Beware: Unscrupulous potential buyers

You can get burned with wire transfer, PayPal, personal check and MO. Money Order is the most risky of the lot.

Use a common sense, always try to get in contact with the seller via the phone - you will know within minutes if he is a real audiophile or a scammer.

You can't get burned on a MO if it has been cleared and you do not cash it where you keep your bank account. Do not ship or send the buyer the tracking # for a few days. I take money orders but warn the buyer not to make a habbit of using them. I let them know that if I don't ship the item, they are stuck. If they still want touse one then ok.

I don't understand the trepidation about Money Orders. Are you guys refering to Bank issued MO's as opposed to Postal MO's? Seems to me, if I cash the postal MO at the post office and have the money in my hand, then what can go wrong after that? This is the way I have always dealt and it protects both the buyer and the seller. If I scammed the buyer, I believe the post office would consider it "Mail Fraud"...a Federal crime. Please fill me in.

Hifiharv is correct. If you cash a postal m.o. at a p.o. and walk out w cash, you are golden. Bank-issued m.o.s are another story. Accept w caution unless the member has long feedback history.

Call your local FBI and they will be all over these guys. You may have to go through the "motions" of pretending to accept their offer and receive the check.