[Earl49]

Horse, I do the same thing -- mail a personal or company check and they can ship after it clears. I usually offer that option to small businesses that I buy from, and many opt for the check rather than letting the credit card company skim off 3-4%. Some even offer to split the percentage with me. Obviously I am a little careful about who this applies to, and how much money is involved. For $100, I don't worry much. For $3000 more care is warranted.

I set up a Paypal account last spring anticipating the sale of several nice guitars, and because on rare occasions a client asks to pay for my professional services using a credit card. But yesterday was the first time I've actually used it, for a relatively small sale (under $200) on a used electric guitar to test the system. It worked ok, but the fees came out to ~4.5%, whereas I had expected more like 3%. Note that they take their percentage on the total sale amount, including shipping.

I would not ask the buyer to pay those fees, but I will price my item accordingly and shipping costs plus Paypal fees might affect my willingness to negotiate. I'm looking at my net proceeds, versus the convenience factor when doing remote sales. So I would price all-in including Paypal fees and ground shipping.

I resisted getting a Paypal account for a long time. For years, I've gotten a dozen phishing emails every day from "Paypal" and never even had an account. You just have to be really careful. Never reveal any information unless you personally have logged into your account though Paypal's web site yourself -- NEVER click on links appearing to be from Paypal.