Hold a USPS Money Order for clearance ?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hold a USPS Money Order for clearance ?

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:40:07 AM EDT

Bought a gun on gunbroker

the seller is going to hold till a USPS money order till it clears

not a big deal I am not in a hurry

just between work and personal I have done 100K+ online transactions never ran into someone that wanted to hold a usps mo for clearance as that kinda is the point of a USPS MO

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:41:29 AM EDT

[#1]

CSB.

100k transactions???

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:41:34 AM EDT

[#2]

How big is the MO? If it is small enough that I can cash it at a Post Office, then it is cash. If I have to deposit it in my bank then it is a check.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:41:52 AM EDT

[#3]

How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:44:41 AM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:

How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

I took some to the bank and deposited them. Took 3 days to show up.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:44:51 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

The post office will not cash a larger MO here in our town.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:47:19 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:

CSB.
100k transactions???

have been selling online for a living since 2003

50+ transactions a week , actually probably closer to 150K

would you like

gunbroker, auctionarms, ebay, and amazon seller names so you can check feedback?

we also have have a retail website

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:47:21 AM EDT

[#7]

What's it going to clear? Unless he's out in a tiny burg, the money order is paid immediately.

Tell the moron to send your junk, now.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:47:26 AM EDT

[#8]

Sounds like BS to me, prob just covering his ass though. I have bought guns with MO and never had that happen. Once I used a Wal-Mart MO and that really pissed the FFL off lol.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:48:16 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Bought a gun on gunbroker
the seller is going to hold till a USPS money order till it clears
not a big deal I am not in a hurry

just between work and personal I have done 100K+ online transactions never ran into someone that wanted to hold a usps mo for clearance as that kinda is the point of a USPS MO

I'd take it to the Post Office and cash it there.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:48:42 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

I took some to the bank and deposited them. Took 3 days to show up.

I think it is not so much it took three days to show up, as the bank held the funds in the account for that long. I used to work at a bank. We posted immediately, but you couldn't use the money immediately. If you wanted to cash the check, you had to have sufficient funds in your account to hold for three days.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:49:03 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Sounds like BS to me, prob just covering his ass though. I have bought guns with MO and never had that happen. Once I used a Wal-Mart MO and that really pissed the FFL off lol.

There are fake MOs out there, even Postal MOs. Once it comes back bad, the bank takes the money out of your account and you're left holding the bag.

I'd hold items until I'm positive a money order has cleared, too.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:49:29 AM EDT

[#12]

I hold them all the time until they clear, it takes a day. I recently had an EE deal with a total asshole that couldn't wait one day for it to clear. He ordered me to the post office to cash it and ship him his goods immediately.

That's why he got no feedback, the weakest pick of the litter, USPS shipping instead of UPS and a never sell to again policy.

If you can't wait one extra day, YOU are the problem.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:50:02 AM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:

How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

I took some to the bank and deposited them. Took 3 days to show up.

that's what he is doing

again no big deal I am not in a hurry

just never ran into it before

wondering if anyone here does the same thing

it was a $700 MO

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:51:18 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Sounds like BS to me, prob just covering his ass though. I have bought guns with MO and never had that happen. Once I used a Wal-Mart MO and that really pissed the FFL off lol.

There are fake MOs out there, even Postal MOs. Once it comes back bad, the bank takes the money out of your account and you're left holding the bag.

I'd hold items until I'm positive a money order has cleared, too.

How hard are they to spot? MO's have a lot of security features and fancy paper.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:51:38 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Bought a gun on gunbroker
the seller is going to hold till a USPS money order till it clears
not a big deal I am not in a hurry

just between work and personal I have done 100K+ online transactions never ran into someone that wanted to hold a usps mo for clearance as that kinda is the point of a USPS MO

I'd take it to the Post Office and cash it there.

You missed the point, he's the buyer and annoyed that the seller is holding the USPS MO until it clears.

I'd be annoyed as well, it is kinda the point of specifically getting a USPS money order. You know what they're going to look like when they come in. That said, hard to fault a seller for being overly cautious, fraud is rampant these days. I do believe I've read a story about stolen USPS money order blanks being used.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:53:13 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Sounds like BS to me, prob just covering his ass though. I have bought guns with MO and never had that happen. Once I used a Wal-Mart MO and that really pissed the FFL off lol.

There are fake MOs out there, even Postal MOs. Once it comes back bad, the bank takes the money out of your account and you're left holding the bag.

