Rant mode on

[mtncwru]

For those preferring USPS money orders, what about bank cashier's checks?

Better than a random money order, but still has the "No guarantee I know what it looks like" problem. Also more expensive, usually. Last time I needed one it was about $10, while a USPS MO is only $1.50.

 

[Justin Utherdude]

This is one of the dumbest threads I've seen in a while. Mailing someone a money order is as good as mailing someone cash and "hoping" that they send you something in return. I know that most electronic payment methods have terms and conditions that prohibit firearms purchases, which can make things difficult, but generally going through some form of electronic payment provides buyer protection in a way that MO can't provide. If you can meet face to face or do deals through an ffl then that should be enough trust as well without weird payment methods.

But the idea that someone on the internet should mail you the equivalent of cash and trust that you are going to mail them something back in good faith is asinine. The age of trust and a good handshake died over 30 years ago. We are in the internet era of "trust, but verify". If I'm not dealing with a trusted third party or dealing face to face then I damn well better make sure that I have some sort of recourse if the seller decides not to honor their end of the deal. Electronic payments are generally better for this. Anyone that would do deals without a 3rd party or buyer/seller protection is quite naive in my opinion.

Don't take this as a personal attack. If you want to do deals the old fashioned way then do so by all means. I just prefer to have protection on my side in the modern era. Scams are rampant, and even if they weren't, if we had the means to provide trust verification why would we go out of our way to avoid it unless it's out of stubbornness.

Rant over.

 

[Shooter13]

I mailed a piece to Todd Chriswell on the 5th of May, it made it to Indy on the 17th! On the 18th it is back in Lexington, KY, I called yesterday but never had the opportunity to speak to a real person, AI couldn't answer the question so it's going to cost me a trip to Richmond to the PO and then I'll file an insurance claim that they will deny.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

You might be waiting longer if your delivery/shipment was routed thru the Grand Tower IL USPS. There is 100k information reward for the Dec 18 burglary.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

This is one of the dumbest threads I've seen in a while. Mailing someone a money order is as good as mailing someone cash and "hoping" that they send you something in return. I know that most electronic payment methods have terms and conditions that prohibit firearms purchases, which can make things difficult, but generally going through some form of electronic payment provides buyer protection in a way that MO can't provide. If you can meet face to face or do deals through an ffl then that should be enough trust as well without weird payment methods.

But the idea that someone on the internet should mail you the equivalent of cash and trust that you are going to mail them something back in good faith is asinine. The age of trust and a good handshake died over 30 years ago. We are in the internet era of "trust, but verify". If I'm not dealing with a trusted third party or dealing face to face then I damn well better make sure that I have some sort of recourse if the seller decides not to honor their end of the deal. Electronic payments are generally better for this. Anyone that would do deals without a 3rd party or buyer/seller protection is quite naive in my opinion.

Don't take this as a personal attack. If you want to do deals the old fashioned way then do so by all means. I just prefer to have protection on my side in the modern era. Scams are rampant, and even if they weren't, if we had the means to provide trust verification why would we go out of our way to avoid it unless it's out of stubbornness.

Rant over.

Pay attention to members traders history and to the names of members who left the Seller’s a very positive review, this will speak volumes on who your dealing with.

 

[J_Hensley]

I prefer to send payment electronically. Sometimes I will pass on an item if I can't pay via epayment.

But if I want it bad enough, I will comply with the seller's requests, if I feel comfortable that the seller is legitimate.

I have witnessed situations on other forums (not here) where someone has been scammed, and it was an item that I was interested in. So I try to stay vigilant.

That being said, I feel that most members on this forum are a special breed of trustworthy individuals.
I hope I'm correct in my assumption.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

I just bought, 138 Norma .22-250 Brass ( some New, some Once fired ) from, B-23,..
He sent the Brass immediately after, I PM'ed him and I did, the Same with, my Check,..
Amazingly we got Both, in the Mail on, the SAME Day ! ( he got the Check, I got the Brass )
The Brass was,. "as Advertised", the Price Fair and B-23's "Word" was, as good as, "Gold" to, Me !
The transaction was, just Like,.. the "Good ole' Days" !
I don't have,. PayPal, Venmo or ANY Electronic means,.. to Pay,..
Thankfully, We have many,.. Trustworthy Members !

Forum Boss: Yes we have many trustworthy members, but remember that a valid account could be hacked in seconds if the user has a shared password or a data breach. We recommend that you NEVER send money without first making a VOICE phone call. Repeat -- Call the seller on the phone and TALK. Always!! Scammers will normally refuse to talk.

Also, NEVER USE ZELLE. NEVER.
NEVER use PayPal or Venmo Friends & Family (F&F) -- there is NO buyer protection. You may use PayPal/Venmo "Goods and Services" for products (except guns and ammo -- that's not allowed).
Never use Apple Pay or CashApp or Bitcoin -- again no Buyer Protection.

If a seller insists on F&F, contact Forum Boss and I will investigate. This is grounds for a permanent ban on the seller's account.

 

[284winner]

I know I'm new and perhaps I'm out of line with this rant.

