postal orders

[dangerman]

I have a buyer that is paying by postal order for an item that only costs 99p plus postage but why pay by postal order for a low priced item. and has anyone else had one recently as they seem to be uncommon to me as I have not had many in the last few years

[Pete’s Picture Palace]

As long as he signs it there's no difference to a cheque to you.

I get a few of those per year. People without cheque books use them. Shouldn't be a problem.

[PeterE]

As you say DM, Postal Orders are rare these days. There are still a generation of people for whom using the internet to pay for goods and services goes against the grain, through a lack of trust or confidence in using this kind of system. It will take quite a few years before we see the end of the PO.

[bisphamseasider]

For people without a bank account (and therefore no cheque book) or those who don't like handing over financial details, postal orders are a good way to pay for goods and services.

Only downside is the fee

50p for a PO costing £0.50 - £4.99, £1 for a PO costing £5 - £9.99 and 12.5% of face value for those costing £10.00 - £99.99.

[sellsell39]

Hi Andrew, yes postal orders are absolutely fine to accept.

Simply take it to your bank and pay it in - just like you would if it was cash.

I get these sometimes and have no problems in accepting them.

I even had a customer wanting to pay by stamps once and yes they sent me a book of stamps that was equal to the amount that they owed me for the goods that they purchased.

For me - I just had to think about the value of the stamps as if it were cash.

[overlap]

Yes, should be fine.... if the people at the Post Office know their job you can actually hand in a blank postal order in return for cash.

[Posh1959]

saves you the Paypal fees but gives you the inconvenience of a trip to your bank, also an expensive way to make a payment for the buyer. Many would have posted you coins heavily taped together to save on costs.

[Wullie]

That's a flash from the past .... postal orders . I'm amazed they still do them , but if there's a market , why not ? I recommend NEVER post cash. Absolute mugs game. Not in cardboard, not in silver foil, not in jiffy bags not in anything. Cheques, postal orders , never cash .

[Theresonlyoneutd]

Treat it like a cheque especially large amounts-I know someone who paid in £300 of postal orders,sent the goods only to be told a week later they were fake po's..

[derby1884]

Memories of religiously sending one postal order a month to Steve Earl in Bungay early 70s.
That's where my pocket money all went!

I'll say this - for all the stuff I've got at auction and on EBay over the last 20 years, nothing has ever matched the feeling of excitement when, as a 15 year old, Steve Earl's latest batch of programmes would drop through the letterbox.

It was more fun then. Less serious.
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[roughyedz]

Seems everyone on here should think of where they all started , if like me when they were 12 or 13 . It was either cash ( coins ) through the post or a postal order, that WAS the only way to pay. 18 months ago i got £1.50 in coins through the post off someone on here for a programme. Ive also had postal orders, although not that many, but easiest way to pay for something so cheap is by sending stamps as has been mentioned by sellsell39. How else would you have a young school child ( male or female ) paying, especially if they were an independant sort or even had scroats for parents and had no bank account. I dont know if im correct here but you need a bank account even to receive ur benefits now.
On the other side of the coin is the "Collector" that has plenty of cash ( and theres a few on here that post regularly ) who will not have the faintest idea what im talking about. Perhaps its just the way you was brought up