Gunbroker issue

[MarkItZero]

Attempted to buy a gun on gb from a small ffl in Iowa. He requested payment by usps money order, which I sent. He says he hasn't received it despite having been mailed well over a week ago.

I check with the post office and the mo has not been cashed. I'm like 90% sure after talking to the old guy on the phone he misplaced the envelope somewhere in his cluttered (I assume) shop. That or he mixed it up with junk mail and threw it away.

What do I do in this situation?

[blasternaz]

Contact USPS and see how long you have to wait before you can file a claim for refund. All I can think of.... Did you send it priority mail, signature required? If so, at least you'd know it got there.

[QuietM4]

Seems more like a question for USPS. I would have mailed it with something that I could track...like Priority Mail. USPS should be able to cancel the money order for you, as long as you kept the receipt.

[Yellowcarbon]

I mailed a check to my parents mortgage company after they passed away to get them current. The check never showed up even though I did send it with a tracking number. I had to cancel payment on the check and make the payment over the phone.

I really like the immediate checkout on Gunbroker. It's a PIA to go pick up a USPS money order and mail it out. Then I got to hope it arrived. As much as I hate paying fees, it's worth it to get instant payment. I usually get my gun the same week as my dealer sends his FFL via email right away as well.

[Ballistic Therapy]

If you sent it regular mail , it might not be there yet .
When I send any kind of payment , it goes priority mail so I have a tracking number.

I sold a gun on gun broker several years ago and requested a money order as payment.
The buyer sent it regular mail, but I never received it.
He contacted USPS and it was never cashed.
The deal was cancelled .
About 3 months later I got a letter in the mail. Stamped all over it was
" Found in a piece of equipment that did not work ".
I contacted the buyer and sent the letter back to him.

[paulgt2164]

I used USPS once for a money order. Never again.

I was mailing it from Phx to California. It made it there after about a week as I had a tracking number the way I sent it , it sat in the destination post office for several days, and then they returned it saying wrong address (They confirmed the address was valid when I got it, I confirmed the address was correct with the person.)

I then had to go to 3 different USPS office to get my money back - cause they didn't have enough cash on hand (it was only $550.) I had to use USPS because the MO was in the seller's name (luckily I kept the receipt.)

Learned my lesson, lost out on a item I really, really wanted (and still haven't found another one) because of the multiple tiers of their incompetence.

[Ballistic Therapy]

True , most Post offices won't have enough money to cash a large money order. ( Apparently just about anything over $100 is a large money order. )
The good thing about USPS money orders is that , even if they don't have the money , they can verify if it is fake or not . Then you can always take it to your bank and cash it with no worries.

I have used USPS money orders many times and except for the above mentioned problem I had , they have all been just fine.
I don't do any kind of crypto currency or other kinds of internet ways people pay , so besides checks and cash , USPS money orders is what I use.

[blasternaz]

Use USPS MO's when I mail my form 4's in. Any problems, it's one gummint agency fighting another. I just get to sell popcorn....

[pneuby]

.... Post offices won't have enough money to cash a large money order.

The good thing ...they can verify if it is fake or not .

Then you can always take it to your bank and cash it with no worries.

I deal with the main branch, as they do NOT deal with outbound mail,and it's the fastest counter-service in town. They said that with electronic payment today, hardly anything is cash any longer. That said, I was told to try within the last hour of business on any given day. Between the multiple clerks, one of them may have accumulated enough cash in the drawer for one.

They step into the back somewhere to verify an M/O, or to initiate a stop-claim on one. You fill out a special form...and I've done so ONCE, and for me I got the money back in about two weeks.

Some ATM's will not accept them, but banks will do so at the counter.

[samnev]

Used USPS MO's many times and never had a problem. Always sent them Piority mail.

[MarkItZero]

Update: guy ultimately found the check and mailed the pistol