NEGLUS
|
posted on March 19, 2004 05:05:29 AM new
HELP! I am having a heck of a time trying to figure how an Italian buyer of a $60 postcard can pay me. She says she would like to pay, in her words: " Do You know "money gram"International money transfer send form? It is a service by the poste italiane"
My auction TOS were for cash or PP only. I have sold many cards to people in Italy and if they don't use PP they send cash by registered mail. I have had cash removed from registered mail and the envelope reglued and a couple of postcards that never arrived. Does anyone else have experience with Italian postal service?
What is an International MOney Order and how do people get them? Any other ideas besides cash and PP? (she doesn't have a credit card). Thanks for the help.
|
stopwhining
|
posted on March 19, 2004 05:40:07 AM new
canada and japan -buyers can go to the post office and buy a us dollar postal order and you can cash it at your post office with proper id free.
why dont you call usps and ask what kind of arrangment they have with italian post office.
it could be their post office has an arrangment with italian bank and the bank will send you a check.
as for registered mail arrived ripped and resealed with cash missing,your local post office should have caught that before delivering the mail to you,if it arrives in that condition,they should attach a piece of paper which said it arrived ripped/open etc,and you can file insurance on the loss,i think registered mail is insured.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
|
micheleromeo
|
posted on March 19, 2004 05:42:32 AM new
Hi,
i live in Italy.. and i found some info's bout Moneygram.. yes, it is a service of Poste Italiane (From 2001 they were privatizated and become "BancoPosta". Yes It is a bank, too.
Ok, that service, that paypal.it not raccomend to the buyer (after sent money you cannot have that back) seems to be good, just like Wester Union.
Here is a link i found on the poste italiane web.
http://www.poste.it/bancoposta/moneygram/
Regards.
Michele
|
NEGLUS
|
posted on March 19, 2004 06:13:29 AM new
Thanks for the link Michele. I see that there is the "money gram" that sends money internationally without going through a bank account but I don't see how I would receive it and what form it would be in when I do receive it?
I see from the US post office site that Italy is not a country that accepts US postal money orders and vice versa.
I see "International Money Orders" as acceptable forms of payment in many auctions. What IS an "International Money Order" and how does one get it?
|
tomwiii
|
posted on March 19, 2004 06:23:54 AM new
NEGLUS:
Most folks mean: INTERNATIONAL POSTAL MONEY ORDERS by that term!
ALSO: Many foreign banks issue Money Orders in USD drawn on a USA bank & my bank accepts them just the same as any other MO 
Other than WUAP's, these are the only TWO other international payment types Ralphie will accept -- little doggy paranoid!
 Who pays? http://tinyurl.com/3a6mv
[ edited by tomwiii on Mar 19, 2004 06:24 AM ]
|
vvalhalla
|
posted on March 19, 2004 06:25:29 AM new
If they have a credit card have them go to auctionpayments.com and buy a money order.
dd
|
micheleromeo
|
posted on March 19, 2004 06:47:55 AM new
Ok.. i found another useful infos...
That's how it works:
the buyer goes to the poste italiane office and send money with moneygram, in the transaction will be indicated a "password" that will enable the "seller" to "have the money".
'bout 5 days later, the seller have to go to a "moneygram office" and revealing the password he can have his money..
Not easy.. but if one doesn't have a credit card.. is a cheap alternative to the wire trinsfer (very expensive for Italian people!)
Regards
Here is another link..
http://www.moneygram.com/servlet/DefaultApplyXSL?xslURL=/Display/temgweb.xsl&URL=/Apps/AgentLocator/AgentSearch.jsp
|
stopwhining
|
posted on March 19, 2004 07:12:29 AM new
this is how western union works with their moneygram,go to local western union office with the password and id and get either a check or cash and come home with it.
make sure what moneygram office they are talking about,if you dont have one close to your home,now what??
banks usually issue drafts or cashier check.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
|
bunnicula
|
posted on March 19, 2004 07:34:44 AM new
Western Union's Auction Payments is great for foreign bidders.
http://www.auctionpayments.com/
The buyer uses their credit card to purchase a Western Union money order online. The money orderis generated here in the US and mailed to you. You will receive two emails fromWestern Union: the first is an "order pending" notice, and the second is the "order approved notice." They mail you the money order in 3 - 5 days.
