What are the loopholes of sending COD to nonmemb.

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.