Buyer sending a cheque

JC_Derby

Do i need to worry?

sorry ill quantify, can i still bank it and wait for it to clear, then theres no comeback?

coolmumh

Ive had the occasional buyer pay by chq and not had a problem. I sent them a message the day the chq arrives and then again once it has cashed and i have posted the item and dont forget you wont get stung with paypal fees that way either.

JimmyTheWig

You will need to wait until a few days after its cleared before you can be sure that it's not going to bounce. Clearing doesn't mean much.

shaun_from_Africa

The safe date is now 6 full working days after you've paid it in.
As far as you are concerned the money is safe after this time. It can still "bounce", but if it does, it is the bank that has to take the loss and not you.

A lot of banks will allow you to draw money from the cheque 3 or 4 days after paying it in, but this doesn't mean that the funds are 100% safe.

hermum

coolmumh wrote: »

Ive had the occasional buyer pay by chq and not had a problem. I sent them a message the day the chq arrives and then again once it has cashed and i have posted the item and dont forget you wont get stung with paypal fees that way either.

OP if they haven't sent it yet I would ask them to do a bank transfer. No fees for either of you, virtually instant payment. The details you would need to give them is less than the details printed on a cheque or bank card.
You don't get paypal fees for a cheque but unless you live or work close to your bank it can cost more than paypal fees now. I would have to drive to my City Centre, pay parking so would cost about £3.

JimmyTheWig

hermum wrote: »

OP if they haven't sent it yet I would ask them to do a bank transfer. No fees for either of you, virtually instant payment. The details you would need to give them is less than the details printed on a cheque or bank card.
You don't get paypal fees for a cheque but unless you live or work close to your bank it can cost more than paypal fees now. I would have to drive to my City Centre, pay parking so would cost about £3.

Interesting thoughts.

The trouble with the bank transfer is that while your bank details go on every cheque you write, you're not writing a cheque to these people. I would be concerned about giving my bank details to someone who hasn't even got PayPal.
I don't know what they could do with your bank details, but personally I'm not sure that I'd risk it.

EBay advise against this sort of payment, I believe. Due to buyer protection, I think, but even so...

I agree about the cost of going to the bank, however. Especially if you value your time!
How much is the item worth, OP?

JC_Derby

thanks for the replies. I live in a fairly large village so it does have a bank. But will definately let the buyer know once the cheque has arrived.

macfly

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Interesting thoughts.


I don't know what they could do with your bank details, but personally I'm not sure that I'd risk it.

Then you should find out. Think logically. Bank details are on every cheque you write.

JC_Derby

macfly wrote: »

Then you should find out. Think logically. Bank details are on every cheque you write.

which he said in his second sentence, that you seem to ignore.

hermum

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Interesting thoughts.

The trouble with the bank transfer is that while your bank details go on every cheque you write, you're not writing a cheque to these people. I would be concerned about giving my bank details to someone who hasn't even got PayPal.
I don't know what they could do with your bank details, but personally I'm not sure that I'd risk it.

EBay advise against this sort of payment, I believe. Due to buyer protection, I think, but even so...

I agree about the cost of going to the bank, however. Especially if you value your time!
How much is the item worth, OP?

Yes, buyer protection the seller doesn't get it.
It isn't so much the time aspect of going to the bank that I object to, it's the fact that I would have to make a specific journey that would possibly cost more than paypal depending on the item cost. Hence the bank transfer, every time you leave your house with a bank card in your possession you run the small risk of losing it, that small risk is probably higher than someone running amok with your bank details given to them to make a bank transfer.

JimmyTheWig

hermum wrote: »

every time you leave your house with a bank card in your possession you run the small risk of losing it, that small risk is probably higher than someone running amok with your bank details given to them to make a bank transfer.

I agree in theory, but it does depend on the starting conditions. I've got no problems in giving my bank details (on a cheque, for example) to a trader who I found in the local paper (for example). I agree that the chances of fraud are tiny. The chances of the person I picked being a scammer is very small.

My concern in this case is that the buyer is already a slightly odd character. Why on earth would anyone buy on eBay and want to send a cheque rather than use PayPal? The chances of them being a scammer, to me, is now much higher than that of someone I chose at random.
They may have some scam ready for which they need bank details. They buy a dozen items on PayPal and offer to pay by cheque hoping that one or two will suggest a bank transfer. Boom.

I'm not saying that the buyer is a scammer, just that they are doing something odd which would make me suspicious.