ambient Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I've agreed to purchase a 6 string fretless bass from a member who lives in Germany. We've agreed a price of E1889 including shipping, which according to my bank is £1570 at todays exchange rate of £1 = E1.1473 I just tried to pay the guy via paypal, and paypal are trying to charge me £1629.80, that's £59 more, their exchange rate is £1 = E1.5934. They're already charging a 3.8% fee, that I've agreed to split with the seller. What a rip off ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 yep - that took my by surprise when my newest bass came from germany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 PayPal have got very greedy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Very greedy indeed but what can you do? I think Paypal is great but you have to keep your eye on it as it can sting you in stealth so to speak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Why not agree to a bank transfer direct and miss out PP? You'll find your IBAN number on your account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1388698720' post='2325127'] Why not agree to a bank transfer direct and miss out PP? You'll find your IBAN number on your account. [/quote] And then you can find out how much your bank charges extra for foreign money transfer and you can bet they won't give you todays exchange rate either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Banks charge £20-£30 but who in their right mind trusts a complete stranger in another country to just send a wedge of cash to them? Paypal/eBay have had that little money-spinner going for quite a while now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1388698928' post='2325130'] And then you can find out how much your bank charges extra for foreign money transfer and you can bet they won't give you todays exchange rate either. [/quote] It's a £10 fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1388698928' post='2325130'] And then you can find out how much your bank charges extra for foreign money transfer and you can bet they won't give you todays exchange rate either. [/quote] It's a £10 fee, I'm with Natwest. But it's like warwickhunt said above, I'm a student and that's a huge sum to lose, that's why I got the guy to agree with Paypal, and to split the 3.8% fee. I'm not saying for a moment that there's anything dodgy about the guy, but I like to play safe. When I sell something I lie to meet the buyer in person. Just in case anything goes wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Where did you get that exchange rate though? Basic FX rates are a bit like bank of England base rates - you try getting a mortgage at base rate! Might be more realistic to use a 'tourist rate' for FX calculations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I think that Paypal is a rip off, as is Ebay. I avoid using both at all costs now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbobothy Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) Hey folks, I used Transferwise (www.transferwise.com) when I bought a bass from Denmark on here and actually paid no fees at all (I think as a first time user!) I too was shocked at having to pay over the odds for money crossing international boundaries so did some digging on the net and came across the site . It's already been pointed out on here ([url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/190917-check-this-out/page__hl__transferwise__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.u...__fromsearch__1[/url]), hope this helps. Edited January 3, 2014 by jimbobothy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) [quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1388713825' post='2325304'] You sure about your figures? In the first line, at the rate quoted, your £1,570 buys 1,801 euros. You need a rate closer to 1.20 to reach a figure circa 1,889. The figures in the second line are even more screwy. Not saying PayPal's rates won't be less favourable than bank rates, but those numbers just don't stack. [/quote] Here's a screenshot of the Paypal page. if you log into Paypal, go to your profile and click currencies you get to this page. You enter the currency that you want to pay in, and enter how much the seller needs to receive, and it calculates how much you'll have to pay. That's where my figure of £1629 comes from. You can see Paypal's exchange rate just next to the final figure they want to charge me. Edited January 3, 2014 by ambient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) Here's a screenshot using Natwest's currency converter. E1889 = £1440. A bit of a difference . I realise that that's probably not the true amount I'd have to pay via my bank, but I doubt it's too far off. Edited January 3, 2014 by ambient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1388715142' post='2325310'] Here's a screenshot using Natwest's currency converter. E1889 = £1440. A bit of a difference . I realise that that's probably not the true amount I'd have to pay via my bank, but I doubt it's too far off. [/quote] Not bad! I've just plugged the figures into the halifax and it would cost the following: Recipient's country GERMANY Sterling amount 1637.48 GBP Currency amount 1889.00 EUR Exchange rate: 1 GBP =1.1536EUR Our fee: 9.50 GBP Total debited from your account: 1646.98 GBP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I just wish I could have afforded to spend £1.5k on a bass when I was a student. Mind you, I'd hazard a guess a lot more than that was spent on beer during my 'studies'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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