What would you do?

bluto77

bluto77

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 18, 2012
1,156
5
Houston, TX
#1
I'm looking for some feedback here. I know where I mis-stepped, and now I'm trying to resolve this matter as quickly and fairly as possible without screwing myself out of a scope.

Scenario:
- A new user "date joined Mar 2014" PM's me asking about a scope I had for sale that was already sold a few weeks ago. New user has 1 post and zero feedback.
- I tell him that one is gone, but I have another that is similar to it and send the specs and pics
- He drives a hard bargain and we come to an agreement. Most of his PM's during the negotiation would say, "If we can do x, then I will send a money order today..."
- As soon as money order is sent buyer starts texting, PM'ing, calling. Comes across as pushy, but I chalk it up to just being nervous.
- I respond to texts in timely manner and keep communication up
- Buyer thinks MO arrives on Thurs, and the communication intensity picks up, wants to know when I'm going to ship and if I have tracking num for him
- I tell him Thurs night that it didn't arrive, he's ok with it. I still feel that he's just nervous. He's already mentioning not wanting to have to leave negative feedback about me..... This irks me to no end.
- MO arrives Friday, my wife calls me at work and tells me, I communicate with buyer letting him know and telling him I would ship on Saturday.
- I am under the assumption it is a USPS money order. We never discussed USPS money order being a requirement. That's my mistake.t
- I don't open his envelope until Saturday, and I discover he has sent Western Union MO. I've heard too many stories about fake MO's on this website and others. I'm so used to only dealing in USPS money orders that it's not even something I discuss any longer.
- Now I don't want to send him the scope until I know the money orders are legit. I communicate this. He is obviously pissed off because that wasn't previously specified.
- If the buyer was an established member of the website with at least some feedback or a person I could contact for a reference I would send the scope immediately.
- Since he's brand new here and I know nothing about him, I don't want to send the scope until I know payment is real.
- What would you do?

I'm pretty sure the answer most will give is that I'm obligated to send the scope since I didn't tell the buyer that he would need to send USPS money orders for me to ship immediately. But I can also see the responses now if I were to start this same thread after getting scammed and sending a scope to somebody that paid with fake money orders. I would be saying, new user contacts me about buying a scope, tells me he'll send MO immediately, is very pushy about shipping immediately, I go ahead and do it, MO's are fake, now I'm screwed and know nothing about this guy.......... Everyone would ask why in the hell I sent the scope out.

The guy very well may be perfectly legitimate, and I feel like I'm kind of being a dick about this. But I don't want to lose a $2K plus scope because I made a mistake on not specifying to send a USPS MO.

Fire away.
 
#4
If he isn't a proven commodity on the site, I wouldn't take an unnecessary risk. And, here's another thing: if the Western Union paper turns out to be bogus, you'll have saved yourself (and probably others) an awful lot of heartache. I really don't like dealing with "pushy," as it seems to infer certain things about character, and quite possibly intent, as well. Timely and efficiently is perfectly good, rather than precipitously rapid.
 
#5
The reason we use USPS MO is because it's like cash. How do we handle personal checks? We ALL wait until the personal check clears before sending an item, and that's exactly how I'd treat a Western Union MO. There isn't a man on this site that should lack the patience to ensure his payment is right. One or two days won't make a difference in the grand scheme, and all will be well once the funds clear and you send him the scope. If I were you, just to ease the tension, I'd ship UPS or Fedex 2-3 Air just to show that as soon as the money's in, the scope will be on its way with tracking. I usually ship my expensive stuff UPS ground since it's the cheapest option with rock solid tracking. For this instance, I'd make an exception just so the guy gets his scope and chills the f*ck out.

Patience is a virtue.
 
#6
I would verify funds First and as soon as possible. You have an obligation to yourself in this transaction as well. Once verified, ship in a timely fashion. Everyone has a life and we can't always drop everything to hug and babysit a buyer like this. Protect yourself first and take care of things in a reasonable time frame.
 
#8
Everyone above has said it and whats the worst that's going to happen he's going to slam you on your feedback. You already have 39 @ 100%, I would guess that the mods would remove the bad feedback as wrong and worst case anyone who has any questions about your feedback moving forward refer them back to this thread. If I were dealing with you that would be good enough for me. I have a 99% rating on ebay and I would say that every interaction I've ever had was good but one idiot thought I took too long, by too long he meant that after the money cleared I should have left work and shipped his product, instead of doing it first thing the next morning.

