders in sterling before; the sender bought them at their Post Office and they had to pay a fee to buy them, rather like we would pay a fee to the PO to buy a postal order to send within UK.

This can be banked or exchanged for cash at a Post Office at no cost to the recipient.

I have also, for the record, received sterling money orders from Japan. These have been ordered through the sender's Post Office but instead of them being given the MO to mail themselves, the request is sent to UK and the MO is issued direct to the recipient by UK mail (it takes around a week to arrive after being ordered in Japan). Again, this can be banked or cashed at no charge to the recipient.

The USA is different and does not seem to provide a sterling Money Order service.


Hope this helps.

~cleo~

thanks for all your help, got buyer to send me a money order in sterling arrived ok, and after the post office woman looking at me like i was mad and then ringing her area manager (or someone like that) money order cashed ...yey!!!!