I need to order checks - cheaply but not scammily, please!

November 1, 2015 2:13 PM

I bank with Chase, and they gave me two free boxes of checks when I opened my account in 2008 which have lasted me until now. I called them up and they want to charge me $28/box plus tax and delivery, which seems ridiculous. I don't know anything about how third-party checking orders work, though, and would like to make sure I order through a reputable place.

My only factor aside from legitimacy is cost. I don't care what they look like as long as they're cheap and my identity/accounts aren't stolen or info is sold off in the process. Also if there are any not-so-obvious things I should know about ordering checks, please educate me.

(And yes, I know about bill pay online and such, but I typically have reasons why writing 1-2 checks per month is worthwhile.)

posted by vegartanipla to Work & Money (19 answers total)

Well, n=1 ... but I've ordered from Checks in the Mail a number of times over the years and have never had any issues with my account info or my identity being stolen. They have some very cheap options if you don't get too fancy, and I was always completely satisfied with what they sent me.

Looks like VistaPrint also does checks, that's a known entity.
posted by mccxxiii at 2:22 PM on November 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

I've been using Checks In The Mail for nearly 30 years. They probably would have gone out of business by now if they were committing identity fraud (also, everyone you give a check to has enough information to "steal your accounts", it's not exactly secret information).

Their Best Sellers page has them starting at around $3.99 for a pad of 25 non-dupe checks.

Pretty much just make sure you give them the correct shipping address.

There's almost nothing to know about personal checks. Your bank prefers they be neatly optically-scannable, but you could hand-write a check on printer paper and (possibly after several phone calls) a bank would accept it.

You can also buy blank check stock at the office supply (or online) and print your own, but you might check with your bank whether they require magnetic-ink MICR lines on the bottom or if scannable is sufficient.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:23 PM on November 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: If you have an account at Costco, they have a relationship with a company that does cheap checks
posted by HuronBob at 2:23 PM on November 1, 2015 [13 favorites]

I have used Checks in the Mail - I'm embarassed to say that at the time I didn't even consider the potential for scams/illegitimate companies, but anecdotally I had no issues. They also get an A+ from the BBB.
posted by rainbowbrite at 2:24 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Walmart does it online for like $7.
posted by nologo at 2:31 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've also used Checks in the Mail for several years with no problem. And a quick look at RetailMeNot turned up a few coupon codes that will charge you $5.49 for checks and free shipping. You can't beat that!
posted by DrGail at 2:33 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: How do I know what number to start the new checks at if I used the old Chase ones out of order and don't know what number they went up to and have no records to check against? I'm in the last book I have left and am on check #240, but for good measure and no duplication should I start the new order on check #500 or so?

(I promise, I am a more organized person now than I was in 2008...)
posted by vegartanipla at 2:39 PM on November 1, 2015

Best answer: I also use Checks in the Mail. I filled in the boxes to begin my checks at #9000. (my old book ended with 1259) they sent me what I asked for and I've never had a problem with them. You can start with whatever number makes you feel comfortable .
posted by donaken at 2:48 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've done both Checks in the Mail and Walmart.
posted by samthemander at 3:04 PM on November 1, 2015

Response by poster: Checks in the Mail sounds legit but they appear to be more expensive than Walmart or Costco so I'll go with one of those. Thanks for all your help!
posted by vegartanipla at 3:05 PM on November 1, 2015

vegartanipla: "How do I know what number to start the new checks at if I used the old Chase ones out of order and don't know what number they went up to and have no records to check against?"

Doesn't actually matter, it's just for record keeping for you. It's not part of the mandatory check information, nor the interbank routing info. It's just for you and your bank for convenience.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:07 PM on November 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

I just got my first order of check is in the Mail checks yesterday, coincidentally. I pause 5.49 for 125 checks, there was some new customer promo. Took em two weeks to ship them but for the price I'm happy.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 3:10 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks for reminding me I had to do this... I just ordered 2 boxes (400+checks) from the costco vendor (Harlan Clarke) for $12.02....
posted by HuronBob at 3:11 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: See if they do "counter checks" at your bank for free. They're basically a printed sheet of 4 to 5 checks. I get three sheets for free every few months, and that takes care of my check writing needs.
posted by bswinburn at 4:21 PM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

With some banks you can pay "online" and they will print out and mail a check for you, though that won't work if you have to hand someone a check in person e.g. a babysitter or a farmer's market or craft fair.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 5:57 PM on November 1, 2015

Best answer: I've used Checks in the Mail also; no problems with them. Artistic Checks are reliable too.

