Bank transfer is it safe?

[mondogenerator]

Does paypal have a 'clearing' time after you send funds?

[Alkaline]

It doesn't have a clearing time in terms of going into the other persons account, but if they then want to withdraw the funds into their bank account it takes up to 7 days. I find paypal pretty irritating for that, I dont want to wait the best part of a week for my own money, and I dont use paypal to pay for goods often enough to bother leaving the funds in there.
Cheques usually clear faster for me than paypal, but you do have to factor in the time it takes for the cheque to arrive.

I like bank transfers, they're fast, convenient (I do mine online) and don't rely on the post, which is always a plus!

Realistically the only 100% safe way is cash on collection, but I've never had a problem paying via transfer for anything, you just need to use your judgement when evaluating whether the seller is honest or not.

[Meko]

Paypal probably works out faster than a cheque.

Paypal - cash in your account instantly and then 'upto' 7 days. that isn't Paypal deciding that, it's how things work here when you're not paying cash directly in over the counter. I've always had money in my account within 5 days.

Cheque - it gets posted when they can get to a post office. You need to get to a bank to put it in (not always easy if you work full time) and then 5 working days for it to clear. I've got a cheque i need to cash that ive had for probably a month because i can't get to a bank to put it in.

[iXXo]

Get an account with barclays :P if you have good credit they let you have the money from cheque`s instantly if you ask.

[Rossi1986]

Well it was a person on the forum that wont answer the phone to me and got quite rude because i didnt want to send a deposit via bank transfer but they dont have a paypal account so im not pursuing this sale any further,thanks for the input good for future reference anyway

[kirsten]

i'm a fan on cash desposit straight into the account in a branch, it's instant, i know the money is in, the other person has proof of payment in form of a bankers receipt, and i can send the item right there and then.