Hey, does anyone have any advice for shipping to overseas noobs? I have a fellow from the Phillipines who wants to Western Union me some $$ in advance for something I put up for sale. This sounds cool, but... are there any loopholes here? I like the idea of hooking up someone new to the board just fine, but want to be careful.

-- Dunno if this is the right place to post this question. Ha! --

have them deposit $$$ into your paypal account - send item out though a mail service that they would need to sign for (proof of receipt) - if there comes a problem where buyer pulls $$$ from PayPal - you have the proof that item was received and believe PayPal would guarantee your funds - but you may want to check this....on the other hand Western Union I believe is guranteed funds once you receive $$$ on your end - hope this kinda helps

I've taken payments for stuff via Western Union and it seems to me that the only person that can get screwed is the buyer. They send the money to the nearest WU location to you and you can cash the check right on the spot.
I think Paypal would be the riskier option because there isn't any seller protection for most countries.

I've gotten some PM advice too. Thanks for that. I figured I'm not alone and that this thread might be helpful for others too. No horror stories so far, but some words of caution for sure.

if it is big money, I would send it EMS and charge appropriately. that way you have a tracking record.

Oh yeah, while we're at it: the person I'm talking about is "manmachine". They have only one post logged, from earlier today. I'm figuring no one knows them here? If anyone has traded / sold to them before, let em know. I don't want to slam anyone, just throwing it out there.

I dont know if some already PM this to you but alot of times western union moneysends are scams. it can be bad news

on another note. I will be attening the FEST with a friends bands. although I normally dont like fests. I am looking forward to this!

If you get the money from the Western Union vardcore, it is all good. No 4.3 percent fees of paypal or him saying he didn't receive it.

Good luck!

IKe

How can a buyer scam you if they only know your name, city, state, and country? Hell, it's pretty scary if you can scam someone with just that information!

I figured that once you have actual $$$ in hand, it's safe to ship, no?

as other people have said, western union is completely safe as long as you make sure you have the cash in hand before shipping the item. so is a wire transfer (though the fees make it impractical for small transactions).

Im thinking about sending money not recieving. my bad. I should start reading before responding!

Thanks everybody! I'm getting a very ballanced idea. I love SB for this very reason!

-- What band are you coming to the FEST with? This year is INSANE. Naked Raygun playing in town 20 years after the last time they played here! So much to do, it makes my head spin. I am totally music geeking out. --