Paying for stuff - safest, easiest...what do you do?

[PeterF]

How do you prefer to pay for what you buy, and get paid for what you sell?

eBay pretty much dictates that we use PayPal, so we needn't discuss that too much. And some people dislike that policy so much that they will refuse to use PayPal at any time, although some have other reasons to not use it. PayPal fees can be avoided by using the "Friends and Family" option, but the so-called buyer protection features of PayPal are also disabled in that mode.

Some banks offer direct transfers from one bank account to another, with varying ease and fees.

Cashiers Checks and Postal Money Orders seem safest for non-electronic transfers, but must be purchased in person, and some people don't want to wait in line to buy them. (I recently had a transaction canceled because the buyer's mom didn't want to wait in the line at the post office or let him do so, but this may be a family matter for them to resolve!)

Personal checks sent through the mail are the last resort because they are so patently unsafe in this era of rampant identity theft. And unfortunately past successes in using them are no indication of future safety performance.

There may be other ways, like meeting after dark in a public square with a brown paper sack, but we might be better to not discuss those.

So...what do you prefer, and why?

[alang]

I can only comment from the buyer's side. If I don't know the seller I prefer Paypal with buyer protection. If I know and trust the seller I prefer Paypal "send to a friend", but also use personal checks if preferred by the seller.

In general, I can understand people's grief about eBay and Paypal, but I still prefer Paypal over credit card etc to pay for Internet purchases. I've been using Paypal since long before eBay bought them and would not want to miss the peace of mind it gives me when buying something on the web. Even without the buyer protection at least I only risk this one transaction and not the trouble you get into when your credit card info is stolen.

JMO
Andreas

[Henry]

On the very few occasions that I have purchased on uBuy, I have e-mailed the seller whether he will accept Postal (USPS) Money order. I haven't had one refusal, in fact they seem to welcome it. My impression is that some sellers are as fed up with PayPal as some of us are, especially as it relates to uBuy's policy of near-coercion. I once had a PayPal account, but I let it lapse (as I said, I don't use the auction site very often at all). But as always, YRMV!

[VintageTechnologies]

Even though I kind of resent eBay, I still prefer PayPal for the convenience, speed and safety of making payments. I also think it is the easiest way to make international payments.

[NEFaurora]

Paypal.

)

[epigramophone]

Both as a buyer and a seller I use PayPal where the item has to be posted, and cash where the item can be collected in person.

If a buyer who is collecting in person pays in advance by PayPal, I insist that they sign a receipt for the item to avoid any possibility of a chargeback later on.

[Hailey]

I have to admit, I am still pretty old-fashioned. For those that have purchased from me, you know that a check will work just fine. I suppose there is some risk in writing a check and sending it off, yet I am so old-school that I am vaguely even aware of what that may be. PayPal does seem to have a bit of convenience with it, but I would really question the integrity of the process if you were to collect on a claim or a loss. When I have been involved in such a similar process with like companies, nothing more than a nightmare has ensued. I always say for larger items - large meaning size or value - cash does best, and just make the trip. Wether you are the buyer or the seller, I say just travel and make the deal face to face. Nothing beats the legitimacy of looking at the item and handling it, and then the passing over of cash.

[rizbone]

I prefer cash. Half the fun for me is hunting something down and taking it home. If I must use e-bay I always ask if I can send a check and have the seller hold the item until it clears. Part of this is e-bays insistence I use Pay-Pal, and part of it is me being an old fashioned contrarian. Also, if I don't establish arbitrary and confusing limits on myself I'll spend too much.