I have been using this service since it started as BidPay and never had a single problem. In fact, I go ahead and mail out the item upon receipt of the second email, without waiting for the money order to arrive.
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
|
NEGLUS
|
posted on March 19, 2004 07:43:58 AM new
YIKES! This isn't going to be easy..I don't want to have to make a "trip" to a moneygram office even if they do have one in Mpls/StPaul. I live in a suburb about 17 miles from city center and I rarely go "downtown"!!
It looks like the International Money Order in US$ is the only option as Tom suggested..I assume she can buy it at her bank without a credit card. I know my bank charges me for Canadian Money Orders made out in US$ so I assume I will get a charge for this one too... oh well.
After getting burned on the cash missing from the registered envelope I am not too wild about enforcing my TOS and really need to find a viable alternative to PayPal since 1/3 of my business is now international.
Thanks so much for your help Michele! Can I ask you if there are problems with the Italian postal service?? I send my postcards in plain white envelopes marked "Photo do not Bend" - my husband has been plastering them with pretty stamps (he thinks Postcard collectors are probably also stamp collectors)- would those stamps cause some of my packages to "disappear"?
STOPthe cashless envelope looked ok when I signed for it. When I opened it and found no cash inside, I looked closer and saw the there was some "shiny stuff" (glue) around the flap. The buyer swore that he put the cash in and he has good feedback so I believe him. I sent the postcard and ate the postage.
And now I am off to the casino for a few hours away from the 'puter!
TTFN
Mary Ann
|
stopwhining
|
posted on March 19, 2004 08:01:50 AM new
my postman once told me it is common knowledge among postal workers that registered mail is prestigeous mail and could have valuable item inside ,but registered mails is recorded at every station inside the usps delivery system,so it is easy to track what happens at which station.
thats why jeweler prefer to ship highticket items via the post office.same goes with bullion dealers with gold coins.
but with intl mail,it could have happened in italy,they will use a blade and cut open the envelope and then reseal.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
|
Fenix03
|
posted on March 19, 2004 08:19:58 AM new
Neglus - you would be suurprised, you may have a Western Union office scloser to you than you think. Go to WesternUnion.com and check their link to find the closest agent. If you do not want to use that service, your buyer can purchase an international money order from the Western Union their local station and mail it to you which is much less exensive than a bank drank or cahiers check. Another option would be for them just to send you USD Travelers Checks.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
|
tomwiii
|
posted on March 19, 2004 08:22:03 AM new
NEGLUS:
Do NOT accept FOREIGN BANK MOs unless they are DRAWN on a USA BANK -- easy to tell, as the MO will say something like "Payable by First Bank of Ralphie, PretzelChoke OK" or some such etc + have the standard FED RESERVE routing numbers at bottom!
ANY BANK should treat such MOs just as any regular MO!
Who pays? http://tinyurl.com/3a6mv
|
stopwhining
|
posted on March 19, 2004 08:54:49 AM new
some western union branches are inside the supermarket,i know albertson supermarket has western union .
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
|
micheleromeo
|
posted on March 19, 2004 10:46:04 AM new
Neglus, yes, if i could be of any help i will be very happy.. but with no promise, i have not so much free time.
Italian postal system is not so bad as we know, i think that a black sheep is everywhere, and.. i could make an example with german post.. but i had only two problems.. so maybe it is not the "rule".
I don't believe that your packages could "disappear", like any other one.
One packages on 3000 never reach its destination.. so when you will send your 2999th the next has to be sent to your address!
That's how statistic works hi hi!
Regards!
