Buying Checks Online?

Many thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on the best places to buy checks online , sounds like I was right to think that $20 for 50 checks was absurd! It appears that there are plenty of affordable options for buying checks and none of them come close to the 40 cents per check that Bank of America’s printers were asking for.

Buying Checks Online

Despite the votes of confidence for Checks Unlimited, the check printing company that is included in the ValuPak mailings, I wouldn’t order checks through the mail because the post office is not 100% secure. We can lock our mail boxes but I believe we are the exception to the rule; it’s simply too easy for a thief to drive by your mailbox and steal your mail when you’re at work. I avoid using the postal mail system for sensitive transactions for this very reason.

Do not order checks from a site that does not encrypt your sensitive information. You can see that a site is encrypted when you see https in the URL and a padlock somewhere on the browser’s status bar. You can click on the lock to find out who is certifying it. Costco, Wal-Mart, and 4checks are secured and verified by VeriSign, ChecksUnlimited is secured and verified by GlobalSign, always confirm that the Certification Authority is one that you trust.

Get the checks shipped to a secure location. Many of you lamented the fact that the post office just dropped the package of personal checks at your front door, where a thief could easily swipe it. If you can, get the checks shipped to you at work. If it’s possible, request a signature guarantee on the package (this may cost extra) so that the package will never be left unattended. If you don’t want to pay the difference or it’s not available, try to talk to your mail carrier beforehand and have him or her hide the package somewhere.

Enter a check number start other than 1. One of the most rudimentary check security features is the check number. Companies used to use the check number as a way of detecting fraud, especially in cases where the company was writing a lot of checks. If the bank knew to expect checks in a certain range, they could detect fraud if strange numbers started appearing. If you wonder why a brand new account starts with checks at 101 or 1001, rather than 1, this is why. I don’t know how important this is anymore but try to continue the check numbers from the last book you had, or start higher.

Double check the data you enter. Many check printers don’t validate the data you enter so make sure you get it right the first time! They are not responsible if you key in your account data incorrectly.
Best Check Vendor Options

The best options appear to be:

* Use Online Billpay: As long as there’s an address and no immediate need for a check, you can always send a check through online billpay. We pay several of our utility bills this way. With online billpay, the bank mails a check to the payee on your behalf, saving you a check and the postage stamp.
* Costco Check Printing - Costco also has a minimum order of 2 boxes. A box of singles has 200 checks, duplicates have 150 checks. Two boxes of singles cost $10.59, $8.47 if you’re an executive member, and duplicates cost $11.59, $9.27 for executives. Standard shipping is 7-14 days and is included in the price!
* Wal-Mart Checks - Wal-Mart’s Classic Blue Secure checks cost $5.96 for a box of singles, $150 checks, plus $2.85 for Standard (10-12 day) shipping. A box of duplicates is only $6.96. If you want one of their Disney designs, the price of singles is only $6.96 and duplicates are $7.96.
* Checks Unlimited - Checks Unlimited, the company that advertises in those blue Valupak mailings, is one of the biggest check printing companies out there. Their minimum order is for 2 boxes with singles costing $21.90 and duplicates costing $31.90, with a Standard (7-14 days) shipping charge of $5.50. The appeal of Checks Unlimited is in their introductory offers and the multitude of check designs.
* DIY - Several of you mentioned printing your own checks using check printing software, such as Versacheck. The prices seemed competitive but I don’t know how much I trust printing my own checks.

Final Thoughts

If you’re like me and you use checks infrequently, Wal-Mart is probably the best bet at $5.96+$2.85 S&H for a box of singles. At 150 checks, that’s a personal check about every two days. I go months without writing a check! If you can handle the two-box minimum or you want special designs, then it doesn’t really matter which of the three vendors you choose because they start getting to be about the same. The only downside of Costco is that you’ll need a membership to order checks (they ask you for your membership number as part of the checkout process), which you can get around by finding a friend who has a membership.

Did I miss a better option out there?