Does a Postal Money order need to "clear"?

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!

I had the same thing happen,sent money order(cashiers check)recieved tues or wed,said hell ship next week at the soonest when it clears.He heard a little something from me.I think its bogus when people do that#@$%.

Narrod is right, they can be faked. Now days, one should wait for any and all checks to clear.

Good to know, as I've just received one. I checked it out under the light, and ran through the surface with my fingers, and everything looked legit. I had just deposited it at the bank. Next time I'll know to just take it to the post office and cash it.

FrankC

I would not make a buyer wait if a postal money order was used unless it looked suspect. I was ripped off once back when you could leave negative feedback. The fact that Agon feedback means so little now really stinks.