Michele
|
mommoo
|
posted on March 19, 2004 12:10:17 PM new
Bidpay(www.bidpay.com) is the easiest and best way to go. The buyer can just go to the website and pay with a credit card. You receive an Pending E-mail and then a Approved e-mail. You can then send the item. Then Bidpay sends you a money order. International buyers seem to like it a lot.
|
passedtothepresent
|
posted on March 19, 2004 12:20:33 PM new
tomwii: What does the abbreviation WUAP's stand for? If a person were to limit auction payments from the international sector to only Paypal and Bidpay has anyone you know of gotten burned bad with that? Bidpay or money orders might be preferred to paypal because of the 'quality of item' potential dispute problems? Any thoughts on that?
All: Does anyone have any experience with the payment processing systems used internationally on independent websites like Worldpay or Authorize.net? Are there consistent success stories or bad results with those for international commerce? They are quite expensive, but if they work well it wouldn't take many added international transactions to make up the difference. I've been holding off because Vendio seems to make it quite difficult to use non-auction designed payment services. I don't see requiring folks to give their cc info in the "comments section" of any checkout as very professional.
|
Fenix03
|
posted on March 19, 2004 12:22:44 PM new
Bidpay changed its name 3 months ago - they are now AuctionPayments.com which has been mentioned by at least tewo other posters who also missed where Neglus specifically states that the buyer does not have a credit card.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
|
Libra63
|
posted on March 19, 2004 01:02:31 PM new
neglus-I had an auction end a couple of weeks ago from an Italian Bidder and she paid me through western union. It went really smooth. I think they used to be BidPay. It wasn't for that amount but it was for over $30.00....
|
tomwiii
|
posted on March 19, 2004 01:03:47 PM new
passed...
WUAP = Western Union Auction Payments...
Who pays? http://tinyurl.com/3a6mv
|
passedtothepresent
|
posted on March 19, 2004 01:26:36 PM new
Thanks all.
|
agitprop
|
posted on March 20, 2004 01:18:21 AM new
NEGLUS,
Regarding the opened and resealed envelope - suggest you ask buyers sending cash to do by regular airmail (doesn't attract attention) within folded sheet of paper containing their winning auction details. Sealing all the edges of the envelope with clear tape makes it very easy to detect if it has been opened en route... Buyer should also get a certificate of posting (free in many countries).
|
stopwhining
|
posted on March 20, 2004 06:57:25 AM new
the problem with not using registered mail is that the seller can always deny receiving the mail.
neglus,
next time you get a postal money order from canada or japan,go straight to your post office and cash it free,some banks do charge a fee for clearing,but post office does not.
those overseas bidders who have no credit card,may be they can open a paypal account and deposit some money into paypal account from their bank account.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
|
NEGLUS
|
posted on March 20, 2004 03:38:52 PM new
Thanks all for the good ideas. I checked and there is a Western Union office less than 1 mile from my house. I asked the buyer to send $ through Western Union but have not heard back yet.
I just heard from a second Italian buyer that a postcard I mailed on February 12th has not arrived yet. (this one was for a $50 postcard). Do envelopes marked (and paid) "Air Mail" ever take a slow boat through the Cape?? This is making me crazy!!
|
stopwhining
|
posted on March 20, 2004 04:13:16 PM new
yes,Italian postal system is a joke,most businesses use fed exp air.
do you know USPS discontinue Global priority mail to italy??
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
|
mommoo
|
posted on March 20, 2004 05:04:49 PM new
I sent a book to Italy and it was never received. My post office tells me that Italy has the worst postal system in the world and that they have begun to warn people who mail packages there.
|
micheleromeo
|
posted on March 21, 2004 12:06:26 PM new
mmh, i don't know... i received from US several goods i won trough Ebay.. all of them arrived in the expected time.. except one, it needs about two months and half! Ok it was a tape deck.. but a greater box (with a smuffler) takes about two weeks..
National post, in Italy works really well, letters, boxes and every kind of packages reach their destination in a max of 3 days.
|
