Does a Postal Money order need to "clear"?

When it is deposited, it could be returned. UsPS does maintain a 'stolen' do not pay list, which is sometimes checked. It does not hurt the seller to wait 10 busines days to be sure.

You can take a postal money order to any post office and get cash immediately, assuming they have enough money to cover it.

They are counterfeited so I can see a seller might want to wait. They can go to their local post office and verify that it is genuine and not stolen.

I can see the seller wanting to wait if he deposited the M.O. directly into his account instead of going to the post office to cash it.

You know, trust is a funny thing. A MO can be cashed immediately and all that good stuff. If the seller wants to wait an agreed time-good.
I use certified bank drafts that are taken out of your account immediately once you receive the check. Most banks accept these and credit the account without delay and you can always call the bank the draft is drawn on to check its validity.
But on the other hand, what protection does the buyer have that he is getting what he bought? It seems this is all loaded towards the seller.
The reason I asked this is because I have bought a set of speakers with a missing woofer and I have had my money stolen here on Audiogon twice within the last 4 months with what I would have considered good sellers.
Please don't give me the feedback route because A'gon will not allow it-I tried and it was blocked. Paypal will not help because I tried them for the missing woofer deal. There response was "They are ONLY responsible if the item was not shipped. They do not get into disputes for the quality or condition of the purchase." In every case, you have NO recourse other than hunt the person down and file a legal action through the court which will cost you a lot more than you lost.
I personally will send a draft to a person who has LOTS of feedback. However, if he wants to hold my draft, the deal is over. Trust goes two ways in my book!