Good afternoon
Some years ago I sold a couple of engines an FA1 SF war bonnet with sound and I believe a GP-38 . Was good sale . Sent checks cleared my bank and I sent off to buyers . It was nice the trust .
I’m looking at selling some rolling stock off and some other items . What are the suggested cash apps you all use .
Thanks in advance
Mark F
I just had cancer surgery . And going to get what I want to sell and then I’ll list .
Mark, PayPal is the standard with protection is the better for both parties. Matter of fact, unless the person is known to me, it’s PayPal (not F&F) only.
Of course in person, cash is king.
I agree with John M. PayPal is the way to go.
I only use Paypal Goods and Service when selling or buying from those I don’t know at least casually. Paypal protects both the buyer and the seller. It will cost you a few %.
I’ve also used Facebook Pay, but I don’t trust with my debit card, so I deleted it. I’ve also used Zelle through my bank, mostly for inter-family transfers.
I have had to use PayPal, but they do take some money off the top!
I discovered Zelle, which my bank had - I liked it, but some banks don’t offer it. It is FREE!
I used Venmo (and liked it), but since I changed my phone, they no longer think I am who I think I am, so I no longer use it…(I guess they never heard of email?)
I am interested in Aristocraft. I would mail a check. I am old fashioned.
Checks are handy and nice, but should really only be accepted by people who you really know…(AND trust!)
The NICE thing about electronics fund transfer is that the selling party KNOWS the money is good AND can ship the goods as soon as they receive notice (from the bank, or Paypal). This means that the buyer gets the item all that much quicker AND the seller has his money!
Otherwise as seller you need to wait until you get the check, then send it to your bank, then wait for it to clear, THEN send the item…AND if the check DOESN’T clear…ACK!
Let me add this note of interest on information I got from my local bank manager.
When I queried if a bank check is the best way to be sure that the funds are good, she relayed the following info to me. Also saying that this can happen as much as 30 days after the funds are initially deposited into your account and assumed to be good to go.
"The most typical answer is that the account the check was drawn on does not have enough money in it to cover the check. It might have when the check was written (or not!), but right now it does not. As your bank cannot get the non-existent money to add to your account, they cancel it.
The other, less common reason is the check is stolen, forged or otherwise fraudulent. It might be a real check, but the account owner did not write it, and it failed the security verification. It might be a fake check drawn on an account that does not exist at all, which is common for money forwarding scams.
The problematic thing with checks is that in many countries, the banks are required to show them as ‘available’ within a short time, like a few working days. But finding the source account has no money, or the check is fake can take longer - even up to a couple of weeks, especially if the check is from overseas.
Of course, since the bank never got the money, they cannot allow you to have it, so after that is discovered the check is reversed, and the money disappears from the bank account, even though it showed up for a short time.
This is one of the reasons very few places use checks any more (indeed, in some countries you cannot use them at all). They are slow, and rely on 19th century technologies, while more modern methods of instant transfer are far faster, and less susceptible to this issue, as an account with insufficient balance will not allow the transfer to happen.
One option is to wait a longer period (check with your bank) before using any of the funds from a suspect check, just in case it vanishes."
And when this occurs it is back on you to recover the lost funds. Check with your back for their ruling on these issues. YMMV 
We have a pay-pal account and will probably go that route. . Lot of good info .
It really saddens me that what a difference 15 yrs makes . Actually I think it was a guy from Utah that bought the warbonnet with the phoenix sound board I had installed . My dad and I would sit in the backyard and run trains all day . Then IKE hit and tore everything up .
Thanks for the info , glad to see everyone here . While I’m off in recovery I’ll get some of this listed .
Best alway : Mark F
Be Warned. Zelle and Venmo are known as “cash apps” and there is no way to get the money back if you don’t get the goods @Bruce_Chandler . They are just money transfers with no insurance element. Scammers on Facebook always ask for payment by them.
PayPal Goods and Services charges the seller 3% but will refund if the goods don’t turn up or are not as described. I ask buyers to use G&S and to add a few % to cover the fee taken by PayPal.
I asked the “Shop and Swap” group on FB and one or two guys responded that they’d had problems and PayPal resolved or refunded the money.
Postal Money Orders are pretty bulletproof
I only sell my trains on eBay, yes I do ask a little more because of the eBay charge for selling on eBay, but I find buyers will pay more because of eBay’s protection to the buyer. I have also taken checks and when they clear I mail the item to them, amazing how much money buyers will mail you for a product. I feel this says a lot about the hobby and the people who have model trains, I wouldn’t say this would work with all hobbies.