Do what you need to protect yourself! You wont be wrong.
 
#9
confirm the money first... his pushiness is a RED FLAG! for me

you can always state your position if bad feed back is left.. sent the scope as soon as the money is confirmed and leave the buyer positive feed back
 
#10
Thanks for the input fellas. That's why I like being a member on this website.

The guy had also wanted a sunshade and ARD, which are not included with this scope. I told him I could help him locate those, and then he was going to buy them from whomever. I PM'd the guy and told him I would throw in the sunshade and ARD for free since I didn't specify USPS MO in order for me to ship on Saturday as previously agreed upon. Whether he's being unreasonable or not is beside the point here, as I'm still in the wrong for not specifying the USPS MO. That part is on me.

I feel like this course of action still allows me to protect myself, and at the same time the guy gets some free chit for his inconvenience.
 
#11
i'd tell him that you have to verify / cash MO 1st. tomorrow is monday (hopefully the missus can be at the window at 9:00am). can be shipped monday or tues.

you didn't specify type of MO, but who cares, you still have to make sure it's a legit MO, especially for that amount of money. if he can't understand that, too bad.

at least you are communicating your intentions & cautions, it's a CYA world.
 
#12
Fact of the matter is this is a buisness transaction.....no butthurt is allowed in buisness transactions because it's BUISNESS. Money is only good if it's real, it's not real till it's verified, he can wait or can get bent and go to another source for the good.
 
#13
Bluto,

FWIW, I think all of us who have communicated with you or tossed around topics in threads with you know what kind of guy you are. Look after your interests first. You're a "proven" member of this forum and none of us give a shit if some D-Bag fresh to the site "trashes" you for doing the right thing. He's way off the reservation with the way he's handled it already.

Being overseas, I can't do USPS, so I always verify ahead of time that a USAA cashiers check is acceptable and totally understand if anyone I deal with needs to wait for it to clear before shipping. In many cases I "insist" that the funds clear before they ship just so they have the piece of mind, as a courtesy to them in exchange for the courtesy they show me by accepting something other than USPS.

If your "Spidey Senses" are tingling at the way this guy is acting, then go with your gut and make sure you're covered.
 
#14
Hello I am new to this forum and I have all postive feed back on NYS firearms forum and the M14 Forum under geoff3 , I sent out a Postal money order for a stock I bought on this forum with a tracking number and it took 4 days to get to the seller I could not understand why we both checked the tracking went to the post office twice ,the money order was sent 2 day mail , I had to wait for the money order to get to the seller and then he sent out the stock , I also traded for a trigger Rem 40x that was done while waiting for the money order to get to the seller for the stock as the buyer I cannot EXPECT the seller to mail anything out that is not paid for ,I have to wait for the payment to get there . I want to have a good buyers experience payment must arrive for that to happen , if its not paid for then dont mail it , geoff3
 
#17
My bank wont even look at a mo unless it's from postal service. Just because type of mo was not discussed doesn't put you in the wrong. If he is pushing because he is ignorant of the scams going on tuff, he will get over it. Maybe both of you will have learned a little. If he was scamming we will know tomorrow.
 
#18
If he doesn't want to wait tough shit. You don't walk out of the grocery store with your food and tell them you will pay them later. Money must be transferred before goods. He needs to calm down and understand the world we live in. One of two things are happening, you are being scammed or he is 18-20 years old and doesn't get how transactions work. If he is legit he is not helping himself one damn bit with all the red flags he is throwing around.
 
#19
Well what I would suggest, if the local Western Union office won't cash the check is simply tell him that he sent a check type that you can't cash right away & you can't get verified by Western Union, so you you'll have to deposit it & wait for 5 to 10 business days for it to clear, or if that does not work for him, you'll promptly send the check back to him using a service that provides online tracking.
I would also nicely explain to him that Western Union and similar money orders are often used to scam people and you have to be safe.
(Also considering how crazy he was about did his money order arrive, I'm surprised he didn't send it with a service that provides tracking... I mean even the Nigerian scam artists have the courtesy to use a stolen FedEx account number to send you their fake cashier's checks).
 
#22
Send my shit now!


