What's so special about postal money orders? Serious question. I'm not trying to cause a big ruckus. It seems many people really prefer the postal money order over some really easy forms of payment; head scratcher to me. I recently bought a rifle off GunBroker and the seller took only postal money order. I offered to wire funds directly to their bank but they preferred the postal money order. Why? Are that many people living without a checking/brokerage account? With so many easy ways to pay why postal money orders?

It's ignorance on my part. I don't understand wire transfer, paypal, venwhatever etc. Money orders have not failed me yet.

For one thing I'm not giving someone I don't know my bank account number for a wire transfer. What's so hard about going to the post office to get a money order?

+1.

Post office hours suck. I start work before they open, come home after they close, and my local closes the counter for lunch hour. Otherwise they're awesome.

It’s an act of Congress to get your money back if a money order is lost in transit. Personally, if a money order is the only way to finalize a deal, I’ll back out.

It took me 3 months to get my money back the last time I tried using one. The mail never delivered the payment envelope to the seller so we mutually agreed to cancel the deal. Fortunately I had all my receipts but 90 days was a long time to wait. The seller certainly didn’t want to and I was not willing to pay twice for the same item when the post office would not guarantee a refund.

Of course you’re free to do what you want to on your deals.

You left out the awesomeness of waiting 20 minutes in line.

Just fer schitz n' giggles.......

https://firstquarterfinance.com/where-can-i-cash-a-postal-money-order/


ya!



GWB

^^^^^THIS!^^^^^^^

They sell em at other places too.

If Money Order is the only acceptable way of payment I cruise right on by. In my opinion that is living in the 1940s. To the buyer of the MO try getting your money back when it is lost or fraud.

I had some people who don;t understand e-bank check, money is deducted when purchased a no fail, it does take a little longer, but?

And what is wrong with personal check, hold the merchandise until the check clear. then ship. Who looses? In fact the personal check gives the seller some leverage in the case of NSFs. A little complicated legally, but just saying......

No money orders here

And yet we’ll willingly hand a check or mail one with our account number to a stranger. I know very few people actually still use checks but they’re still more secure than debit cards. Without an ID and PIN number there not much way to get money out of your account with just an account number.

Decent article here on the most popular ones. CashApp, Zelle, and Venmo are fairly ubiquitous in my area.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...e-cash-facebook-google-zelle/5005537002/

MO's do indeed suck. I've never been able to cash one at our PO. "Not enough money in my drawer. Come back later." My bank accepts them if I deposit rather than cash it- but that entails another cross town journey in our local perpetual rush hour. And both venues invariably entail a long wait in line to boot. Meh. I'd rather send a personal check to those fogeys that don't/won't learn about electronic transfers of funds, and wait for it to clear than endure the hassle of going and getting a MO.

As for electronic money transfer venues, I've never ever known anyone who got ripped off. Security is pretty darned good. Guns I've purchased on line, paid for electronically, and sent screen shots of my C&R license, have been showing up on my doorstep in a matter of days. One very good thing about living in the 21st century, IMO.

Yep, screw going to the P.O., PMO is no dice for me. I've taken many personal checks from buyers here. If you don't know/trust the buyer hold the delivery till the check clears.
PayPal is the easy button.

Most banks and credit unions can call a central number and instantly verify the USPS money order - can't do that with all the others. Having said that, I don't buy much anymore if that's the only pay option - I'll be 70 in a few months and no matter how healthy I try to stay, statistically my survival odds suck if catch Covid. Not going to wait in line in our little podunk PO's 10x15 counter room - not enough room even without 'social distancing'. Personally, I think it's kind of arrogant to demand PO's as the only pay option - yeah, that's right up there with all those folks who can't take the time to learn how to post photos.

There’s a certain measure of protection. If someone screws you out of merchandise paid for my postal money order that you mailed, it’s mail fraud. In the real world, getting a postal inspector to investigate and prosecute depends heavily on their work load, ambition, how much the money order was for, etc.

Same dumbasses are the anal retentives who want the original factory box and the factory workers' original finger prints in the original factory dust on the box for a $200 firearm like it's an heirloom lol

Get a life. Step into this century.

I avoid MOs. I can deposit a check into my account by phone but a MO I can’t.

^^^^
This.

