[R-390] Bad Overseas EBay Experience

[Barry Hauser]

Hi Cecil & list...

I've used Bidpay over 100 times with no problems.  I was able to check on 
the Western Union MO's by calling the 800 number and keying the MO serial 
number.  They could basically just tell you whether it was cashed or not. 
One got lost in the mail one time, but they replaced it.

However, doesn't matter anyway -- Bidpay, which was part of First Union 
(which I think still owns Western Union), shut down at the end of last 
December. They kept the original website up for a couple of months for 
follow-through, but now it's gone.   I just checked the bidpay URL and there 
is an announcement that Cybersource Corporation bought it out and they "hope 
to relauch" sometime in the Summer.

Still prefer paypal -- bidpay was paid for by the buyer and rather pricey --  
but much more convenient and somewhat safer for the buyer than trotting down 
to the post office, finding a parking space and waiting in line.  Also you 
bought the MO's with credit card so didn't have to run around with wads of 
cash at risk.

There is a note on the Cybersource site that warns that scammers are still 
"paying with bidpay" -- sham emails, etc. -- and seems to be associated with 
those great money making deals from Nigeria and Lagos.

Barry



> Bill,
>
>    I have traded by your recommendations for years with the exception that 
> I don't do business with out of the country sellers, period nor do I sell 
> to out of the country buyers....too much of a hassle and too risky as 
> well.
>
> I agree with never doing business with anyone that wants to be paid only 
> by money order, certified check etc....that's a big flag with me that 
> something's up.  Granted there are those that don't trust Paypal or BidPay 
> or any online type of financial service and just want to be paid but I can 
> do without anything one of those guys has due to their concern with using 
> technology to do business because of the added risk of no recourse if 
> things go wrong....
>
> I personally refuse to use Bidpay.  I once used it to pay a guy for a Tek 
> O'scope and it took weeks to get things settled.  They send a western 
> union money order to the seller.  They send you this nice email telling 
> you the tracking number of the money order and when you have a problem you 
> go to the western union site and they don't know anything about the money 
> order number because Bidpay buys them in bulk and western union does not 
> track those. Then the seller finally gets the money order and it can only 
> be cashed at a western union location which in his town was a small drug 
> store where they had to wait until they had collected enough money in 
> their register to cash the thing....what a nightmare.  He might have been 
> able to deposit the thing in his bank account or something but he didn't 
> think so.
>
> Won't do that again.
>
> I've had good luck with Paypal after using them for probably 10 years.  I 
> think they have good security in place...the emails you get...and I get on 
> bogus ebay stuff is not the fault of ebay's security...it's the creativity 
> of the bad guys.  Nobody has gotten into your account unless you have 
> answered those bogus emails and given away vital info.
>
> I forward them all to the ebay security folks and for the most part over 
> the last year or so they have stopped....
>
> On credit card transactions through paypal....have the credit card company 
> reverse the charges.  It takes a while but they will credit your credit 
> card account and get the money back from Paypal...it's then up to Paypal 
> to settle with the seller.  I've done that before...works fine!
>
> Good Luck...
>
> Cecil Acuff
> WB5VCE
>