Hammer02

Sold a road bike on Ebay and have a concern. I have sold 120 items on Ebay and have never had anyone not pay with PayPal however this buyer wants to send me a cashiers check.

What can I do to verify that it is a legitimate check when I receive it? Will the originating bank tell me this? Can these be tracked?

Open to suggestions.

PS...No he isn't sending me a cashiers check for more than the amount or any of that nonsense so it isn't a Nigerian type scam.

CastIron

The only way to tell for sure is to deposit it and wait two weeks or so for it to clear all the way back to the issuing bank. Same for EVERY check or money order. Counterfeit money and checks are just that good and easy these days.

Hammer02

I am hoping that the issuing bank is a national bank so that maybe I can present it locally and cash it before shipping the bike. I am not going to ship until it clears however I'd like to be reasonable and I don't know how long these take to clear.

ROJA

Can't you go to the bank that issued the check (assuming you don't have an account there) and get cash for it on the spot? Don't release the merchandise until you have cash that is not subject to a hold.

EDIT: Ha! Looks like we were thinking the same thing!

1centaur

The point of a cashier's check is that it does not have to get cleared over multiple days because it's from a bank, not a person. I use cashier's checks to buy cars and houses and the sellers are not exactly sweating getting paid.

I advise calling the bank where you would cash it and asking them whether once they hand you the cash you run any risk of owing it back to them.

rainmann

I work at a bank, and if you take it to your local branch they should be able to call the issuing bank and verify that it is a good check. Just let them know that you sold something on ebay and just want to make sure that the check is real before sending the item.

Hammer02

Well...glad that you haven't had any issues however Google Cashier Check fraud and see what the trend is over the last few years. Ten years ago..cashiers checks were as good as cash...today they are as good as a personal check.

Hammer02

Great...I wondered if they could do that. Thanks.

FrankBattle 

hey hey, watch the Nigerian comments .. we're not all crooks; At least not intentionally.

I've received similar emails (Craigslist posting) and the "person" was from Canada. And the one "person" who had a problem paying was some dude from Oregon a few years ago ..

But I asked around a while back and the best way is to wait for the cheque to clear (to echo a previous post). You might want to check to make sure the buyer understands that there will be a wait etc

1centaur

Most banks charge most customers a fee to write a cashier's check. It's often not significantly different from the fee charged to wire money. Both fees are tiny compared with the price of a bike, so if the buyer somehow won't pay the difference, you could deduct the difference from the selling price and get wired good funds.

nycphotography

Also, BEFORE cashing it, call the issuing bank and verify that the funds are available, that the account is in good standing, that they have no outstanding fraud alerts, and so on.

THEN deposit the check. Otherwise, the fake check will allow YOUR bank to screw you out of another $30 bucks in "service" charges. Nevermind the only part of you they serviced was the part you sit on.

nycphotography

Which is WHY forged casheirs checks figure so prominently in internet based theft.

A FORGED check, or a BOGUS check, is going to come back to you, whether it says "cashiers" on it or not.

The days of trusting cashiers checks is over. Kaput. Finit.

Dubbayoo

+1

hammond9705

On my ebay sales I say Paypal only. I would be very suspicious of anyone wanting to pay with a cashiers check.

Bob

JF1

Exactly!

Tell the buyer you will need to hold the check for 2 weeks before you send the merchandise.
I work in the fraud business and get calls on this type of thing daily.
Some cashiers checks will clear initially, depending on what institution it came from, but will come back as long as a week later as being fraudulent.
If they balk at the two week wait, tell them to wire you the money. If they actually have the funds, what's the problem?
Frankly, I'd only accept PayPal.

operator

While cashiers check = pretty scammage to me, paypal also has its own problems. Never ever link your main bank account to paypal. They're basically a bank who writes their own rules.

Wino Ryder

Not everyone has, or even has the means of getting a pay-pal account. And its a real shame potentially legitimate buyers are limited to that only option. Personally, I pay with a USPS money order for my e-bay purchases, which is one of the reasons why I keep my feedback score 100%. If I see an item I want, but the seller only accepts pay-pal (selfishly limiting my options), then I move on to another seller and buy from him. The result is the pay-pal only seller has to settle for a lower bid when it could've went substantially higher. All you're doing is making it extremely inconvenient for potential buyers.

kokomo61

I'd prefer PayPal, but if they can't do that, then I'd go for a USPS money order, that I'd cash at a USPS location. Once I have cash in hand, then I'd send the bike. I'd be wary of any cashier's check, since the fraud rate is so high. Tell the buyer that you'd take PayPal or USPS money order, and that any type of check (cashier's or otherwise) is subject to a delay while it clears. If they balk at those terms, then there's something fishy going on.

socalrider

You just need to treat a cashiers check the same as a regular check.. If the buyer pressures you to ship right away, it might be a scam.. If the check is drawn on a National bank, you can normally go to the branch and with proper ID cash it.. Once the cash hits your hand then ship the bike..

Fake Cashiers checks and usps postal money orders have been around for over a decade..

oilman_15106

Why should it take 2 weeks? With the Check 21 thing all checks are supposed to clear the issuing bank in 2 days, USA of course.

Hammer02

Ya know...I do too.....at least I thought I did. When he sent me an email saying he was sending me a cashier check...I was not going to take it...but I checked my own damn auction and sure enough I put cashier/money order as an option to pay.

Serves me right I guess.

kokomo61

Maybe, but you still don't have to ship (and I'd suggest strongly that you don't) until that check absolutely clears. If it takes two weeks, it takes two weeks. As long as you communicate with the buyer, that shouldn't be a problem.

Hammer02

Yep Yep.

That has been made clear.