Ranks right up there with all the fuggin tightwad losers that want fees when using PayPal for low dollar items. JFC how desperate are people that they need the fees covered on a 10 dollar item? Anytime I come across some jackass wanting fees or +4% for their stuff I walk on by. Fugginasswadsfugginupeverything.

I could be wrong, but I believe that when someone tampers with or fakes a USPS Money Order, it's a federal thing. It seems like my bank is very willing to cash one on the spot, too. I really ought to ask them about that.

Zelle is a great way to transfer money. It's lightning fast and costs nothing.

Paypal is an absolute NOGO as far as I am concerned. Those [bleep] let a Chinese merchant hold me down and [bleep] me til my ass bled. I will NEVER deal with those [bleep] again.

Paypal sucks. Once they have your bank info they own you.

I accept USPS MO only for payment from people I don't know. Never had one bounce or a counterfeit. If you want to buy something from me I couldn't care less about what's convenient for you. What's convenient for me is that I know I am going to get paid.

Just so you know....

I'm easy. (that's what she said)

I almost always state in my ads "PP F&F preferred, cash, check, or postal money order accepted with the appropriate wait".

Pretty much covers all the bases for the buyer.......

Wire transfers are simple,, the payee has no access to withdraw money different numbers for withdrawing and paying. Virtual payments like paypal, venom, and cash app go directly to your credit card of choice or to a card they issue you...no pain. The post office sucks

If you think the US Postal Inspector is going to investigate you getting screwed in a 1 time transaction related to your $200 scope deal under mail fraud statues, you are are living on another planet.

That may be true. But if you think the Inspector is going to overlook counterfeiting or tampering with USPS Money Orders, I think you might be be living on another planet.

I'm in the same boat. I am fine with a personal check from members on the fire. Seems like i have read on here about paypal being anti 2A,so it don't male sense to me why memebers on a pro gun site would have anything to do with gaypal.

Fascination? Seller's choice. Don't like it, just move the fuuck on.

+ 2

I have a checking and investment account. I accept uspsmo, only. My bank cashes them for cash, with no issue.
And pay with uspsmo only.

US postal inspector is a do nothing Democrates, I had dealing with those jerks

I take USPS ones because I can call and verify it on the phone and cash it right at the PO. See the sticky at the top of classifides. None of it coming back on me a month later like a personal check that was fraud could. I use PayPal a bunch, but the fees rack up and if you use F&F you waive a lot of options if you get screwed over. Plus gun sales are not permitted. That makes it even more certain they will not help you if you get stiffed. Venmo is owned by PayPal, so pretty much the same. I signed up for the Gunbroker Pay to take it on there, but no sales since.

Had a buyer recently send me a money order from a cash advance place. My bank did not even want to take it because it was issued via an international bank. They put a 10 business day hold on it. So his box is still sitting until that is released.

If you need to send money, but don't want to do a mo and are worried about a personal check, do a certified bank check. Most do it for free for account holders. I do tgat for payments to a contact that I buy fixer upper guns from that is 2k miles away.

And I suppose you are the guy that has never bought or sold anything. The fees with Paypal are a full 3%, and yes they matter.

Postal money orders are a pain in the ass, here you usually stand in line at the Post Office for 20 minutes to get one, my bank charges me $3.00 for a cashiers check. I know PayPal is a bunch of jerks but I'll gladly pay 3% on a $500 deal to avoid the long lines and trouble of rounding up a MO. I have no problem with personal check because in this day and age checks clear over night or at least in a day. I think holding an item for 7 to 10 days is BS Most gun guys on here with history can be trusted, haven't been screwed yet, but I guess my turn is coming.. I'm trusting you when I send you a check without having the item I paid for in hand, so how about showing me the same trust when I send you a check. I don't buy items that the seller demands a MO.

I think a lot of sellers have figured out that cashing a postal money order at the post office leaves a minimal paper trail. Be hard for the tax man to pin down unless they deposit the money in the bank.

PMOs are OK but PP is right now and you can ship.

The post office on ft Richardson hasn’t had money orders in weeks.. even if they did they don’t have stamps to sell you to mail said money order..

They get looted

I use them and have for years. They still work and most older collectors I deal with don't have a problem with them. If its a deal breaker then both parties have the option of moving on.

You can only get a Postal MO at the post office.

Tag

If they won’t take a bank check, fuuuck em!

