Ebay - payment by Western Union???

[learntojive]

I have a lady in Austria wanting to buy a small iem I have listed on ebay. She's asked if she can pay by Western union as paypal charges are high for her to pay me in �p sterling. I've not heard of Western Union, does anyone know if it's ok? do I have to do anything and will it incur any cost for me?
....or is there a better way for her to pay me??
Thanks

[Ethel]

Never ever accept Western Union when you are using eBay.

Austrians are very used to paying by direct bank transfer so if you are happy to use that, does so.

PayPal shouldn't be expensive for her at all. I would be very wary indeed.

[learntojive]

Hi Ethel, thanks very much for your answer.
When you say direct bank transfer do I just give her my bank details? I'm happy to do that if it's safe?
I did wonder about the paypal charges as I thought it was just the person receiving the money that got the charges.
Thanks again, Anne

[Ethel]

If you are not happy accepting direct bank transfer don't do it.

Remember, it your auction, your listing and your terms (within the rules of eBay of course).

She does not need to pay in � if she uses PayPal - PayPal will do the conversion and she will pay in Euros and you will receive �. PayPal will charge her about 2.5% for the conversion

I have been thinking more about this since I last posted and I would definitely insist on PayPal or nothing if I were selling to her.

[learntojive]

Ok I think I will, I have made a few costly mistakes on ebay before so I'm not gonna take any chances.
Thanks very much for your advice ...Anne

[Hymie]

I don�t understand Ethel�s objection to receiving payment via Western Union Money Transfer for items sold on ebay. The risk is entirely the buyer�s � that is one of the reasons ebay advises against this type of payment. If you do a runner with the buyer�s money, ebay will do nothing to assist the buyer.

The way a Western Union Money Transfer works, is that the person transferring the money to you, pays their local office the money they wish to pay you + a fee. [The buyer must pay all charges associated with you receiving the due amount in Sterling]. They give your precise details and a security question, only you should be able to answer (such as what is the item purchased). Once you have been advised that the payment has been made, you go to your local Western Union office (with some form of ID, e.g Passport) and collect the money. Only then do you dispatch the item to the buyer. The Western Union office gives you cash � once they have done so, the sender cannot get the money back.

I must admit that the Paypal fees are almost certain to be less that that charged by Western Union � but that is the buyers concern � as long as you make it clear that the item will only be sent once you have collected the cash, you cannot loose.

The only potential problem is that they are messing you about and have no intention of buying the item, or ask you to send it before payment has been received.

[Ethel]

Because of the amount of fake emails telling you that payment has been processed by WU

[learntojive]

I'm in the UK ...don't know if we have western union offices? It certainly seems easier by paypal.
I've already emailed her and said no to it so I'll just see if she continues bidding.
Thanks for the advice x

[Tichfield]

There is no chance of being scammed if you are receiving money by WU.

You go to WU office and get cash.

You don't send the item to the buyer until you have the cash in your hands.

[Tichfield]

In the UK most high street travel agents are WU agents.

[Ethel]

There is something very wrong because WU costs far more than PayPal - and if it the smaller the amount the larger the cost, proportionately

For example - to send �10 to Austria the fee is �12 - total cost �22.

Why would anyone prefer to do that when PayPal would charge around 25p?

[Tichfield]

Ethel - The difference is that with a WU payment it is the buyer who pays the fees whereas with paypal it is the seller who pays them. If the buyer wants to use WU then I would not say "no" if I was the seller.

Legend - You do whatever you want to do, of course. How you can be scammed as a seller if you have the cash in your hand before you send the item is a mystery to me. Maybe you could explain that?


On the other hand, if I was the buyer there is no way I would ever pay by WU.

If you prefer to pay paypal fees to receive money then keep on saying you want a paypal payment. I am sure paypal would be very pleased. DTH?