Paypal does hit you with fees, especially if you have the damn nerve
to be a foreigner - charges 1% more and won't confirm your address!
They are much better on exchange rates - remember, people tend to
compare them with the cross rate, which is the average of the buy and
sell rates. You should really check whether they have a fair buy
rate. There can be some savage variations. Airport currency exchange
counters can be the worst - truly larcenous.
I used to accept BidPay which was reliable but involved up to a six
week delay - a bank treats a Western Union money order as a 'foreign
currency instrument', that is, just like a bank cheque. So while it
cost me nothing for the send, the receive was slow and could cost
$20. I use a credit union and they charge the absolute minimum -
$2.50 usually - to receive a bank cheque. But it's still 20 working
days wait to clear.
In all Paypal works well for me - it's instant, whether buying or
selling. I bought a Leica item from California last night, paid for
it and it'll be in the post Monday am. If I'd bought it from a German
dealer, I'd have it in a month, not a week. I'll pay 4% for that
service and I'll continue to avoid overseas sellers (i.e. not down
here in the best bloody place on earth) unless they offer Paypal for
my own sanity and satisfaction. Local deals are done by simple,
online, bank-to-bank direct transfer. I don't even have to get off my
arse and they cost nothing.
Andrew Fildes
afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 26/08/2007, at 9:18 AM, Nathan Wajsman wrote:
> But what are the alternatives? OK, Paypal is not bad, and I use it
> too.
> But on a $1000 item, that is still $39 in fees to me plus the fact
> that
> Paypal will stiff me on the exchange rate when converting to Euros.
> Paper instruments such as cheques (checks) or money orders are out of
> the question; in most EU countries checks do not exist (my last
> checkbook was when I lived in New Jersey until 1995), and if someone
> from the US, say, sends me a check, my bank will charge me 30 Euro to
> accept it for deposit into my account.
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