Actually I have bought and sold stuff and have never asked for PP fees ever. If the fees matter so much the why don't people add them to their asking price in the beginning so as to not look like cheap bastards. You can't tell me that paying a full 3.00 per 100.00 in sales is going matter all that much. I just don't understand that mentality.

There are multiple ways of doing things for a reason.
None are right or wrong for everyone , and that’s OK !
Bottom line is it’s the sellers choice of anything to specify how they want payment . If that doesn’t suit you move along .

Same here. Seller has the option of what they prefer. Myself I've excepted a boat load of personal checks from the good members here and yet to have a problem. I had 1 check come where 1/4 of the envelope and check was missing,my bank still cashed it.

Besides my most recent swearing off of paypal completely, I always did all I could to avoid letting those anti-gun sonsabitches profit from any transaction involving yours truly...which meant using F&F. IOW, a matter of principle much like my avoidance of certain household products marketed by anti-gun cretins.

I always figured that god invented the postal money order for guys with cash that mama doesn’t know about. Keeps it out of the household funds. lol

Truth......

I had this thought too. Maybe people think the IRS can't track their "income" through postal money orders? If this is true, some may not understand just how much info the IRS have access to. They certainly have access to any/all accounts. The IRS also have a very broad interpretation of income, they even count credit card/airline reward miles as income now. . . . I suppose straight cash or barter is the best way to stay off the IRS radar?

I don't know but if a seller insists on sending me to that communist sh ! t hole full of lazy liberal fk's to get a money order I can get at HEB or Kroger in less than 10 minutes I don't need their sh ! t.

River Rider - except I wasn't responding to your comment about tampering or counterfeiting a money order.

I accept personal CK's

Haven't got screwed yet

MO's are a PIA to purchase in my opinion

This is pretty much where I'm at as well. Never had a problem with personal checks, PayPal or money orders, and have been on the Campfire a long time now.

However, when I put something on the Campfire Classifieds it's because I WANT to sell it. Why make it harder for a potential buyer?

Can kinda understand somebody wanting money orders if they're trying to hide gun buys, etc., from "the wife." But both my wife and I have separate bank accounts, both for our businesses and personal stuff, and she couldn't care less about me buying (or selling) another firearm.

On the other hand, I don't have much problem using USPS money orders if that's what the seller wants. But I live in a small town, and go to the post office every day anyway, both to pick up mail and, quite often, ship stuff. So I go through the drive-in window at our bank (three blocks from our house) and cash a check. Take the cash to the PO (which is way over on the other side of town, maybe 12 blocks) and buy a money order. Sometimes I have to wait in line two minutes, but probably half the time there's nobody ahead of me.

I’ve always excepted Personal Checks from fellow 🔥 Members when selling here. Never had a problem.
I won’t use those anti-gun PayPal bastards.

I'd see a lawyer if I had to hide my purchases from my wife! I think she'd do the same. She'd be way more pissed off if she discovered a purchase from my hidden money. Trust has worked for us to 40 years. I kind of feel sorry for some of you that have to operate that way!

Switch--
This nails it for me as well.

Postal money orders are a pain in the ass, here you usually stand in line at the Post Office for 20 minutes to get one, my bank charges me $3.00 for a cashiers check. I know PayPal is a bunch of jerks but I'll gladly pay 3% on a $500 deal to avoid the long lines and trouble of rounding up a MO. I have no problem with personal check because in this day and age checks clear over night or at least in a day. I think holding an item for 7 to 10 days is BS Most gun guys on here with history can be trusted, haven't been screwed yet, but I guess my turn is coming.. I'm trusting you when I send you a check without having the item I paid for in hand, so how about showing me the same trust when I send you a check. I don't buy items that the seller demands a MO.

Don’t forget the cranky [bleep] taking your money and the mentioned previously were not a bank!!!! Not enough money come back later.

At least you can probable get free Covid !!!!

That also

I have taken three bad checks over the years, a couple of small ones and one for near $300, in each case they were from long time posters on the site. Since then I have only taken PayPal or Postal MO, the problem with some of the other forms of payment (cashiers checks, etc) is that they can be easily faked.

drover

My feeling as well. I'm more at risk with the number of new people here. I've been here a long time. There are people who will send a gun before they get my check. If something goes wrong in the mail, I can cancel a check and send another one. Not interested in waiting 90 days to get money from a PMO from the bank.

Not surprising, from the guy who sends ammo illegally through the USPS.

Bingo!

