I'm feeling a little more fishy...

geetarmonkey · #1 10-12-2004, 08:03 PM

I just won an auction for a 10 space, shockmount rack. I went ahead and bought it now, and it's listed under the company name of www.Procases.com. The site is legit, everything looks good. The seller has great feedback, been registered several years. Only thing is, the guy is telling me that I can actually FAX a copy of a bank check/money order for payment, as opposed to sending him payment, or paying through Paypal or something. I was taken off guard at first, and he's like "you can fax a copy of the check to us." Is this for real? He also typed one of his emails in all caps, and it just weirded me out. Any opinions?

Ferrous Lepidoptera · #2 10-12-2004, 08:30 PM

Ask if you can fax him cash.

That is weird.

geetarmonkey · #3 10-12-2004, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferrous Lepidoptera

Ask if you can fax him cash.

That is weird.

Haha for real. I guess faxing a copy of the check would void it if either one of us tried to cash it after the first person did, but I've never heard of faxing a check in my life...

littlegreenman · #4 10-12-2004, 10:21 PM

I think he probably means, Fax us a copy of the check (probably wanting a cashiers check or money order made out to them specifically, cashiers check will be printed to recipient by the bank) to prove that you have the payment to send and they will ship once they receive the fax, you will still have to send them the actual money order/check.

They may be able to take a fax to their bank to get the check cleared while you wait for it to arrive thus speeding up the shipping process as they won't have to wait as long once the check arrives to verify it.

geetarmonkey · #5 10-13-2004, 01:55 AM

Ah ok, well that makes me feel a little better. I wasn't like totally suspicious of this, thinking it was a scam or anything, I'd just never heard of anything like that...

littlegreenman · #6 10-13-2004, 04:16 PM

well, I've never heard of it either, but I'm just trying to find some logic in it :P

bpd111 · #7 10-13-2004, 07:48 PM

E-mail him back, and ask him why.

geetarmonkey · #8 10-14-2004, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpd111

E-mail him back, and ask him why.

I probably will, but they accept payment in other forms. I just went ahead and sent him the money order by mail. The site and his eBay account look totally legit, so I'm confident in the transaction. The whole fax thing just threw me off, and one email was in all caps. Just didn't seem how a business transaction would be handled by such a corporation. I don't really care anyways, as long as I get my rack...

bpd111 · #9 10-14-2004, 10:28 AM

I happened to pick up a fax off the machine at work this morning. It was a bill, and they indicated in their payment options that you can fax a copy of the check -- not send the check -- and they can cash it the faxed copy! Apparently this is new (to me anyway), but acceptable practice.

geetarmonkey · #10 10-14-2004, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpd111

I happened to pick up a fax off the machine at work this morning. It was a bill, and they indicated in their payment options that you can fax a copy of the check -- not send the check -- and they can cash it the faxed copy! Apparently this is new (to me anyway), but acceptable practice.

Technology is amazing!

Miata1476 · #11 10-14-2004, 11:10 AM

They might be able to run the check through electronically where all they need are the numbers at the bottom, the check number and the amount. We are doing that at the bookstore where I work. We have to have the actual check because our system requires that we scan the numbers off the bottom of the check, but other systems might allow you to just enter in the numbers (like with a credit card with the magnetic strip erased) and go from there.

Ryan

whatshisname · #12 10-14-2004, 11:25 AM

I don't see how this is much different from doing a check over the phone. I've payed for a few things this way. I give them the numbers, and void that check. It would be like using a credit card over the phone.

I'm sure he just wanted to have a copy of the actual check, to have for his records.

geetarmonkey · #13 10-14-2004, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatshisname

I don't see how this is much different from doing a check over the phone. I've payed for a few things this way. I give them the numbers, and void that check. It would be like using a credit card over the phone.

I'm sure he just wanted to have a copy of the actual check, to have for his records.

Hmm, I didn't know you could do checks over the phone...I guess I'm stepping into the 20th century!

Dunadan · #14 10-14-2004, 09:18 PM

Quote:

The whole fax thing just threw me off, and one email was in all caps. Just didn't seem how a business transaction would be handled by such a corporation.

I teach at the largest high school in my state, and I'm constantly appalled by the lack of professionalism in the correspondence I receive. I get about 25-30 e-mails a day, and I never cease to be amazed by the stupidity of others. You'd think that people would at least run their stuff through spell check before sending it to an English teacher... and you'd think that people sending e-mails to an entire school (or better yet, the whole district) would have human beings proofread their work. But that isn't the case.

You're right to consider an ALL CAPS e-mail as a red flag, but at the same time it's not always a sign of incompetence. Your correspondent may just be too lazy to hit the shift key.

Regards,
Spencer

whatshisname · #15 10-15-2004, 08:38 AM

Heck, I'd be happy if people would simply learn the difference between the words "their", "there", and "they're"!

I should send you some emails my company sends out. It would make your head explode, Dunadan. These people couldn't even spell the word "illiterate".