If it makes you feel uncomfortable, I would withdraw from the deal. Did you look into your local grocery store if they can cash it? They should have a way of verifying it
 
#23
I took the MO's to the Western Union at Kroger's this morning. They couldn't cash it or do anything with it because it was purchased at a Winn Dixie. We don't have those in Houston that I'm aware of. I let the buyer know that I had tried and that I was taking the MO's to my bank. He said thanks. Appears to have settled down. I also called the number for verifying with Western Union, and they are legitimate MO's. Part of the message says, "no stop payment has been made on this money order....." So sending Western Union MO is basically the same as sending a check. I already knew this, but now my info is firsthand.
 
#24
I have a low post count, but have made some purchases on this site of medium to expensive priced items. Each and every time I have sent USPS Money orders. Each and every time I have been treated fairly be those I have made a deal with. Until things change, in lieu of a face to face deal with cash, or dealing with someone you know personally, USPS money orders are an accepted way of doing business. On each of my purchases, the seller has been patient and maintained good com's. Same goes for this deal. Like others have posted, don't ship until the money order is confirmed legit.
 
#25
You are doing the right thing by making sure it clears. It's also on him to make sure the payment type is agreeable to you.If I was buying, I would check with the seller beforehand to see how he wants to handle it and I assume most here would as well. Your feed back score alone speaks volumes. He should not have a problem waiting, granted it is a little nerve wracking the first couple times.
 
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#26
Veer_G said:
Western Union doesn't work like that. You deposit it like a check in your own bank and then you hit your knees in the hopes that it doesn't bounce.
Click to expand...

That's goo info, I had no idea.
I watched the video below where WU says you can get cash from their outlets, but apparently this is not the same all over.
USPS money order may be a pain to get at some post offices (long, long lines), but is pretty much iron clad.
 
#27
What they said^^^^^^^^^

If the buyer has any further qualms refer him to this thread and he will see we are 100% in your corner.
 
#30
Bluto, one thing is causing a question for me-Where does this guy want his scope sent?
A lot of times in our ITAR investigations, the buyer tries to put a lot of pressure on the company to ship quickly. Slim, slim chance on this one, but something to be aware of.
 
#31
Presumably to his address. The shipping address he requested is the same return address on the envelope he sent with the money orders in it. I honestly think everything is legitimate. I'm just dealing with someone that is a little nervous and didn't handle the situation as well as it could've been handled. Threatening to give negative feedback less than 24 hours after payment is received....on a weekend nonetheless...ain't exactly the best route to go. Lesson learned on my end. Make sure I'm clear about my expectations on the type of payment accepted and how it correlates to shipping timeline.
 
#33
Bluto, the threat of negative feedback got me going...especially considering your feedback numbers. You are doing it right (as everyone else here has said).

Perhaps in the future, as well as specifying USPS MO you could stipulate "I reserve the right to terminate the deal if you're a dick".
 
#35
Yasherka said:
Bluto, the threat of negative feedback got me going...especially considering your feedback numbers. You are doing it right (as everyone else here has said).

Perhaps in the future, as well as specifying USPS MO you could stipulate "I reserve the right to terminate the deal if you're a dick".
Click to expand...
I'm on board with this!

Money order cleared today towards the end of the day. For anyone's future reference, that is a Western Union MO deposited at 9:30 am on Monday morning and cleared around end of business day Tuesday.

I've contacted seller to let him know, and he's chilled out at this point. Thanks again for the input.
 
#36
Dealing with a dickhead like this on GB right now.

Rule of thumb: the cheaper the item was, the bigger pain in the ass the buyer will be.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#38
Coupla thoughts... I agree, verify funds.

If he can't/doesn't wanna understand that an internet transaction by its' nature requires general prudence and precautions, screw him. WU??? It's his right to use it; that doesn't mean it's any more valid than a personal check.

By the way--everyone responding to this thread without exception seems to imply that they'd send the merchandise upon receipt of a USPS MO. Am I wrong about the consensus of this thread? NEVER--even with a USPS MO. I was a window clerk at the Post Office in the San Francisco area for a few years. You wouldn't believe the number of invalidated, stolen, forged USPS MO we took in from the public. Irate, sure, and maybe they had a right to be, but there was a filing process (to initiate investigation) for appeals on "bad" USPS money orders. Some MO's just didn't pass inspection, and so the cash value sits 'in limbo' until the claim is sorted out by the Inspectors. THAT means the holder of the money order doesn't get paid anywhere near "immediately".
 
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