There are Millions of people out there who use Ebay, And they are law abiding citizens, However, There is unfortunatly people out there who want to steal your money and in most cases the item you are selling as well.

This guide is to try and explain what the good and bad points are about the different types of payment you can accept on Ebay.

Firstly, As a seller, You set the terms to all future bidders in the auction listing as to what payment methods you will accept, If you only accept Paypal, Then state it clearly that you only accept paypal, If the winning bidder wont pay by Paypal you can cancel the winning bid and you should be able to get your listing fees back, But you must state in your listing what you accept.

 The more payment options you offer a potential bidder the more chance you have of selling the item and possibly getting more bids, But then again the more  options you offer can also increase the risk of getting ripped off.

If you are not already, I strongly recomend becoming a member of Paypal and getting your banking details and address confirmed by Paypal ( An Ebay Company ), This is my favorite way to receive payment.

Paypal has a Seller Protection Policy which protects sellers ( Up to $5000 a year ) against Chargebacks, But to be eligible to claim money back if a chargeback occurs then you must follow their policy to the letter. For example you can ( At the time of writing this ) Only ship to a Paypal confirmed address in either the USA, Canada or the United Kingdom, And you must ship the item/s within 7 days of receiving payment, There are more rules you need to follow which can be found on Paypals site.

My second most favorite way to receive payment is by cash, money, moohla, loot etc etc, I live in America so it has to be US Dollars. The reason I like receiving cash is because it is easy to see if it is real or not, Even If you cant tell, A bank can tell you immediatly if its real.

Now we come onto the types of payment which can cause the most problems, Most money orders and checks you receive will be fine and you wont have any problems, However, There are many fake money orders and checks out there, so be carefull.

I never accept money orders from any other country, Just the USA, This doesnt make it totally safe , but it does cut down the chance that its not real.

Fake Money Orders are very bad for you because you cash or deposit the order in your account then when the money order clears you ship the item, It may take months for them, to notice its a fake and then you get charged by the bank the total of the order plus an extra adminastrative fee, This means you are not only out of the payment, But you are also out the item you shipped plus you had to pay an extra fee.

To be on the safe side, Dont accept Money Orders, This may mean getting less bids, But at least you will be safe from fake ones, Or you could put in your listing that you will only accept Money Orders from buyers with a certain level of feedback say for example buyers with a minimum of 100 positive feedbacks, But the choice is yours, Do you want to play it safe, Or live on the wild side :O).

Checks are fairly safe I beleive because once they clear your account then the money cannot be taken back, I only accept personnal checks issued by Banks in the USA which show the name and address of the bank and the customer on the front.

Remember never to send the item untill the check or money order clears your account, And if accepting Paypal always follow their Seller Protection policy to the letter. If a money order doesnt look right, Let your bank have a look at it before placing it in your account. 

Ebay also does not recommend accepting payment by wire transfer.

You may be lucky and never come across one of these crooks, I have once, and I lost the item I was selling and the money because of it, Fortunatly it wasnt an expensive item, But they are out there and they are looking to make free money, So please be carefull.

Thanks for taking the time to read my guide.

SGA KING AUCTIONS