I'd hold items until I'm positive a money order has cleared, too.

How hard are they to spot? MO's have a lot of security features and fancy paper.

Hard enough to make them a popular target for counterfeits.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:54:53 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
How big is the MO? If it is small enough that I can cash it at a Post Office, then it is cash. If I have to deposit it in my bank then it is a check.

Yes, and one has to consider the potential for counterfeit.

MO takes longer to clear than a check.

Posted: 11/18/2011 7:55:47 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

My small town PO wont cash them if they are over $300, they can usually tell me that is indeed real though.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:04:29 AM EDT

[#19]

.
You know what they're going to look like when they come in.

Really? What word is repeated in the vertical security strip? How many times is it repeated?

Just thinking.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:09:00 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

.
You know what they're going to look like when they come in.

Really? What word is repeated in the vertical security strip? How many times is it repeated?

Just thinking.

USPS, over and over?

https://www.usps.com/shop/accepting-money-orders.htm

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:10:37 AM EDT

[#21]

Arvest bank takes three day to a week for them to clear and verify they are good, forgeries are fairly common. I know of two seperate individuals that were prosecuted locally for it. Local small Post Office will not cash anything over $250.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:15:14 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:

.
You know what they're going to look like when they come in.

Really? What word is repeated in the vertical security strip? How many times is it repeated?

Just thinking.

Knowing what they look like and knowing every minute detail are two different things. My point was if you just ask for a Money Order or a Bank Check, who knows what it'll look like since there's 50,000 different entities that issue those. There's only 1 USPS.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:18:27 AM EDT

[#23]

Post office money orders are a next day item. Many people do not know this and I myself didn't know this when I sold an item to another member. They will clear the next day unless your bank is odd.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:28:40 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
How big is the MO? If it is small enough that I can cash it at a Post Office, then it is cash. If I have to deposit it in my bank then it is a check.

Same here . There's a few stories of bogus USPS MO's floatin around , so I like to be sure.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:29:23 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

PO's dont always have buckets of cash available .

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:33:54 AM EDT

[#26]

My Mom was hit by some bad USPS Money Orders. They were not completely counterfeit, but were legit orders modifed to have invalid dollar values displayed. It took several weeks before they were returned to the bank as bogus.

These do exist, and if for some reason you can't get to a Post Office that is both open and willing to cash them, it takes a few weeks for the bad ones to rape the bank account you deposited it into.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:36:37 AM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
How big is the MO? If it is small enough that I can cash it at a Post Office, then it is cash. If I have to deposit it in my bank then it is a check.

not true
they take down your license number
if it is fake they get the money back.

lots of fake PO money orders floating around as of late.
post office needs to have a better system, instant check in a computer database if the money order is legit or not.
so they can scan it, and see if it is real.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:38:24 AM EDT

[#28]

I can't cash LARGE MO's at my post office, but I live in a small town.

Unless he lives in po-dunk USA like me, he's being a lazy ass and doesn't want to ship immediately. Tell him to lick your nutsack and mail your shit.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:44:16 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

PO's dont always have buckets of cash available .

OK they can still verify that it's an authentic USPS MO.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:47:27 AM EDT

[#30]

He probably deposited it and is waiting for it to clear.

Having to go to the Post office, and then to the Bank takes time.

Some people (like me) work and cant get to either one very easily

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:50:53 AM EDT

[#31]

I sold a pistol and took the money order ($800) to the post office to use it to get another money order for a pistol I just bought. The OLD lady behind the counter (small town) said she had to call it in to verify it. She gets off of the phone and tells me that since there's no record of it then it's no good and HANDS IT BACK. With that "oh $hit" feeling brewing I ask her what I'm supposed to do now and she tells me she's not sure. I then ask her if it's counterfeit should she inform someone to investigate it. She literally scratches her head as she tells me that she should probably let the post aster know. Ya think? After she calls him he tells her to call the same number from before and ask for someone specific. She goes (in slow motion) through the whole story to this point and they transfer her to someone else. That person has her looking for all of the security features on it. This whole process blew her mind like there was some sort of black magic involved. After confirming that the features were there she was told that it was probably issued by another small post office and that they hadn't entered it into the system yet. I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork so if it did end up being fake the could track me down to investigate. Nice. I never heard another word about it but as fast as the post office works I'll probably get a call in like 5 years. The problem was that I had my FFL ship as soon as I got the M.O. thinking I was being a good seller. If it would have been fake who knows what kind of crap I would have had to go through. Maybe your seller had a similar warm and fuzzy experience with the post office. It would explain his hesitation.

