There are so many scammers on this site, it can be downright hard work trying to find the legitimate ones. So let me give you the best advice I possibly can: I do not care what someone tells you, how many pictures of their "alleged" products they have, as soon as they mention the word "Western Union" or any other type of money wiring, IT IS A SCAM.
These types of services are for

1. People that do not have bank accounts

2. Money as a gift

3. To pay a bill (i.e. car payment).

If you send someone money this way, plan on never getting it back. Legitimate companies will NEVER EVER ask you to pay this way.(Ask yourself, when have you ever bought something from a store, and you "Moneygrammed" your payment for it?) If you need more proof, just browse through this forum of hundreds of people that are trying to find ways to get their money back.

This is my recent experience: I was dealing with a company I thought was legit. I checked them out on the internet, and it was an actual electronics company in Hong Kong. However, this guy had a free yahoo address(Why not have an email address from the company?) And when I checked out the IP address from the emails, they were traced to Nigeria. Then when he sent an email stating that method of Payment was Western Union, I knew he was a scammer. Also, the name he said to wire the money to was completely different, a 'Aletor Itua'; When I searched this name, I found endless articles of people being scammed from this same person. For fun, I emailed the scammer, telling him that I won't do Western Union, and recommended Escrow.com. This is the email I received back:

"this is my HONG KONG NATIONAL ID CARD,i have never done this before not even to the most trusted customer i will not send my ID card to that person the reason is that here in HONG KONG anyone could be easily located and arrested wherever you are so everyone here in HONG KONG do not give out there ID CARD but i have decided do this because of what you said in the content of your first mail and you wanted someone who could work with you to achieve success . The person that taught you and gave you all those informations are very correct but i want to inform you that if there are bad people in business there are also good people , 10 bad fruits on a tree does not make the whole fruits on the tree bad i want to assure you of a good deal you just wait and see also i want you to know that western union is not established for bad transaction western union is a legal means , but bad people just want to make it bad also do you know that there have been recent reports of cheat via paypal, escrow mr peter with this email bp20002003@yahoo.co.uk was cheated of about 13,000 dolars via paypal escrow but when he met me today he his happy as he bought goods worth 1800 dollars and he his happy in conclusion it is not method of payment that really matters what matters is the person that you wants to buy from , i have conscience oaky and i have promised myself to be good always and not cheat anyone i want to assure you that you are ina a safe hand just go ahead and send the money right now and give me the MTCN today and i will get back to your email with the FEDEX shipment tracking numkber today take me for my word i am expecting to hear from you N.B . please please please my national id card i send to you is my life please , i will send your item and also to the second address immediatelly i get the MTCN after you have your items i will require you to inform me . THANKS. Stephen Lai "

REMEMBER THEY ARE GOOD.....THEY MAKE A LIVING THIS WAY!

We are all keeping the scammers thriving by falling for their tricks. Please, please please do your research, and keep your money safe by only dealing with legitimate companies with legitimate payment methods, like www.escrow.com. I posted an ad for wanting to buy Nintendo Wii's, and I received over 40 responses- all fake. Be Careful and be Wise. I HAVE STARTED A WEBSITE FOR ALL OF US HONEST PEOPLE TO TELL OUR STORIES, GET HELP, AND STOP THESE SCAMMERS. Email me for more information at helpIwasscammed@yahoo.com, and visit my fraud website at http://www.helpiwasscammed.com NOTE: I have no idea why, but if you send me an email from a gmail account, I will not be able to respond to you. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Replying to [inwilddreams]:u know. Western Union is fastly and easily, my customer from the NETHERLANDS also ask for Western Union to transfer moeny to me. what's the pro. there is no any pro.

Replying to [inwilddreams]:u know. Western Union is fastly and easily, my customer from the NETHERLANDS also ask for Western Union to transfer moeny to me. what's the pro. there is no any pro.

Garbo commodtiy imp.&exp.Co.
Miss Caroline (G.M)
tel/fax: 86-0760-2366454
E-mail: china_queenoffice@yahoo.com.cn

Replying to [inwilddreams]:Hi. Thanks for your posting. I foolishly lost $300 to a seller from China who did not even give me his phone number when i sent western union. You mentioned you traced the email address to see where they were from...how can I do that??
reply to
reachdavidson@hotmail.com or edavidson6@cogeco.ca
thanks
susan

Replying to [inwilddreams]:
I gave my buyer an option to send money to my dollar account here in manila... one time my client was supposed to pay me US$175, but i only received $155... so who's going to pay me the $20 now?

The good thing with western union is, whether or not the client sends it in local currency or us dollars, i get paid what i asked for...

Replying to [Rudy in Xiamen]:Hello! I came from a professional manufacture in the children garment! I think do business with kindly and honest people,it is safe for any Payment terms!

Replying to [reachdavidson]:No worry,God will repay he if he is a bad man !

Replying to [shuks]: josh59@msn.com

Replying to [shauny]:I m sorry to hear about your bad experience. However, i think not all companies which require Western Union as payment method are dishonest companies. Sometimes, for sample orders or small orders, we also require W.U. as payment method. But we send the exact shoes what our clients have ordered to them. There never be a problem.

Of course, there must be many dishonest companies which use W.U. as payment method. The most important thing is that you need to feel this company first. For example, if a shoes company sells not only shoes, bags but also iPods, moblie phones, Laptops,..etc. You should definely avoid to deal with these kind of companies.

Replying to [reachdavidson]:

I use a free software, here is the link:

http://www.axencesoftware.com

Replying to [Solemate Brazil]:

I notice that a lot of suppliers keep responding to this article trying to justify paying through W/U, and how it is safe. A legitimate company will offer several payment options. I have seen good companies offer W/U as a payment method, IN ADDITION TO other methods: paypal, credit card, etc.

Regardless the payment method you choose, be smart about it. I do not care what supplier says how safe Western-Union-type-payment is, they are wrong. I run an internet fraud website, and I receive tons of emails every day from helpless people that were scammed by paying for false goods this way. IF a supplier ONLY offers Western union/ Moneygram type payment method, RUN. It is not safe, and if something goes wrong, you have NO WAY in recovering your money. There is no insurance, and W/U does not care, and will not help. Be Smart about business transactions, and do not make foolish decisions based on impatience or low prices.