Do People Still Write Checks?

"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
11/11/2018 at 19:07 • Filed to: None

One of the little things I want for my Jetta is a set of OEM all season ‘Monster Mats’. I don’t, however, want to buy a new set because a) they cost $100 and b) they don’t sell them with the model name on them anymore, just blank. I had a set in my allroad, and the Jetta is really playing on my nostalgia.

I found this set in great shape with all their clips intact on Craigslist, but in NH...at least 100 miles from me. I reached out to the seller and asked if he would ship, and if I could pay via PayPal. He said no problem shipping, but he doesn’t have any of the now-ubiquitous electronic money transfer options: PayPal, Venmo, even Apple Pay!

So I asked how I can pay him, and he told me to send him a check. I honestly hadn’t even thought of that as an option, not because I don’t want to send a check, but because I forgot that checks exist. Do people still write checks? I’m about to for the first time in years to score a cheap set of floor mats, but do people still do that regularly?

I don’t worry about sending it because it’s like no money, and the guy seems cool...good shipping price, and offered to send me any change he gets shipping. Hopefully by next week I’ll be looking at floor mats instead of my ripped up carpet.

DISCUSSION (32)

facw > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 19:17

Checks are easy as they’ve ever been now that most banks have mobile deposit. Still seems a little weird. I think the last check I wrote was when I bought my car a little over a year ago. And my checks still have my address from 2011 on them, fortunately, no one cares.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 19:20

I pay half of my bills with a check in the mail. Never had a private transaction sale with a check but hey.

wafflesnfalafel > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 19:22

after having two separate electronic bill payers from two different banks completely F up I’m back to checks for paying routine bills...

daender > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 19:22

2 00 miles? Sounds like a good excuse for a weekend roadtrip!

MM54 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 19:25

I pay most of my bills by check, yes

Svend > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 19:33

Most places in the U.K. either don’t take cheques anymore or don’t have to if they don’t wish to.

Many shops saw it as a hassle.

I think I last got a cheque to pay into my bank about 15+ years ago.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
11/11/2018 at 19:43

One time I sold a bed on Craigslist to a girl in Narragansett, which isn’t far from me but it’s “R hode Island Far”, so like half an hour. She was a college student, not from here, so she didn’t really know where she was and couldn’t give directions and actually got lost on her way to meet me there. It wound up being like a two hour thing that should have been really quick. Anyway, I get there, I unload the bed, and she hands me a personal check. I wasn’t mad, but it was probably the most annoyed I’ve ever been in my life. Who does that?

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > MM54
11/11/2018 at 19:47

I usually pay the DMV via check, because they charge a 1.5% “technology fee” as if that stuff isn’t now cheaper and easier, but that’s all.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > wafflesnfalafel
11/11/2018 at 19:48

Makes sense.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > daender
11/11/2018 at 19:48

If I didn’t have a toddler and a newborn I’d totally go.

daender > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 19:51

Damn...

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 19:54

Dude if you only had a Passat, I have a set in my garage gathering dust.

Chuckles > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 20:08

My monthly rent check is the only time that I write a check these days.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
11/11/2018 at 20:10

Great, now I have to buy a Passat too.

The Dummy Gummy > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 20:18

A lot of people still use checks. It’s a pretty common medium and will be for years to come.

punkgoose17 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 20:28

I still use checks for a few of my monthly bills.

I also have a set of those mats from when I had my Jetta . The fronts are a bit beat up, but the rear m ats are like new

MM54 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 20:58

I will also sometimes mail family members checks if I owe them money, and the DMV I do checks as well (we have the same nonsense fees for cards).

Clown Shoe Pilot > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 22:04

I just wrote a check last week for a rifle. The guy I bought it from uses PayPal and I... do not. He had no Apple Pay.

I finally shot it today and it’s pretty nice. Ruger Gunsite Scout in 308.

Longtime Lurker > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 22:54

I had to order personal checks so that I could open an account at an... Online-only Bank.

When my brother was in school my parents would write him checks for rent and school fees. because they don’t do electronic transfers.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 23:25

I still write a few checks per month for certain bills like utilities , mainly for nostalgia and an appreciation for the law behind negotiable instruments. About 10 years ago my roommate was a lawyer. One day I ended up reading an old law school text book on negotiable instruments.

I’d like to think to the appreciation of everyone behind them in line, I did convince my parents to stop writing checks at the grocery store a few years ago.

ranwhenparked > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/11/2018 at 23:31

Yes, I use them for my variable expenses and have my fixed on auto pay.

No real reason I guess, I just feel mentally more in control when I take the time to review everything and write out the numbers on paper. I feel like it keeps me more aware of what I’m spending.

PyramidHat > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/12/2018 at 00:05

Just today, I wrote a check to pay for some Werthers Originals...

pip bip - choose Corrour > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/12/2018 at 03:13

cheques?

haven’t seen one in years.

cheque accounts still exist here, but people use their cards attached to them.

send cash in the mail?

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Longtime Lurker
11/12/2018 at 03:45

I still have my original stack of personal checks from when I opened my current bank account 8 years ago. By my math I’ve used six of them.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/12/2018 at 07:23

We still write checks on a pretty regular basis. House payment, groceries, parts, anything that costs more than we have in our pockets for cash really..

Anything we buy is either in cash or with a check, the only exception being random things bought online via paypal, which is drawn off a separate account that we only put enough in for what we’re purchasing.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/12/2018 at 07:25

That’s a poor excuse.

Signed,

Man who’s went 300+ miles for parts with a toddler and a baby.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/12/2018 at 08:37

My kids are both pretty good in the car, the newborn just sleeps and the toddler looks out the window until he falls asleep. I’d do it for more expensive stuff, but not for a $25 set of floor mats.

Roundbadge > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/12/2018 at 08:57

I write 2 checks a month.

I could set those two accounts up for payments through the bank website ...I just don’t.

The Ghost of Oppo > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/12/2018 at 09:43

In Pennsylvania the DMV ONLY takes checks or money orders.

The Ghost of Oppo > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/12/2018 at 09:45

I pay with a check any time I have a contractor or some type of service done with our house, but that’s about it. Oh and we paid all of the vendors for our wedding with checks, but obviously that was a one time thing!

wkiernan > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
11/23/2018 at 22:32

You should try it. I pay several of my regular bills with physical checks and postage stamps. It makes paying bills more enjoyable; it’s so tactile and old-fashioned. And yes, in some cases it would be m a r g i n a l l y q u i c k e r to do it via the internet, but then you always have to have a damned password, how annoying.

wkiernan > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/23/2018 at 22:34

M a n Gre a t D a d w h o u s e d c a r p a r t s a s a n e x c u s e f o r r o a d t r i p ! r o a d t r i p ! r o a d t r i p !