What are the loopholes of sending COD to nonmemb.

Wow Plinko

Warning noted and thanks!, Thats an awful story.

Dave

Overhang,

You have all the credibility here, and your buyer has none. My buddy lost about $4K sending a Rolex COD--forged check. As others have mentioned, if you are willing to run the risk of not getting your money, go right ahead. I absolutely would not do it myself.
Best of luck,

Howard

I Have done COD on a couple of transactions. First off Fedex & UPS require a legit money order made out to the sender before the package is handed over to the receiver. There is only one thing I can think of that could go wrong & that is the receiver can refuse the package and you have to pay the return shipping costs. So getting a deposit from the buyer can be a good thing if the buyer has no track record on Audiogon. Anyway there is some risks meeting a seller or buyer in specified locations unless he has a proven track record on A'gon. Yes Plinko's example is horrible where a life was lost. How many times has a good samaritan been killed because he stopped to help a stranger on the freeway. Use common sense & live.

Under some circumstances payment can be stopped on a bank "certified check" or a money order. I know from personal experience. It was a hassle but I was able to stop payment and return the damaged goods to the seller. If I had been a thief instead of someone who had been ripped off I would have had the cash and the goods.

Especially if someone is brand new or not even a member why buy any grief and accept anything other than cash up front?

Cloudgif, very good point. I overlooked the fact that some money orders can be cancelled. However a Postal money order cannot be cancelled for 30 days & that is why some sellers insist on this type of money order. Once a Postal money order is cashed it is too late to cancel & this is usually done way before the 30 day period.