I wonder if any of you urban dwelling dudes that have sworn off PayPal have ever asked the postal employee issuing your money order how they feel about guns? My guess is you're having about the same impact either way.
Rock the Boycott!!
I figure if I ignore PP's stupid policy and use the FF option I'm sticking it to them.

It is the age we live in. We should be able to make the deal and send seller a personal check that he immediately cashes and when it clears he ships item. I am 70 and have never written a bad check and most of the men I have dealt with on this and another web site like this one are honest and easy to deal with.

Illegal shipping ammo, hell I can't even send a buddy a bottle of Crown for his Birthday through UPS or USPS, States got to have their tax.

I agree with this, a postal money order is safe, costs very little in fees for the buyer. Paypal is good, but the fees really add up, 3% is not chump change,
and someone is going to have to pay them.

I remember some years back I purchased a scope from a guy in Alaska, he sent it to me right away, before I even sent the money order.

Lots of places sell money orders, the USPS is the last place I want to go, insisting on a USPS money order is strange.

I get those who don't like Paypal, someone here was royally screwed by them. I use them friends to friends even if there is no recourse with a bad deal, it's fast and convenient.

When I get the usps mo I cash it then and there at the po. Then I mail the item.

No way I can get screwed over that way.

I'd be curious to hear the story of someone "royally screwed by" PayPal?

All of this^^^

Everyone should have at least one public-facing bank account for wire transfers, etc.

I have 11 bank accounts. When a wire hits my public account, I immediately transfer the money to an “internal” account that cannot be accessed by anyone - meaning it has no debit card or checking account attached to it. It only exists at the bank.

The public bank account never has more than about $10 in it except for when I receive a wire or prime it for an outgoing wire.

What's not to like! Minimal cost, easy to verify validity, easy to cash, purchase mailed on receipt, no wait on clearance. If you are to busy to purchase one, I also am to busy to warp and mail your purchase to you. GW

Some of us ain't retired......yet.

I'm self-employed. My time during the day is money. The time spent driving and waiting at the PO costs me money. And then I can't buy as much crap on the Classifieds......

I don't like the politics of PayPal either. But in the time it takes for the shop door to open and back the pickup out I can transfer money from individual to individual.........

I prefer to send a personal check - but, a PMO isn't that big a pain for me.
Depends on what I'm buying, and how long I want to wait.
I've also had items arrive, that had to be shipped before the seller got payment.
One time, I forgot a small purchase, until it arrived - PM'd the seller, and got a check out.
He stated he'd figured something had come up, and was not worried. WHEW !!!

Money orders only for me. If you want to use some sort of modern, easy, or convenient way of doing anything at all I am completely against it. Can’t stand when people think things are better just because they are easier or more convenient. If you ask me, these kind of people are simply lazy and don’t understand the value of good old fashioned hard work.

Think about it. It is easy to do anything an easier way these days. But how hard is it to make something more complicated and to take more time to complete than necessary.

If it isn’t complicated, hard, or non enjoyable in some sort of a way then it simply isn’t worth doing at all.

Are you Amish?

Don't have any problem with that. In fact we've had an Amish colony recently start up in my Montana county. They're fine people, and many of us appreciate their life-style. And in fact my paternal grandmother, thought not Amish, was often referred to as somebody who preferred doing things the hard way--including homesteading by herself in central Montana a century ago. But I am not retired, and prefer to spend my "complicated, hard" time on my enjoyable work.

As previously noted I also don't find USPS money orders "hard" in our small community. But also don't find they have any major advantage over any other method of payment, whether old-fashioned checks (or cash) or quicker Internet methods. And apparently you don't object to the "easy" Internet to express your opinions.

Are you serious or is this post an attempt at levity? If you are serious, you are simply stupid.....

I wonder how he feels about a certified bank check...?

I won't go into a lot of detail, but I looked at some supposed N95 masks on-line early on during the covid BS. In order to try and understand what the package deal was, I put stuff in my cart. I NEVER clicked on a "pay now" button or any such thing. I thought it was pretty confusing so I backed out and went through it again to see WTF they were offering. Again, I NEVER submitted any agreement to purchase. Next thing I knew, I was getting billed for a bunch of shit I never agreed to buy. Paypal would not do a damned thing about it, nor would Citi. Fuck them and the horse they rode in on.

PayPal does not allow firearms purchases. Too bad. I truly wonder why they have a "no gun" policy.