I'm trying to establish a solid reputation here on AS. I recently posted in the classifieds and man has times changed with payment options and the attitude you get when just simply asking for a MO or personal check, is unreal. Everyone expects electronic means of payment. 20+ years ago everything was based on pride, reputation and your word. We would just mail out our item or items (guns & optics) knowing they would cross in the mail and everyone would be happy. Now I'm reading all the hate and discontent about USPS, UPS, FedEx and all the bad experiences one has had. Right now, I'm currently waiting for to payments that still haven't arrived, and it's been 7 to 10 days. Is this the new norm? One thing I have learned over the years is, a man's word is all he has, if you break it, your reputation is seriously tarnished or perhaps ruined, and it may never get reestablished.

Rant mode off.

Those men are long gone

 

[CJ6]

I know I'm new and perhaps I'm out of line with this rant.

I'm trying to establish a solid reputation here on AS. I recently posted in the classifieds and man has times changed with payment options and the attitude you get when just simply asking for a MO or personal check, is unreal. Everyone expects electronic means of payment. 20+ years ago everything was based on pride, reputation and your word. We would just mail out our item or items (guns & optics) knowing they would cross in the mail and everyone would be happy. Now I'm reading all the hate and discontent about USPS, UPS, FedEx and all the bad experiences one has had. Right now, I'm currently waiting for to payments that still haven't arrived, and it's been 7 to 10 days. Is this the new norm? One thing I have learned over the years is, a man's word is all he has, if you break it, your reputation is seriously tarnished or perhaps ruined, and it may never get reestablished.

Rant mode off.

I mailed a PMO ( EXPRESS) a couple months back and it took 10 days to get there.

 

[GotRDid]

Those men are long gone

There are quite a few here, Sir.

 

[TTE]

I have gotten payments and sent payments, (post marked the day after confirmation of the deal) take a crazy long time to arrive after the post mark.

I live in Florida and bought one smaller item from Wisconsin. The item went to California for a weeks vacation .... then onto Atlanta to be lost for 20 days. Then finally arrived at my home 10 days later.

Also, I sent out a check to Oklahoma that took 19 days to arrive.
As was previously posted, the postal system make a persons word suspect.
I have gotten payments and sent payments, (post marked the day after confirmation of the deal) take a crazy long time to arrive after the post mark.

I live in Florida and bought one smaller item from Wisconsin. The item went to California for a weeks vacation .... then onto Atlanta to be lost for 20 days. Then finally arrived at my home 10 days later.

Now I take a pic of the payment with a stamped addresses envelope to the seller in a PM.

 

[284winner]

There are quite a few here, Sir.

Yep there are for sure. In reality there still are many but the numbers on the other side are going up more and more unfortunately.

 

[338 Mollett]

Keeping my word has cost me some money , money I can't take to the grave but my integrity I can !!!

 

[LAH]

I sold bullets in all 50 states for 12 years and was never beat out of a dime nor had a check returned for insufficient funds. I preferred personal checks above all else. I guess things have changed.

 

[ELR LVR]

I like electronic payment that is instant, and doesn't charge --- ANY fees whatsoever
---how could it get any better?
This is 2026
People must get accustomed to our currently used technology
Hopefully AS will also step up to the times and openly accept how a very large portion of Americas population conducts transactions now, seeing as they will use a computer and current technology to have a website.

 

[323]

If I have to send a MO or check I will put it in a small flat rate box send it that way send tracking number to seller. If I can’t afford $12.60 to send it I probably shouldn’t be buying stuff off the forums. Like others I prefer electronic but I understand some don’t want that.

 

[284winner]

I always prefer electronic payment methods. Many sellers ask for a MO or check and I'm ok with that method as well in most circumstances. The speedier the payment and shipping, the better. On this forum and one other I'm a member of, I have confidence in others honesty 99% of the time. When there is a new member with zero feedback, I always think if they are selling to a member with excellent feedback, they should send the item to the buyer before payment is made. Why not ? What's the difference from the seller getting payment first if the seller turns out to be a scammer ? This only applies to new unvetted members. I was ripped off once by a new member on this forum as were many others by the same person.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I like electronic payment that is instant, and doesn't charge --- ANY fees whatsoever
---how could it get any better?
This is 2026
People must get accustomed to our currently used technology
Hopefully AS will also step up to the times and openly accept how a very large portion of Americas population conducts transactions now, seeing as they will use a computer and current technology to have a website.

Many of us are Leary of the safety of electronic payment being tied to our banking accounts. We grew up knowing what a “House of Cards” means.

 

[spencerhenry]

I don't like electronic payment for anything. I would suspect that those electronic payment services provide that information to government agencies for the purpose of tax collecting. But could also be used for other nefarious purposes. I also don't like money I got from selling things going into a bank account, I'd prefer to have the cash when I want to buy something locally.

Long time ago I sold a few thousand brass to a guy, he paid with paypal. When the packaging got torn open and brass was lost, he complained to paypal and they refunded all of his money. I lost 3500 brass AND the cost to ship it. Paypal sucks!

 

[Tangent]

Pay by credit card, your loss is then their loss. They are much better equipped to chase debt. If a business goes bust with your cash or cheque before delivery you are at the back of the queue of creditors. Buyer beware and all that.