You can also print your own checks if you're so inclined. Personally, I'd not want to deal with the hassle of printing my own when Costco checks are so affordable.

Some banks will give you a minimal amount of free checks every few months if you visit the branch in person. This is great if you only need checks occasionally.

You can start the number anywhere you please, but back when I worked retail in the dinosaur days, higher numbers indicated a well-established account and didn't need to be okay-ed by a manager unless it was for a big ticket item. (I have no idea if they still pay attention to that these days.)

Before you order, make sure that the check perforations are compatible with the check wallet you intend to use them with; some checks tear on the side, for example, rather than horizontally. Same goes for duplication -- that style requires a special piece of plastic in the wallet which prevents you from writing through the top check to those underneath. A few check sellers charge more for side-tearing or duplication checks.

ProTip: If you're moving soon or are security-conscious, you can omit your address and phone number from the check info, you can also use your initial(s) instead of your entire first (and/or middle) name and most merchants will still accept the check. Some may ask to see extra identification, ask you to print the info on the check at the time of purchase, or call your bank to verify funds, but I've never had anyone outright refuse any of my checks because the address and phone number weren't printed on the check by the company who produced it.

Obligatory link for tips to protect against ID theft when ordering checks. (Link is a .pdf from tarleton.edu)
posted by LuckySeven~ at 7:43 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I currently live in a location that doesn't have Chase anywhere in the vicinity (so now I only online bank with them and have a separate bank here for physical banking needs), so trying to cadge counter checks is out but I appreciate the info in case that ever changes.

My previous batch of checks only had my name on them and I tried doing that again, but both of the online processes I tried - Walmart and Costco - required the City/State/Zip fields to be filled out. Costco did let me game it by entering blank spaces for the city and zip, but I HAD to choose a state which looked absolutely ridiculous sitting there underneath my name by itself so I ended up entering in all three but not my street address. Walmart was worse; they require your full mailing address and gaming it by entering blank spaces wouldn't work as Walmart will only ship the checks to the input address as a fraud deterrence. They did have a number you could call if you wanted to discuss this with them, but that sounded like a headache.

So I ordered from Costco's supplier (which let me even though I'm not a member) and got 2 boxes totaling 348 duplicate checks for $11.97 shipped after finding a promo code online. This was the cheapest deal I found of the three recommended sellers on here at the time and I shouldn't have to buy checks again for another seven years or so!
posted by vegartanipla at 9:54 PM on November 1, 2015

I just called Costco's check ordering service and the rep told me they do allow you to omit the address, but only if you phone them with your info; for "security purposes", it's not allowed when ordering online. Their number is [phone].

Vegartanipla, that's a great deal! After I replied to your post, I just realized I'm running low on checks and need to re-order too. Lol. The Costco promo code I found online was the word "BUNDLE" without the quotation marks, which gives you 25% off your order and is good through 11-7-15. Is that the one you used?

Also, one workaround to your Chase problem is to link your Chase online account to your local bank that you write checks from; that way, you can transfer funds between your Chase account and your local branch and continue to just write checks from your local branch. I do this myself between my banks because I have my direct deposits going to one bank, but prefer using the online billpay website of the other.

And thanks for the info, jamaro. I'll definitely strike Checks in the Mail off my list of recommended companies.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 7:42 AM on November 2, 2015

Response by poster: LuckySeven~, ah, well, now if I want to order again I'll go ahead and phone in to avoid the address requirement. (I just never know if I'm going to move in the next seven years or so and dislike having a locale stuck on there for so long even though if I do end up moving I doubt anyone will kick up a fuss.) Thanks for the info! Yes, that's the promo code I found.

I do link my local bank to Chase, it's just that Chase is my primary and not my local bank so I only have a savings account at the latter.
posted by vegartanipla at 12:18 PM on November 2, 2015