Have never had an issue with USPS money orders. Sure sometimes the local PO can't cash one, no big deal, take i

We have Amscot here, their MO's are free. Never a problem with them either.

Will not do paypal, nor send a personal check.

I will see if I can find who it was, IIRC his bank account was either locked or seized after Paypal stated he violated their policy.

It's NOT money orders, it's USPS money orders.

I see everyone complaining about the 3% PayPal fee, but they do not hesitate to pull out their credit card to buy items. The merchant pays the fee, 3% in most cases. I was in business for 40 years and can't really remember taking a bad personal check, had a couple bounce but the maker of the check made it good, even though it cost them huge bank fees, I'd much rather take a personal check than a credit card when I was in business. I fought getting a credit card machine for a long time but finally had to as many of my customers only used credit card, many government and larger companies.

I agree, is USPS is only method of payment, I just move on. Their choice and I respect it, but not my choice. To each his own and wish them the best.

Fifth: As much as I dislike the usps and most of their personnel, Postal Money Orders are "THE" only form of payment I use - coming or going!
And "I" been doin "this" for decades!
I wouldn't even consider any other form of payment.
If you don't like them don't partake - its that simple.
But I would advise you to reconsider that and to use them.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

After "using them for decades" maybe time to move into the new century! Do you ship using Pony Express?

From what I've heard it's a liability issue.

We started using PayPal to process the credit-card sales on our website around a decade ago. Our site mostly sells books, and related stuff, about guns and hunting. In fact its name is www.riflesandrecipes.com. Never had a problem.

24HR

UR personal CK is good for me.......

During the Great Obama Rimfire Ammo Shortage, VarmintGuy would drive hundreds of miles around Montana looking for rimfire ammo in all the local stores. Meanwhile, I was cruising the Internet and buying more than enough for my purposes, delivered right to my door. Got enough that I'm still not looking for more.

Maybe I'm a dumb AZ but I have been known to send cash in small amounts and personal checks.. If you don't trust the transaction move on...
Many good transactions from members here....

I received $1100 in cash for one purchase, mailed in a standard business envelope, though the dough was wrapped in a piece of standard typing paper so it wouldn't "show" through the envelope.

I don’t like sending cash in the mail. MO’s can be a PITA as well.

Was sending cash to a Fire fella for some work. USPS lost a package with couple hundred cash in it. Tracking was no help.

Sent a MO to cover the cash lost in transit. Forgot to sign the fuggin’ thing. Sent another.
Meantime the cash finally arrived and my money orders were returned. Went to the bank to cancel them and holy damn they wanted to rape me. Ended up charging me something like 20% to cancel them.

I’ll take bank transfers for $1000 please, Alex.....

LOL
Sheesh.
Hold into the salad!

So there is a new scam going on with the e-Pay sights. I was recenlty hit with a $200 loss from paypal as a seller due to their TOS on a non-gun related item.

Goes like this.
Buyer uses e-Pay sight linked to credit card.
Seller gets funds and immediately ships due to ebay, paypal, and other sights dinging you with negative feedback if you do not immediately ship. I have received negative feedback because I shipped at 48 hours due to having a job and not being a Johnny on the spot shipping-listing said I think said 3 or 4 days maximum-what is allowed at ebay.
Buyer receives the item at his registered e-pay address.
Some time passes. It was 2 weeks for me when Paypal notifies me that the credit card used was stolen and they are freezing my account for any withdrawals, but I could accept payments and offer refunds.
I dispute this as I sent the item to the registered paypal address and did not violate any terms.
Several weeks later paypal took the ~$200 back saying they found in favor of the person whose credit card was stolen (probably had to refund) and Paypal was not going to eat the cost so it was going to be me-the cost of doing business they say. I am not a business but an occasions seller 6-12 times a year everywhere..
I was furious but with e-pay sights for buyers you are stuck with their TOS where the rich man never loses money so if a credit card dispute is made Paypal has to refund the credit card so they stick it to the seller.
In my contact with paypal they said that there has been allot of this going on in recent years.
The only way I could think of to make this scan work is to burn yourself-buy allot of stuff-then report your card stolen since merchandise went to the Paypal listed address-I did verify this later that I did not send to the Ebay address-they both matched..
The paypal agent stated they could not comment on specific details on how this scam works but did say if it happened again to report it to paypal and to withhold shipping the item until it was clear it was not fraud-WTF kind of answer is that?
I also learned that I am bound to their own internal arbitration by TOS.

