western union

pinkgem

an international buyer wants to pay me by western union. can i get the money at any bank or post office?

i have agreed to it and obviously won't send the item until i have received payment

this is the email i had:

"hello!

can i send you the money through the western union exchange shop?
i ve made payments with this method many times!

with the western union i send the money to your address and u go to a bank or a post office of your region and get the money immediately when i send them.there is no any delay from the time i give the money to get them.
when i do the payment i give you a code number which u will use in the post office or bank to get the money.
if u think this is difficult for u i can make the payment through bank account transfering!"

steviebabes

It is against ebay policy but is perfectly safe for you.

meester

what are you selling?

Usually the way this works they send you a fake transfer number, string you along and then encourage you to send your goods before you have received any money.

It's quite possible they are legitimate though.

I would say the great majority of attempted Western Union transactions on ebay are fraudulent.

But once you do have the money in your hand, then you are obviously ok, and in a much stronger p osition than if you had accepted paypal, because there will be no refunds.

Personally though, depending on the item, I would be prepared for lots of time wasting and re-listing the item to somebody else.

pinkgem

steviebabes wrote: »

It is against ebay policy but is perfectly safe for you.

can i get the money from any bank or post office? or only certain ones?

i didn't offer it as a payment option. in fact the item was only offered for sale to uk only and i only normally accept paypal from international buyers.

i was contacted and asked if i would sell to them and if i would accept bank transfer or western union. i said bank transfer is fine and then they asked if i would accept western union - must be easier or cheaper for them i guess.

DGJsaver

is it safe to give them your bank details if you choose to let them pay you by BACS ?

S0litaire

I'd never use Western Union and I never trust anyone on Ebay who asks for payment via Western Union.

Loads of people being ripped off when they send payments Via W.U. They either go missing or someone else picks up the cash just before you do.

W.U. are terrible when it comes to tracking money in their system.

pinkgem

meester wrote: »

what are you selling?

Usually the way this works they send you a fake transfer number, string you along and then encourage you to send your goods before you have received any money.

It's quite possible they are legitimate though.

I would say the great majority of attempted Western Union transactions on ebay are fraudulent.

But once you do have the money in your hand, then you are obviously ok, and in a much stronger p osition than if you had accepted paypal, because there will be no refunds.

Personally though, depending on the item, I would be prepared for lots of time wasting and re-listing the item to somebody else.

i'd rather not say what it is but item cost is just over £100. it's not anything like a mobile or laptop, and the buyer isn't from nigeria so that's a good start i suppose.

i've said to the buyer i won't send anything until i have the payment. i just need to know how i go about getting the payment. is it like a money order?

pinkgem

S0litaire wrote: »

I'd never use Western Union and I never trust anyone on Ebay who asks for payment via Western Union.

Loads of people being ripped off when they send payments Via W.U. They either go missing or someone else picks up the cash just before you do.

W.U. are terrible when it comes to tracking money in their system.

surely once i have the money it is perfectly safe to send the item with no risk of refund or chargeback etc

S0litaire

If you get the money in advance then fine it's safe to send. Just DON'T send before you get the money

pinkgem

DGJsaver wrote: »

is it safe to give them your bank details if you choose to let them pay you by BACS ?

yes it is fine to give people your bank account information for bank transfer payment.

i know my IBAN and SWIFT numbers for international payments (well i have them written down somewhere!)

steviebabes

I have used it once, you pick up the cash from a WU office, mine was at Going Places travel agents. You will need identification of your name and know the buyers full name and the exact amount.