Posted: 11/18/2011 8:59:57 AM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:

Quoted:
CSB.

100k transactions???

have been selling online for a living since 2003

50+ transactions a week , actually probably closer to 150K

would you like
gunbroker, auctionarms, ebay, and amazon seller names so you can check feedback?
we also have have a retail website

I hope you're not paying for the MO's

Posted: 11/18/2011 9:03:56 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
I sold a pistol and took the money order ($800) to the post office to use it to get another money order for a pistol I just bought. The OLD lady behind the counter (small town) said she had to call it in to verify it. She gets off of the phone and tells me that since there's no record of it then it's no good and HANDS IT BACK. With that "oh $hit" feeling brewing I ask her what I'm supposed to do now and she tells me she's not sure. I then ask her if it's counterfeit should she inform someone to investigate it. She literally scratches her head as she tells me that she should probably let the post aster know. Ya think? After she calls him he tells her to call the same number from before and ask for someone specific. She goes (in slow motion) through the whole story to this point and they transfer her to someone else. That person has her looking for all of the security features on it. This whole process blew her mind like there was some sort of black magic involved. After confirming that the features were there she was told that it was probably issued by another small post office and that they hadn't entered it into the system yet. I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork so if it did end up being fake the could track me down to investigate. Nice. I never heard another word about it but as fast as the post office works I'll probably get a call in like 5 years. The problem was that I had my FFL ship as soon as I got the M.O. thinking I was being a good seller. If it would have been fake who knows what kind of crap I would have had to go through. Maybe your seller had a similar warm and fuzzy experience with the post office. It would explain his hesitation.

Did you get the money or what Hemingway?

Posted: 11/18/2011 9:04:22 AM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

I took some to the bank and deposited them. Took 3 days to show up.

I think it is not so much it took three days to show up, as the bank held the funds in the account for that long. I used to work at a bank. We posted immediately, but you couldn't use the money immediately. If you wanted to cash the check, you had to have sufficient funds in your account to hold for three days.

No... it's because the bank takes them to the Post Office to get the money. If the Post Office says, "Hey, those are fakes, we aren't paying"... the music has just stopped and there's a race for the seats. The bank will do everything it can to make sure it has a seat, which means clawing the money back from you.

The bank might hold the funds from you until they clear... but you cannot count on that. If you have $500 and deposit a $500 MO and your balance now shows $1000, they haven't held anything... but they will be back for the $500 if the MO turns up bad.

Posted: 11/18/2011 9:06:57 AM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Sounds like BS to me, prob just covering his ass though. I have bought guns with MO and never had that happen. Once I used a Wal-Mart MO and that really pissed the FFL off lol.

There are fake MOs out there, even Postal MOs. Once it comes back bad, the bank takes the money out of your account and you're left holding the bag.

I'd hold items until I'm positive a money order has cleared, too.

How hard are they to spot? MO's have a lot of security features and fancy paper.

Doesn't matter.

That's why I said I'd take them to the Post Office. Once I have cash and walk away, they're holding the bag. If they think they're fakes, the time to speak up is before they give me the money. Once I walk out the door, the only recourse they have is to sue me. My bank can simply reach into my account and seize the money, and my only recourse is to sue them (which I won't win).

If someone takes MOs to the Post Office, and the Post Office says they're fakes, the only recourse they have is if they have not shipped the goods yet. If they have, they're SOL.

Posted: 11/18/2011 9:09:19 AM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

My small town PO wont cash them if they are over $300, they can usually tell me that is indeed real though.

So they'll guarantee, in writing, that if it turns out to be a fake, they'll eat the loss?

Didn't think so. The only entity whose opinion on the matter counts is the Post Office. If the PO tells the bank three weeks later, "Wow, those were really clever forgeries, they almost fooled us... but they didn't, we aren't paying"... what do you suppose the bank will do? Bet you anything you care to name they come to you with their hand out, saying you need to return our money, and then you're free to pursue the person who gave you a fake MO in any way you choose.

Posted: 11/18/2011 9:13:06 AM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

PO's dont always have buckets of cash available .

Go to a bigger Post Office.