This does not happen with a USPS M/O

I am also notified by my e-pay sights, banks, credit card companies, and so on at least once every six months that they have been hacked and that I must change my login info, get a new credit card number ,etc....... though I worn you that banks do not change your account number like a credit card company dose and a story from a friends experience if you ever receive this from your bank immediately close your account or risk having your money taken and not returned for 3+ months after painful and costy filing of police reports that they do not wish to do and many many meetings, phone calls, emails, etc. A bank will not even consider this until the police report is filed. My township now charges for police reports if not done from a incident or urgent call-though they do have a minor charge of $15 for a copy.

The USPS by using M/O does not repeatedly keep loosing my personal information and money to hackers and thieves.

Several years back I ended sending personal checks. This was when paypal went all gun nazi on 2A members (yet discrimination on the two digit amendment protected classes is considered racism-sexism-agism-and all kinds of other ism;s) so I paid by personal check with no thought. Within 4 days of mailing my bank account was drained. Was this a coincidence? Maybe so. Luckily it was my back up bank account I use for checks and bank transfers so it was not loaded. Took nearly two months to be made whole with lots of requirements like filing a police report.

The USPS by using M/O does not have my bank account all over it.

Another scam is websites where Mods/owners/administrators have access to email addresses and passwords. Seems that some folks use only a few passwords. The thief takes the email address used at the website and the password at the website and gives it a go at paypal to take over the account and do thieving. The older folks who can not remember 101 different passwords are most vulnerable, Yes, common sense these days is to not do this .........but in the cyber world nothing ever goes away and this data can be had- and there are folks in Nigeria that work full time at nothing more than testing out this accumulated data. Moral of the story-changer your password-do not recycle a password. The more internet purchasing and larger internet presence you have then the more often you should change your password. This is a snowballing effect because you have to now remember all these passwords else get locked out from using your money!.

The USPS by using M/O does not save emails/accounts/passwords.

I suspect most members here are of the 40+ or older age group, from a time when simple was better. I hear all the millennials and later here, who are most likely from single child families and have what the Chinese call the Prince & Princess Syndrome, that grew up in an world centered around them and protected from anything negative and branded with the need for instant gratification ........ crying out that few minute visit to their bank or post office is like so much effort and drains them of all their energy, so difficult because there is no instant button to push, ........walking up hill both ways in snow 40 degrees below zero story-for crying out loud-toughen up and show some balls and stop your whining about a form of payment that older people prefer when dealing with those they have not established a trusting relationship with. Same goes for the six weeks it takes to get your money back if the M/O is lost or stolen......big deal......in the end they are 100% reliable unlike the epay sights...... and have way less paperwork and time investment needed to get your money back-just a simple claim form with your sworn statement and your M/O stub-.......boo hoo, so hard to do. As this Covid thing continues to wreck our economy and we enter a great depression larger than the last one that resulted in a great war over the land and resources.............well....you all are going to have to do allot more waiting and allot more walking so get use to it. Actually way easier than e-Pay to file against a thief, plus M/O requires a physical presence that offers opportunity to catch a thief. Several years back after my paypal then my personal check fiasco so was using a MO, ,,,,,,,,seller swore up and down that he did not receive the money order. The Post Office does offer the opportunity to include further documentation and I included emails where he said he did not receive it and where we mutually agreed to cancel. The stupid idiot then went on to cash it at a bank or something (if at USPS they would have immediately denied it) and got the money. The USPS Inspector Generals office or something like contacted me and stated that the M/O was cashed by the seller way after my refund and asked me to fill out a sworn statement at the post office that I did not receive the items later and itt was countersigned by them like a notary. I left having had the strong impression that the post office was going to get their money back-but they would not comment other than confirming the MO was cashed some two months after I received a refund. That was one stupid fellow for sure..

