Why Ebay Ban on Money Orders and Checks Is Really An Advantage To Buyers

eBay has recently declared that money orders and checks will no longer be accepted means of transactions.
Many customers have welcomed this change since these two methods have been known to cause a lot of trouble for many people. Below are some of the usual problems that people have experienced with these methods.
Really long waiting period for check and money order transactions
If you’ve previously used a money order or check to pay for an item you’ve bought, you might have experienced a very long wait before the item arrived on your doorstep.
This is because the person selling the item would have had to wait as well for your check to arrive to him.
This period gets even more extended when it comes to international transactions.
And after this period, the seller would have then had to wait for your check to get cleared by the bank. Only after the check gets cleared would the person be able to send you the items that you’ve bought.
Even if you don’t receive your item, you won’t be able to file a dispute
Because of the nature of money order transactions, there isn’t any paper trail involved. This means that it would be nearly impossible to prove that the money order you sent really did or did not arrive to its intended recipient. Filing a complaint and retrieving your money could be impossible as well.
Most of the scams or cases of items not received involved transactions using these payment methods. Currently, eBay allows filing of disputes for PayPal transactions as it is much easier to check if you have sent the payments and if the other party has received the payments.
Checks and money order transactions offer you no protection for bought items
eBay has a standard purchase protection program which entitles you to about two hundred dollars worth of protection.
However, to be eligible for this, you must have used PayPal to pay for your item. PayPal makes payments much more simple and PayPal also records whether or not you’ve paid for your item and whether or not the payment was received by the seller.
After you’ve opened a dispute with eBay, eBay can check the records to see if you’ve paid for it. eBay can then investigate on the dispute and check to see if you’re eligible for protection.
Money order and check payments are inconvenient for everyone involved.
Because you need to go to the post office to send these payments out, there is much inconvenience involved. However, electronic transactions like PayPal only need you to be in front of your computer to make quick and easy payments.
The status of your international payments can be very difficult to check
The lack of a credible paper trail means that you won’t know if your payment really is still on its way or if it has arrived already and the seller just isn’t sending you the item.
This could leave you confused about whether or not you should cancel the check you’ve signed.
You could also be unsure as to which steps should be taken in case a seller refuses to send you your bought item and you then wish to file a dispute.