Posted By:
Tim NewcombI've had great success with checks overall. In five years only three bad ones, two of which made good speedily.
The other one was a big hassle: a guy paid me for a 1960 Topps set with a check from a Canadian bank. He claimed it would be fine and agreed I could wait until clearance before sending. My bank said the Canadian check would be OK as well. I waited at least two weeks and the check appeared to have cleared. About two weeks after I sent the cards, I was told the check had bounced. Apparently it can take a month or more for a Canadian check to truly clear. Then there were several weeks of phone messages and emails promising payment, which the buyer did finally make, with a little extra for my trouble.
So I say, domestic personal checks are fine, especially with some of the seller's horror stories we are hearing out of paypal.