If my money was stolen electronically there is a very high probability of the the thief getting away with it. I think the lowest probability of success is with a USPS M/O and it has the harshest penalty. Here is California if your profession is thieving all you need to do is keep it under grand theft and all you get is a ticket-no going to jail-no drug or alcohol withdrawals, even if you do not pay your ticket you do not get arrested but instead get a bigger ticket......has to do with something about only certain types of people going to jail so its unfair and nothing to do with the crime being the reason-they just recently tried to pass a no bail system where bigger thieves would be released on a promise to return so they could go out and do more thieving till trial-a man has to eat-ya know!.........now these little tickets are just part of the cost of doing business. I won't comment on how crazy this system is with bold daylight breakins of cars and houses amok everywhere and homeless folks camping anywhere they please so long as it snot inf front of Pelosi's, Harris's, or Newsoms houses and businesses..... I do know of an instance where a friend was successful at getting the USPS to go after a thief for a few hundred dollars. They were successful at getting the money back in exchange for not prosecuting. e-Pay sights will just say SOL-read our TOS. With the Feds there are no tickets for thieving-you get to work out at Club Fed to work out your withdrawal symptoms.

Moral of the story is picking on folks wanting to use USPS M/O is age discrimination as we are a two digit amendment protected class and this can get you a class action lawsuit ,........... all because the young adults are just to darn lazy these days........and yes I can say that because young people are not a two digit amendment protected class of people.

JFC...I will wait for someone with a few hours to kill reading the short story from newbie LOL

If a USPS money is the only method to pay, I pass the item.
Phil

OMG

WTF R U talking about?

Most of you fuggers are asswholes, but you're my kind of asswholes. If you wanna buy my schit I'll be flexible on the payment method.

[bleep], man, I'm with ya.' CliffsNotes, anybody?

For any larger transactions, mailing with a priority mail envelope works every time for me.

I have been lucky and delt with a LOT of very nice people, and I am thankful for all of you, buyers and sellers.

No fuucking way am I doing it!

Cliff Notes:
* Money Orders are superior
* Young people are not a protected class like old people

[bleep], man, I'm with ya.' CliffsNotes, anybody?[/quote]

Boomer in his screen name is an appropriate fit and not taking a USPS MO is age discrimination...

I've always been a Postal MO guy as I like to walk into our small town bank and walk out with cash.

Makes things really simple for me.

Recently started selling some bulk stuff on here PP only and have guys asking to send MO's and the like. Gave in a few times only to be bit by adding WEEKS onto sales as guys will send schidt via snail mail!!!! WTF?

PP convert here.

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Higbean finally walks upright... it’s a miracle😂

But I see you’re still on your belly.

I don’t like USPS MOs, never did like them for several reasons (like banks don’t want to cash them), but had a transaction here about a year ago that firmly committed me against them.

Even though my ad said no USPS MOs, this buyer sent a USPS MO. Long story short, his small town post office was using outdated money orders, and when I tried to cash at my post office, it was refused and I was in an immediate discussion and investigation with postal inspectors who said the money order was a fraud. The investigation took about a week before the postal inspectors ate crow and acknowledged the MO was legit and authorized the clerk to cash it.

No postal MOs for me, and I also refuse to pay with one now.

Postal money orders? Not a chance anymore. Bank drafts only. PMO's are for dinosaurs. Takes 6 weeks to collect if they lose them. And, you pay them to look for them! They're nuts.

Lost bank drafts can be cancelled and redone easily.

Personally I’m not sending a MO. Haven’t seen anything I’ve wanted bad enough to deal with them. I’m not taking off work to drive to the PO, wait in line, pay to get the money order then pay to mail it off and hope it gets there. My working hours don’t fit the PO schedule. Too much BS can happen with them as well. I don’t even like getting them. I can’t mobile deposit them. I have to got to my bank. Nothing but BS with a MO.

Well by damn, they were good enough for the Greatest Generation, they should be good enough for you.

I pay with Green Stamps only.

Waiting in line while those leftist vermin at USPS piss around selling stamps to people is a huge waste of time. If you are trying to run a business rather than watching the grass grow, time is money. If you won't accept a company check, then I don't need your item.

If PayPal catches you using their services in selling or buying gun parts, they will lock your account (both seller and buyer) and you can kiss your money goodbye. I have seen some of these idiots on eBAY posting the description (i.e. Remington 700 Barrel) on their PayPal invoice- stupid, stupid, stupid.

In my experience, the buyers and sellers who insist on a MO are afraid of their wives discovering their gun transactions.What a life...hiding money and guns from your spouse.

Fugg PayPal and FleaBay !!! Both Anti-Gun POS’s. 😡

All the transactions I’ve done on the Campfire except one have involved Personal Checks. Never had a problem.
I won’t do Postal Money Orders either.

