posted on March 20, 2001 05:19:08 PM new
Ok, so I run in to my local PO today, lookin' to purchase an International Money Order for an eBay purchase. The clerk asks me "for what country", I responded & he proceeds to tell me that #1 the MO will cost $8.50 AND #2 (and this is a biggie) I will get a voucher, NOT the MO, and the MO will be issued out of a PO in St.Louis. Could take 2-3 weeks...I've purchased International MO's before, for purchases comin' from Canada, got the MO, no problem. This case is for a Soviet country....Anyone else have this experience?....I'm stumped, and I'm sure the seller (a relative new seller) is gonna think I'm pullin' his leg!...AGH!!!!....
As always, any input would be appreciated.....
Thanx
~ Rancher
posted on March 20, 2001 06:04:51 PM new
You can find out about money orders (both cashing them and purchasing them) at the USPS Postal Explorer located at http://pe.usps.gov/. Click on "International Mail Manual" ... then click on "Special Services" ... scroll down to the "Money Order" section.
IN SUMMARY:
Postal money orders are exchanged with countries in one of two ways:
1. Direct international postal money orders (this method uses the pink International Postal Money Order Form and costs $3.25) -- available for the countries listed below:
Albania, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, British Virgin Islands, CANADA, Cape Verde, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Mali, Mexico, Montserrat, Nigeria, Peru, St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, and Trinidad and Tobago.
2. Standard international postal money orders (this method uses the Authorization to Issue an International Money Order form set and costs $8.50). I won't list all the countries here, but it includes Denmark, France, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, etc.
[edited for coding, etc.]
[ edited by engelskdansk on Mar 20, 2001 06:07 PM ]
posted on March 20, 2001 06:19:20 PM new
hi, I've had that happen to me before also. The PO issues the pink money orders ($3.25) to only certain countries (Japan, and most countries in North and South America). All other countries (including most of Europe)are issued in St Louis ($8.50) and you get a voucher. I'm not sure why, but thats the way the PO does it. Country lists and details are available in the IMM, section 371.3. You can view this through the usps web site, if you have abode acrobat. Otherwise your post office has a copy. hope this helps, steve
posted on March 20, 2001 06:52:11 PM new
Thanx folks, I thought I was pretty good regarding postal info, but this is new to me. I really appreciate the references. I will be able to forward that info to the seller.
posted on March 20, 2001 08:45:21 PM new
Well I've used them a few times without any significant problems, but -- ugh! -- I hate those int'l MO vouchers.
They can be SLOW, sometimes taking 6 weeks to get to the recipient. What they told me at the post office is that they try to wait for a time when the currency exchange rate is most favorable to send the funds on.
Plus, you have to pay in US dollars. If you're trying to send someone, say, 20 British pounds, you need to do the conversion yourself. If the exchange rate is currently 1 pound = $1.60, then you buy an IMO for $32. And just hope the exchange rate doesn't fluctuate too much before the PO sends the funds on. The PO won't guarantee that what the person on the other end will receive is 20 pounds.
I find this all too cumbersome and complicated to be satisfactory; depending on the country and how much I trust the person I'm dealing with, I usually prefer to send registered cash. Even if they want it in the currency of their own country rather than US $, it's not too hard in my area to find a bank or American Express office that will make the exchange.
[ edited by triplesnack on Mar 20, 2001 09:26 PM ]
posted on March 20, 2001 08:49:46 PM new
I almost forgot!
PLUS, you don't get to send a letter along with your payment. The voucher has a notation line of (I think) 30 characters to explain what your payment is for. Again, depending on who you're dealing with, you just gotta trust that the person who receives it is gonna know what it's for and be able to match it up with your order. Maybe not such a big deal for someone who does only a handful of eBay sales, but I see the potential for trouble with matching the payment up with your order in some situations.
[ edited by triplesnack on Mar 20, 2001 09:29 PM ]
posted on March 20, 2001 09:11:35 PM new
rancher--Can you not get a money order in British pounds from your bank? They will charge you for it, but it can't be more than the $8.50 the post office will charge....
posted on March 21, 2001 10:56:21 AM newLotsafuzz, I just checked with Bank of America (California), and they no longer issue international money orders (they USED to...when I worked there about 10 years ago). The nearest they could come was a foreign draft, which is actually drawn on a bank in the country you're sending it to. Hold on to your hat, 'cause the price is....FORTY DOLLARS!!!!
You could try calling every bank in town to see if they will issue them to non-customers, but I'm afraid it's not a product that is widely used. Therefore, it's likely that profit-conscious financial institutions have stopped doing them.
