How can I accept money orders/checks without being linked?

sss99 · #1 02-21-2007

[Note: Orinally I had just 1 question, but now I have more. I tried changing the thread title but it doesn't seem to change on the forum, only when you click on the thread it changes]

Great guide. I have 4 questions.

Question 1: How can I accept money orders/checks without being linked?

You say to input in a bogus address when registering. Without including my real address, it seems that I will not have the ability to accept checks and money orders, since those must be sent to my real address.

Would it be possible then for me to sign up for a PO Box and then have checks / money orders sent to a PO Box? What that scares me though is that every PO Box is also registered/connected to a real physical address, which can get me linked again :( -- is that correct?

How can I safely accept checks and money orders as a payment option?

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Question 2: If I am using cable, and connecting through a router, then my IP address on the cable modem can remain exactly the same, but I just have to change the IP address on the router, and that will give me a new IP address to be safe from eBay, is that correct?

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Question 3: How different must my IP address needs to be in order to be safe?

Can I just change the last set of digits and keep everything else the same? For example, lets say my current IP address is 123.456.7.890 - will changing it to 123.456.7.891 make me safe?

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Question 4: What are the ways to avoid getting paypal account linked to eBay?
Am I correct that these will get the accounts linked?:
- Using the eBay checkout feature to pay for an item you won on eBay
- Link the account under Seller's Account

What other ways are there that can get my paypal account linked to eBay?

Also, will using the Paypal shipping feature get my account linked? If buyer pays through Paypal, then I usually ship by logging into paypal, locate the payment, then click on the "Print Shipping Label" button to print out a label to ship. I do this because Delivery Confirmation is free. If I do this with my new account, will that get me linked and suspended?

It seems that if using this shipping feature will link my paypal account to eBay, then over the long run I'll be losing a lot of money if I have to pay full price for delivery confirmation :( -- any advice?

Thanks!

JackNoMore · #2 02-21-2007

Others may have better suggestions, but I can try to help with a couple of those.

1. Another reason I don't like checks and money orders, they complicate the process aside from taking longer to receive and process. But if you must take them, you could get a P.O. Box, or you could simply request that they be sent to an alternate address. Don't get into a big explanation about it, just ask how they're paying. If it's a money order, send them the address to send payment by email. It's worked in the past. Your Mileage May Vary

4. I'm curious about this one too. I'm pretty sure the first one is safe, but the second one is the bad one. I was planning on paying through checkout for an item very soon as a matter of fact, so I'm very interested in the response. Aspkin? Modee?

I'm not sure about the paypal shipping feature (I'm some help aren't I?), but I do know you can avoid this by shipping UPS or even Fed-Ex. Everyone says they're more expensive, but from my experience that's not true. You get free insurance and delivery tracking with them too. Best of both worlds, and the USPS keeps raising rates just like ebay. Stick it to the man.

**aspkin** · #3 02-21-2007

1. You could set up a P.O. Box and have your checks and MO sent there without any problem from eBay. But you have to be really careful not to lose your account again by suspension or you'll lose money on the P.O. Box. And eBay can't track the P.O. Box to your physical address; you give eBay too much credit.

2. Use this site, IP Check. Make sure your IP address is different once you change your router details. Your IP address and Cookies are the best way for eBay to link your to your past eBay account.

3. That's perfect, it's all you need.

4. "Using the eBay checkout feature to pay for an item you won on eBay", I'm not sure this will link accounts, but "Link the account under Seller's Account", will definitely do it. There aren't a lot ways for you to link your eBay and Paypal accounts. You're usually okay with any normal things you do. Just don't subscribe to link your accounts from eBay and you'll be okay.

sss99 · #4 02-22-2007

Thanks aspkin. Can you tell me if using the paypal print shipping label will link my papypal account to eBay? I didn't think so at first, but in your guide, this part scared me:

"- Do not link you Paypal account to your eBay account. Note from Johnny be Free, If you use your new eBay account with your old paypal account your fine (for now) unless you link the two together to use the Paypal shipping feature."

So if I use the paypal shipping feature, it will get my account linked?

JackNoMore · #5 02-22-2007

At the risk of thread treading I have to ask Modee, if and when this happens, do you send your real address through the ebay system, regular email, or does it make any difference? I've always wondered if there was any bigger risk answering directly through ebay "my messages" with accurate info as maybe they really do monitor those

**aspkin** · #6 02-22-2007

I'm not sure on paypal print shipping label; I've never used it before. :(

And as for sending emails directly or via eBay's system, I haven't noticed a difference. The only difference is if you send via eBay, the customer will see the message in his eBay and his personal email account. If you send directly, a reply from your email, only the customer will see the reply and it won't reach eBay. This is good to use if you forward your emails.

tyandlayne · #7 08-16-2007

I have accepted money orders and just sent them my real info via email not ebay messaging...