Fishy.. International Bidder Trouble. Any thoughts?

p8nt

I recently auctioned off some stuff for my grandma. One seller, from Thailand, bid and won the auction for 300 +/- I told him I will not ship outside the country but if he had a friend in the US I would ship to this friend. So anyways, after 3 weeks I get the International Money Order from "a friend" named Carol, who is located in the United States. Apparently the winning bidder wired "Carol" the money and she then sent me a money order, but why an International Money Order? I am very suspicious because Carol's envelope does not have an address and neither the envelope or money order have a last name. So here are my questions, should I send out the item right away now that I have the money order? How long should I wait if at all? How long does it take for an International Money Order to clear? I would hate to cash it now, ship the stuff out, and then get a call saying I passed a fake money order and be out 300. Please give me your thoughts.


Thanks, Ben

(This happened on eBay)

K6AZ

Is this a US Postal money order?

TheRock

I've had these come to me for business purposes. I own a computer reseller business in MN. DO NOT send the coin. Take MO it to the bank, it usually take 24-72 hours to validate the MO. Time changes and crap with banks. Most of them clear, but watch out. I have been burned for $1000.00's. Let the bank decide. If it's bad, send the information to the Auction to cancel the bid. They will do it.

p8nt

The money order is from the US (I think). The background image is some groceries that all feature "Safeway Select" so I would guess its from the US. But then again, I have never seen a non-US money order either so I wouldnt know. Any ideas on how I could tell?

K6AZ

That sounds like a Safeway supermarket money order. For your safety, treat it like a personal check. Deposit in your bank, and wait a week. If it doesn't come back by then, it's safe to ship the item.

Conder101

I doubt Safeway supermarkets are selling international money orders. The only place I know of to get international MO's is the Post Office. And if that is true they should be able to either tell you if it is good, or even cash it for you. And if you can cash it at the postoffice and they are wrong and it is bad, there is no account of yours for them to go after.

tlhoy

Here is a link to MISSING U.S. MONEY ORDER FORMS with serial numbers.

I'd wait until your bank tells you it cleared before sending the item.
Better safe than sorry.

p8nt

Ok, I see what you mean, but wont they check the name on the back of it? You do have to endorse the back side... And if they wanted to couldnt they look at the survailance tapes?