Advice Regarding Western Union

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lordguinny

lordguinny

member
O.G.
May 16, 2006
4,275
341
#1
Hello! I recently sold a bag to a Ebay buyer who is located in Russia. I stated in my auction that I would only ship to confirmed Paypal addresses. The buyer wrote back stating:

Hello,
You wrote that you take payment over PayPal only from confirmed addreses. Unfortunatelly it is almoust impossible to cofirm credit card of Russian banks.
What am I have to do? Can I pay over PayPal? Or Western Union?
Kind regards,
Oleg.

My questions are 1) Is it true that Russian bank accounts can't be confirmed? 2) I've never used Western Union before. What are the pros/cons? How do I go forth collecting a Western Union payment?

Thank you ladies!
 
#3
I read somewhere on eBay's site that they advise against using Western Union. Something about how the money can disappear ... maybe someone else can fill in more details.

If you ship it after they pay with paypal, make sure you send it global express so you can track it.
 
#4
Would tracking it with Global Express protect me against the unconfirmed address thing? Meaning, if they try to contest delivery and I show that it was delivered I'd be ok?

The buyer has 100% feedback with 50 sellers.
 
#5
Hi, I don't think there is a problem withe *receiving* a Western Union payment as a seller, but I would never use it as a buyer.

With Western Union, you pick up the cash and then send her the bag. For her, she has no recourse if you never send her the bag.
 
#6
Make sure that whatever you send is FULLY insured. Things going to Russia are notoriously slow. I've had a few sales there and the items always turned up but did take time.

Yes that is true, Russian users can't get confirmed because there is no Russian credit card company as such. Not alot of Russians even have CC's
 
#7
I would use extreme caution handling transactions in Russia. Seconding the comment that Russian customs are terribly slow, and corruption is rife, unfortunately.
Good luck!
 
#8
I just got one for an LV I have listed. It was from a guy from Europe - Germany. I told him no. Plain & simple - I smelled a scam. Said he was going to be in US for 3 days in late June.
 
#9
It's true that there are no such things as a confirmed address in Russia. Only USA, Canada and some places in the UK have confirmed PP addresses. Even if there were confirmed addresses in Russia, you wouldn't be protected by PayPals seller protection.

I believe WU is relatively safe for sellers if you ship after you have the cash in hand, but personally I would never use WU if I was a buyer.
You could also look into Bidpay. They have improved a lot from way back when, and I know many Ebay sellers have switched from PP to BP.
 
#10
I thought Western UNion was a danger as a buyer, because there is no recourse if you don't get the item. I'm a bit confused as to how it could be a scam if you actually get the cash in hand before you ship - but someone may be able to shed mroe light on possible scams.
 
#11
I sold an item to a buyer in Saudi Arabia, got cash the very next day. I like it as a seller but would never do it as a buyer.
Since my buyer was so trusting of me, I'm anxiously waiting to hear that she got & loves what she bought from me.
 
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