Postal Order from USA

JonTurner

Hi guys,

I recently sold a print on Etsy to a customer in the USA- normally international buyers automatically pay by paypal, but I had postal order and cheque ticked as an option too, so I've got a US postal order on the way.

I'll know in future that I need to change my payment options (unfortunately, unlike ebay, it seems that on etsy you can't discriminate between payment options for domestic and international buyers), but wondered if anyone had any experience with cashing an international postal order? I imagine it'll incur a nasty fee (if I can find somewhere to cash it), but it's my own fault so I'm willing to take the hit. Or would I be able to keep it, do you think, and use it to purchase something from the USA in future?

Thanks,
Jon

macfly

Your bank or Western Union will cash it, for a fee. It should have your name on so is untransferable.

JonTurner

macfly wrote: »

Your bank or Western Union will cash it, for a fee. It should have your name on so is untransferable.

Ah ok, thanks macfly- I'll just take it to the bank then, and hope that the fee isn't quite as much as the actual cost of the item!

jabdc5

is it in USD or GBP?

JonTurner

jabdc5 wrote: »

is it in USD or GBP?

Honestly, I'm not sure- I haven't received it yet. I think it'll most likely be USD though, because etsy automatically converts to native currency. Even if it turns out I can't cash it at all, I won't be too upset- it's only fifteen pounds, and the buyer seems very nice.

terra_ferma

JonTurner wrote: »

but it's my own fault so I'm willing to take the hit.

It's good to see people who are honest and take responsibility for their mistakes. I too once had a PO that I could not cash because I made a mistake, and I still sent the item to the buyer

JonTurner

Just a follow up to this in case anyone finds themselves in the same situation and this thread comes up in a google search.

First advice, if you can possibly avoid having someone send you payment from abroad via Moneygram then do so! If you can't avoid it, then try and get them to make the Moneygram payment out in GBP rather than their own currency- you will still pay a hefty fee but it will be smaller, and you'll have a lot less trouble cashing it. I guess it might be somewhat more worthwhile for a high amount, but even then I would go for the faster and less hassle option of Paypal if at all possible.

So my experience: I first went to the local post office, as there was a Moneygram sign outside, but they decided that because it was in dollars they probably couldn't do anything with it. I then went to my local bank, the cashier had never seen one before and decided they couldn't do anything with it either, and even if they could the fees would be horrendous. I went back to Oxford this weekend, and figured that as there are loads of international students Moneygrams might be a more familiar prospect there; the cashier in the bank wasn't too sure, but managed to get advice from a colleague that I could cash it, but that it'd cost me £10 in fees so wouldn't really be worthwhile. I paid it in anyway, figuring that five pounds is better than nothing at all, and at least covers all my costs.

Anyway, lesson learned- and it certainly puts Paypal's relatively modest fees into perspective! My advice to anyone selling on etsy (not a problem with ebay as you can specify which payments you'll take from which country) would be to untick the money order option, or to at least put prominently in your listing that you won't accept money orders from abroad. Hope that helps anyone who finds themselves in the same situation!

Jon