Buying online

I have bought from breeders online through verified pay pal before but this guy only takes checks, and money orders. Just wondering if I should trust this type of purchaise?

I think it would depend on who the seller is and what kind of reputation they have. Personally, I would be a bit suspicious of someone who only accepts checks and money orders. It would be too easy for them to cash the check or money order, give some hard luck excuse about why they haven't shipped your animal, then disappear. At least with credit cards and PayPal, you can dispute the charge, but you can't stop payment on a check that has already been cashed. I mean, to me, it just sounds a bit shady for someone to have an online business, yet, not accept any of the electronic funds transfer types of payment. I would suggest going to Fauna Classifieds and searching their Board of Inquiry section. If anyone has posted anything good or bad on there, you can see it. You can also check the Inquiry/Feedback section of this forum to see if anything has been posted on them...

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...splay.php?f=13

I personally would not. Paypal offers some protection against fraud. Unless I was meeting in person I would trust anything but Paypal for the transaction.

The thing people need to remember is that vendors who except paypal have fee's taken out of the money you send. So say your buying a 350.00 snake they take like $15.00 out for fee's. You're asking the vendor to pay for your peace of mind while most vendors don't mind the fee's or even expect to pay them without second thought there are other that feel if that is the form of payment you insist on then the cost of the animal might just go up to cover the fee's after all it isn't fair that some one at a show pays 10-12% more for the same animal.

I've sent check before as well, both personal and certified they both offer just as much protection in that you can put stop pays or file disputes with the bank..

Just food for thought..

All depends on the seller, do A LOT of research on the seller to make sure plenty of people have bought from them in the past and they are qualified.

If its a "Going out of business sale" or "come get em' quick!" sale, then stay away if they only take checks and money orders.

Nothing about that sets off red flags for me. Paypal is NOT that secure and going to protect you. He could ship out a rock to you and he has proof that he shipped to you - Paypal isn't going to get you your money back.

As a seller - I can understand asking for a postal money order or certified check for MY protection.

I do offer Paypal as an option, but I can see why, with all the fees they assess a seller, that one would choose not to use them.

I would discuss with the seller about being able to post-date the check for your security. Put the date for, say...two weeks from now, or some length of time that would be appropriate for you to receive your animal. If the animal isn't shipped to you by the time it should be (which should be a few days BEFORE he would be able to cash the check), or it's in bad condition, then you have time to put a stop order on the check before he would be able to cash it.

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Originally Posted by emiebeth

I would discuss with the seller about being able to post-date the check for your security. Put the date for, say...two weeks from now, or some length of time that would be appropriate for you to receive your animal. If the animal isn't shipped to you by the time it should be (which should be a few days BEFORE he would be able to cash the check), or it's in bad condition, then you have time to put a stop order on the check before he would be able to cash it.

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Post dating a check doesn't stop the person from cashing it. Banking laws designed to stop check kiting and funds floating no longer require banks to reject funds based on issue date of checks. By writing the check and signing your signature you are certifying that the funds are released to the payee for negotiation the instant you issue it.

Putting the date for two weeks from now will do nothing to stop them from cashing it.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Post dating a check doesn't stop the person from cashing it. Banking laws designed to stop check kiting and funds floating no longer require banks to reject funds based on issue date of checks. By writing the check and signing your signature you are certifying that the funds are released to the payee for negotiation the instant you issue it.

Putting the date for two weeks from now will do nothing to stop them from cashing it.

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You're serious?! Jeez, my bank teller never told me that. Last time I asked about post-dating a check to someone, they told me it was fine, but they never told me it wouldn't do anything :mad: at least now I know...

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Originally Posted by emiebeth

You're serious?! Jeez, my bank teller never told me that. Last time I asked about post-dating a check to someone, they told me it was fine, but they never told me it wouldn't do anything :mad: at least now I know...

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As a service to you their customer they may not cash it if someone comes in that branch with a posted dated check, but it isn't required.. We use to as a service to our customer but it isn't required..

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

The thing people need to remember is that vendors who except paypal have fee's taken out of the money you send. So say your buying a 350.00 snake they take like $15.00 out for fee's. You're asking the vendor to pay for your peace of mind while most vendors don't mind the fee's or even expect to pay them without second thought there are other that feel if that is the form of payment you insist on then the cost of the animal might just go up to cover the fee's after all it isn't fair that some one at a show pays 10-12% more for the same animal.

I've sent check before as well, both personal and certified they both offer just as much protection in that you can put stop pays or file disputes with the bank..

Just food for thought..

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paypal charges a fee for their service. Its up to a business to decide whether or not they want to accept the fee as a cost of doing business or not accept paypal at all. For the record, it IS against paypals TOS for a seller to charge more for an item because a buyer is using paypal.

I can see both sides of this. I take paypal because its easy and offers me some protection. I would also take personal checks.

OP, if you feel comfortable after doing some research on the seller go for it. If not, there are plenty of other rodent houses you can order from.

Okay, thanks for that info =)

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

paypal charges a fee for their service. Its up to a business to decide whether or not they want to accept the fee as a cost of doing business or not. For the record, it IS against paypals TOS for a seller to charge more for an item because a buyer is using paypal.

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Sure it is but how does pay pay know that my spider is really only worth 300.00 and not 325.00.. ;) .. Paypal charges a fee and a % of the item sold. I use paypal because its easy for my customers and typically the 10-15.00 isn't enough to worry about when your buying a 350.00 snake. I just know there are people out there that feel if you're going to demand as the customer I except payment via a service that is going to cost me then you should have to pay the fee's..

Me I hated the fee's at first but now they are just a cost of doing business..

I also take Personal checks because writing a hot check is a mean I can charge you a 30.00 returned check fee and any processing fee's..

Warning: Paypa'ls buyer protection only applies to items purchased through E-Bay per the Paypal customer service rep I personally spoke with last week.

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Originally Posted by EverettAshley

Just wondering if I should trust this type of purchaise?

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It all boils down to whom the seller his and whether or not he has a good rep and reference.

While I prefer using Paypal both as a buyer and a seller for the speed and convenience, I also have no issue sending a check to the right seller.

Like everything else regardless of the payment method accepted YOU need to do your homework and research the seller.