I had no idea they had self serve machines where you could get your money order printed. I don't know what kind of price my uncle has on it, or what it would even be worth. I am sure someone will eventually come along who will buy this just because of sentimental reasons. It would have served its purpose for that time period though.
If you have ever thought some of the manual machines are kind of slow, this antique money order machine looks painstakingly slow. This brought a lot of interest from people, but as far as I know, nobody has bought it yet. You never know what you might find when you enter his shop.Ī few months ago when I was there he had an antique money order machine that was sitting on the counter close to where customers would pay for their items. My uncle has an antique shop with all kinds of unique antiques, odds and ends. On a similar note, do ordinary places accept money orders? I think it would be kind of odd to walk into a fast food restaurant and try to pay with a $6 money order, but even if you did, could they take it? At least in my opinion, carrying around a large, blank money order would be worse than having a bunch of cash, since as least you can put the cash in different places, so you won't lose it all at once. If you don't do that, you are basically carrying around a blank check. Unless things have changed since the last time I got a money order, which was many, many years ago, you are always supposed to put the name of the place the money order is going on it as soon as possible. It would cause some problems when they were cashing out drawers and stuff, too.ģ hours - I think the problem I would have with taking a money order on vacation with me is that you never really know where you are going to need to spend it.
I don't see any reason a place couldn't take them, I think they probably just wouldn't want to have to deal with the trouble of cashing it, and teaching the employees how to deal with it. I don't think we could take money orders at all. I used to work at a restaurant, and I know we could accept traveler's checks, but I think that is it. Like you alluded to, most of the time people just get money orders for things where they can't use cash and need a guaranteed amount like buying stuff from someone online. Otherwise, like you said, anyone can steal the thing and put their name on it.Īs far as people accepting them, I don't really know for sure. January 24, - Very good point about putting the recipient on the money order. The only thing I can really think of is that it is illegal to own or sell a money order machine. There isn't any sort of barcode or anything on them to make sure they are good, right? In other words, it isn't like an ATM card where they know right away that the money is available. You might have a problem with getting the paper, but I'm sure someone that was willing to go through the trouble of getting one of the machines would find a way to make their own paper. I have only used a money order one time, but from what I remember, it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult. Maybe an odd question, but what is to stop someone from buying their own money order machine and printing up a whole batch of their own money orders?
If you ever get a money order from the post office, they will write down the number. If you get hold of a real USPS money order slip, you could print it up with a certain amount.īecause of this problem, places have been keeping strict track of the money orders they issue.
One of the big problems I heard about recently is that people are finding ways to forge money orders. (They'd probably call the cops on you, too.) Usually, places that accept money orders aren't places that will give you change, so if you tried to pay your rent with a fake money order that you printed up, there would be no real issuer, and they wouldn't credit your account. The main difference is that the money is guaranteed because you already paid for it, so a money order can't bounce. You give it to someone, and they return it to the issuer, and the issuer gives them the money. A money order works pretty much like a check. January 25, - Well, the major problem you would run into is that if you made your own money orders, you wouldn't have any backing agency.