At 10:16 AM 09/02/2002 -0500, George S. wrote:
[snip]
>For the non- US members, here's how it works. We go to our local PO, pay the
>amount of the M.O. and fees (which are high) and we fill out an 'application'.
>We then actually have to mail this application (another fee for postage) to a
>mysterious central US facility (in St Louis, Missouri) and then no one knowws
>what goes on from there, but we're told it gets issued and sent out from
>there.. Shrouded in as much secrecy as Olympus' Wyoming facility.
What a Byzantine system. In Canada, you ask for either a Canadian or
International money order, what currency it's denominated in, and the Canada
Post person behind the counter whips one up for you on the spot. You pays your
money, you takes your M.O. ;-)
Similar situation in banks. I've been able to get immediate M.O.'s or bank
drafts in over a dozen major world currencies without a problem, and
immediately. Imagine my surprise when, during one evilBay transaction, a guy
in San Jose who was buying stuff from me told me he was "unable" to get a M.O.
or other negotiable instrument in Canadian dollars. Now *that* wasn't
something I expected to hear from a beneficiary of what is possibly the world's
most sophisticated financial system...
Garth
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