I just go to my bank and get a money order from the teller.
No fees, and ask for an envelope. Put a stamp on it and send it snail mail.
Nothing I have ever purchased here was a critical item I needed by X date or time.


ETA: the only time I have been screwed here is when I sent cash. $12.00, but I still haven't received my factory crimp die.

I have done dozens, if not hundreds, of transactions with USPS MO or personal checks with no issues. I live in a small town, with the Post Office about 5 minutes away. My bank and PO are within sight of each other and there are virtually never more than one or two people waiting in line at either.
I have a PayPal account, but seldom use it and never for firearms. I have made it for 70 years living like this and sure as hell won't be changing any time soon.
donsm70

Fifth: No "fascination" involved just the certainty, protections and reliability of the postal money orders - been using them (a LOT!) safely for half a century plus now, and don't plan on changing!
Puzzling to me is why anyone would question their use.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I’ve done hundreds of transactions with men here on the Campfire. We’ve used postal service money orders, cashiers checks, certified checks, personal checks, and cash. There has never been a problem with any of it. Ever. It’s never been a big deal regardless. And I’ve never had a problem with any bank regarding any of it. It’s really pretty easy to use any of the above.

Hey antlers,
I remember some years ago when we were in competition for available custom knives. I ended up with more than I need, as I'm sure that you did, as well.
donsm70

lol

I had a schitpot of em’...’had’ being the operative word.

Me too.

If you think the 'Postal Inspectors' are going to help you if a deal goes sideways.....NOT! 99% of the time you won't get so much as a sideways glance from the 'Postal Inspectors'. I base that on personal experience and professional experience (43 years as a LEO and several instances of mail fraud, mail theft, etc).

I'll send them if it is something I really want and I'll take them for small amounts.....but I'd rather have anything else.

I don't like them but will use them.

I hand cash to my secretary and have her get one.

That way I don't have to deal with the morons.

I use USPO MOs both ways, my bank treats them just like cash..........

If you tell ME PP only, I pass you by, just like some treat MOs..........

Anyone here buying the extra insurance with the USPO??? Better yet, anyone had to use it???

I like them because they’re tough to fake, and not worth the trouble at the price levels I deal with. I have no illusions about help from the P.O. in dealing with fraud, or even insurance claims for missing or damaged stuff. Even my postmistress admits the insurance is a giant PITA. The same apparently applies to insurance with UPS. All this combines to make me very leery of buying or selling big-ticket stuff that needs to be shipped now except from large retailers that will handle troubles directly. Two gun sellers I know both have nice piles of damaged guns that they’re waiting on insurance for.

Small stuff? I’ll take a check, hold it if I don’t know the person. Cash is good too!

If you can't get to your bank's drive up window you can take a check. deposit, and wait for it to clear. POMO's are instantaneous. I have had enough electronic screw ups to still prefer the MO

HM

Last MO I sent took 7 days to get there. And did not go that far about 700mi.

Here’s my PayPal issues:
1.) They now require a tax ID number, and will start reporting transactions to the IRS over a certain $ amount or number of transactions depending on the state you live in.
2.) PayPal permanently recently froze my account for violating one of their policies. They didn’t state which one. There is no way to find out or protest. Money in the account was seized and supposedly in 180 days they will send me an mail stating how to get it if any is left. All I can suspect is I sold some bullets for reloading on gunbroker and the buyer put Gunbroker - Bullets on the description. PayPal is anti 2A and prohibits transactions for guns, some gun parts, and ammunition. I suspect those working for PayPal in California don’t know the difference between bullets and ammo.

So for me, USPS MO seems a safe alternative. A lot of people I know don’t use personal checks any more, plus I don’t want to have to wait 7 days and confirm the check is ok before shipping. Also I know what a USPS MO looks like. Some other MOs could be easily fabricated on a printer and I would have no idea.

Until my PayPal was suspended, I generally gave most people both options. About 75% used PayPal with a mixture of F&F and regular (+3%), and others chose USPS MO.

You should have cancelled your paypal account before they did that to you. If you don't have a tax id number they want your SS#. As you say they are very anti gun and for that reason alone none of us should be using them. Now the post office is monitoring social media post, most likely this very thread. It's only a matter of time until they start tightening the screws on anything associated with firearms. If I want to buy something it's going to be with a personal check. If that isn't acceptable with the seller I'll move on. If they're close enough to drive to I'll pay cash.