Or deposit it in the bank. If you do that, though, the bank can "clear" it, and then find out two weeks later it was a fake and come back to you.

I would hold the item until I know I'm good. Honestly, I'd rather have a personal check... if it clears, it clears. If the sender later claims it was stolen, forged, etc. they have no special recourse against me or my bank. They can sue me if they think I have their money. The Post Office has just a little more power than that

They will recover from my bank, and then my bank will recover from me, unless I'm willing to destroy my ability to do any banking anywhere.

Posted: 11/18/2011 9:19:02 AM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

I took some to the bank and deposited them. Took 3 days to show up.

I think it is not so much it took three days to show up, as the bank held the funds in the account for that long. I used to work at a bank. We posted immediately, but you couldn't use the money immediately. If you wanted to cash the check, you had to have sufficient funds in your account to hold for three days.

No... it's because the bank takes them to the Post Office to get the money. If the Post Office says, "Hey, those are fakes, we aren't paying"... the music has just stopped and there's a race for the seats. The bank will do everything it can to make sure it has a seat, which means clawing the money back from you.

The bank might hold the funds from you until they clear... but you cannot count on that. If you have $500 and deposit a $500 MO and your balance now shows $1000, they haven't held anything... but they will be back for the $500 if the MO turns up bad.

Banks don't pull money orders out of their deposits and physically take them to the post office. All deposited checks go through a clearinghouse. The part in red is correct, but when I say place a hold on the money, I just mean you can't withdraw it or write a check on it. It is still in the account. If the check/MO is bad they take back the $500 (or whatever the amount is), and stick you with a bad check fee. As I said, I worked at a bank.

Posted: 11/18/2011 9:37:07 AM EDT

[#39]

So why not just use a personal check for large orders?

Posted: 11/18/2011 9:47:38 AM EDT

[#40]

He can go to the post office and get cash. I'd be pissed.

Posted: 11/18/2011 10:08:43 AM EDT

[#41]

apparently there's a number you can call to verify them...

Verify - Call the money order verification system at 866-459-7822.

Posted: 11/18/2011 10:14:22 AM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

My small town PO wont cash them if they are over $300, they can usually tell me that is indeed real though.

So they'll guarantee, in writing, that if it turns out to be a fake, they'll eat the loss?

Didn't think so. The only entity whose opinion on the matter counts is the Post Office. If the PO tells the bank three weeks later, "Wow, those were really clever forgeries, they almost fooled us... but they didn't, we aren't paying"... what do you suppose the bank will do? Bet you anything you care to name they come to you with their hand out, saying you need to return our money, and then you're free to pursue the person who gave you a fake MO in any way you choose.

I tend not to worry about it that much, its bad for the blood pressure.

In any case I haven't been burned yet in 11 years and almost 4,000 transactions.

Posted: 11/18/2011 10:15:44 AM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How do you "hold" a USPS MO? You take it to the post office, give it to the guy behind the counter and say "I need to cash this".

I took some to the bank and deposited them. Took 3 days to show up.

that's what he is doing
again no big deal I am not in a hurry
just never ran into it before
wondering if anyone here does the same thing

it was a $700 MO

I live in a pretty big city, and no post office I've ever been in will cash one that big. It would clean out the till and screw up their ability to make change.

Also, lately the post office counter person is required to call in every single money order to verify it's authenticity, regardless of the amount, because of the rash of counterfeits showing up in the last few years.

So, the guy is aware of these two things, and wants to make sure the M.O. is legit by letting it clear his bank.

Posted: 11/18/2011 10:44:40 AM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:

Quoted:

CSB.

100k transactions???

have been selling online for a living since 2003

50+ transactions a week , actually probably closer to 150K

would you like

gunbroker, auctionarms, ebay, and amazon seller names so you can check feedback?

we also have have a retail website

I hope you're not paying for the MO's

98% of those were as a seller

Posted: 11/18/2011 10:47:53 AM EDT

[#45]

You can verify the validity of the USPS money order right over the phone.

The guy is an idiot for delaying shipping your gun.

Posted: 11/18/2011 10:59:40 AM EDT

[#46]

Quoted:
You can verify the validity of the USPS money order right over the phone.

The guy is an idiot for delaying shipping your gun.

Yep, even if Ma Kettle was working a small PO by the time the buyer got the MO to you it would likely be in the system. It's worked for me so far. Hell that is all the bank does anyway.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hold a USPS Money Order for clearance ?

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