[torndownunit]

I was just making up a for sale ad, and I was thinking this info might be useful for people who don't know about Interac Direct Payment. And it should possibly be a sticky in the For Sale section.

If you use Canadian banking there is a good chance you have the option for "Interac Direct Deposit". As far as I know all of the larger Canadian banks have it. All you need is the person's email address (and them to have online banking) and you can transfer funds to them with a flat $1.50 for any transaction. It can be a lot better option then PayPal in a lot of cases for domestic transactions.

The downside is you don't have "PayPal Protection". But if you read the fine print on that, it's kind of misleading anyway and really doesn't offer you much of anything. Plus with all the PayPal scams people have been creating lately I try to just avoid it when I can.

Anyway, hopefully that can be a help. I have used it for a few transactions here. I am sure the people who did the transactions with me would agree it's a cool option.

 

[NB_Terry]

Email money transfer is great!

I know people that use it to pay their rent. By the time you use a stamp, and mail a cheque it practically costs $1.50 anyways.

I use it all the time for buying and selling items within Canada. Check to see if your bank participates, www.certapay.com

 

[GuitarsCanada]

It is a good option. I use it a lot as well. Especially when the kids are/were away to college. :banana:

 

[Chito]

I've used email money transfer on all of the stuff I have bought here in Guitars Canada. For me it's the easiest way to make a deal. Of course, there's always the possibility of someone running off with your money, but I suppose you can always call your bank if the other party doesn't pull through. I've bought a few things from folks here and each deal went smoothly.

 

[JSD's Guitar Shack]

That is a great option, I don't know why I never looked into it before. :confused-smiley-010

 

[Tarbender]

I've been using it for about 3 years now. Originally it was only the big 3 banks, then 5 banks, and now just about anyone can use it. It fast - almost instant, cheap and secure. The only down side is the you can only transfer a max of $1000.00 every 24 hours... hang on, with my GAS that's a good thing.

 

[The Tourist]

I tried it with Scott at axeandyoushallreceive a while ago. Great option I'd say.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

I've used email money transfer on all of the stuff I have bought here in Guitars Canada. For me it's the easiest way to make a deal. Of course, there's always the possibility of someone running off with your money, but I suppose you can always call your bank if the other party doesn't pull through. I've bought a few things from folks here and each deal went smoothly.

I work for a big bank and I can tell you that they would be able to do nothing for you to retrieve your money (ie: you paid seller, then seller doesn't provide gear). Once you transfer, and the other party accepts, it's done. Think of it this way... You mail someone a cheque and they cash it then don't send you the merchandise. Can't reverse that either.

For this reason I advise against using it as an online payment method if you are sending payment to a stranger. It is the equivalent of paying cash. There is no recourse for "I changed my mind and I want the money back." Paypal is designed for e-commerce. Email Money Transfer is not.

Consider this a public service announcement.

 

[Chito]

I work for a big bank and I can tell you that they would be able to do nothing for you to retrieve your money (ie: you paid seller, then seller doesn't provide gear). Once you transfer, and the other party accepts, it's done. Think of it this way... You mail someone a cheque and they cash it then don't send you the merchandise. Can't reverse that either.

For this reason I advise against using it as an online payment method if you are sending payment to a stranger. It is the equivalent of paying cash. There is no recourse for "I changed my mind and I want the money back." Paypal is designed for e-commerce. Email Money Transfer is not.

Consider this a public service announcement.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[torndownunit]

Ya but if you read the fine print PayPal doesn't provide you with much protection either. People assume it does, but all you have to do is read the horror stories which are getting more frequent as people learn to scam PayPal/eBay. It's even worse if you are a seller, because if they agree with a buyer on a dispute PayPal will go right into your account and TAKE the money. AND lock your PayPal account. When you sign up for PayPal, you give them permission to do this.

EG. If a buyer can prove they didn't recieve an item (even if they did), Paypal will take the funds. And people are finding more and more ways to take advantage of this. Even if you win the dispute you still go through a TON of hassle. And PayPal almost always sides with the buyer.

I use the Direct Payment for transactions where I feel I can trust the person I am dealing with. On this site I generally trust people who are active posters and who have sold/bought items before. That is what the feedback thread is for.

The only system of payment where you have any kind of 'backup' is payment by credit card.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Ya but if you read the fine print PayPal doesn't provide you with much protection either. People assume it does, but all you have to do is read the horror stories which are getting more frequent as people learn to scam PayPal/eBay. It's even worse if you are a seller, because if they agree with a buyer on a dispute PayPal will go right into your account and TAKE the money. AND lock your PayPal account. When you sign up for PayPal, you give them permission to do this.

EG. If a buyer can prove they didn't recieve an item (even if they did), Paypal will take the funds. And people are finding more and more ways to take advantage of this. Even if you win the dispute you still go through a TON of hassle. And PayPal almost always sides with the buyer.

I use the Direct Payment for transactions where I feel I can trust the person I am dealing with. On this site I generally trust people who are active posters and who have sold/bought items before. That is what the feedback thread is for.

The only system of payment where you have any kind of 'backup' is payment by credit card.

That's fine, I'm just saying be careful, because EMT has zero protection. It's exactly the same as putting cash in an envelope and mailing it to the seller (without the obvious risk of it getting lost in the mail). So, if you trust the seller, then by all means use EMT. I just thought everyone needs to be aware that there is risk attached to this method of payment.

 

[starman345]

Paypal does have a resolution center. I recently ordered a product, after a month and no product delivered I opened a dispute in the center and after about a week the vendor refunded my money in full. It worked very well for me, don't know about the horror stories, but its got to be better than no recourse at all which is what Interac offers.

 

[torndownunit]

I am just pointing out that PayPal is by no means a safe method either though. You are very open to scams using it. If you haven't read about how buyers are finding new ways to scam PayPal, you really should. Sellers are as at risk as buyers are nowadays which is a huge turnaround from what it used to be. And when you lose as a seller you lose big time because you don't get your item back AND you lose your money.

There is no perfect method for online sales other then dealing with people you can trust, and making sure items are packed and shipped properly. Not doing any of those can lead you to trouble.

If you are relying on PayPal just be careful though. I personally have not had a problem. But the people I read posts from on other forums are people I have talked to for years. If it can happen to them it can happen to anyone. I have cut down my eBay use way more now and tried to keep to forums like these.

 

[starman345]

I"ve cut down on transactions on the internet also, it is risky and I bet there are a lot more people getting scammed than those we hear about. Its different when your on the short end of a deal. In my case had I used Interac, I would have to swallow hard and move on, thankfully I used Paypal and it worked out, I got my money back. I'm no big fan of Paypal, but this Interac service is wide open and I would never use it other than to send $$ to someone I know and trust.