Spoombung Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) Apologies if this has been asked before but I couldn't find much specifically related to it or anything that would give me a straight answer. Also not sure what topic area to ask the question... 1. What is the cheapest way to purchase a bass in the USA - ie, the cheapest way to convert sterling to dollars electronically? 2. Would you send money transfer via your bank? (This is not cheap for me as the Co-operative charge 8%). 3. Paypal? Anybody got experience with this? 4. Credit card? I know this is the safest but does anybody know about the charges incurred? Thanks for any advice... Edited December 11, 2011 by Spoombung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I've just bought something for the USA via Paypal and the seller said the charges were 4%. I'll take him at his word. I believe the credit card charges are variable and it entirely depends upon which one you have. if you have a Post Office credit card there is no handling fee or any extra charges involved for purchases - just a straight conversion from US to UK. You just need to make sure the exchange rate is ok. I always use that when I travel abroad (not cash withdrawals, though). There is a website called 'Money saving expert' that goes into this in some detail, as well as many other things. [url="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/"]http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Great info - thanks! [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1323607370' post='1464895'] I've just bought something for the USA via Paypal and the seller said the charges were 4%. I'll take him at his word. I believe the credit card charges are variable and it entirely depends upon which one you have. if you have a Post Office credit card there is no handling fee or any extra charges involved for purchases - just a straight conversion from US to UK. You just need to make sure the exchange rate is ok. I always use that when I travel abroad (not cash withdrawals, though). There is a website called 'Money saving expert' that goes into this in some detail, as well as many other things. [url="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/"]http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/[/url] [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 It is a bit of a minefield because there isn't a universal exchange rate and some banks charge a set fee for exchange and/or a percentage. I had a 'mare a few years back when I sold a bass to a guy in Canada because we agreed on a price in £ sterling which he then converted (using an agreed conversion rate) to $ and paid me through paypal (splitting the paypal fees). We hadn't accounted for the fact that paypal absolutely extracted the urine with their conversion rate (which wasn't easy to establish at the time) and ended up having to renegotiate the price because he had set an upper limited in $ based upon the conversion rates that we had been using on-line. All sorted in the end but a pita to get right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 [quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1323612494' post='1464999'] It is a bit of a minefield because there isn't a universal exchange rate and some banks charge a set fee for exchange and/or a percentage. I had a 'mare a few years back when I sold a bass to a guy in Canada because we agreed on a price in £ sterling which he then converted (using an agreed conversion rate) to $ and paid me through paypal (splitting the paypal fees). We hadn't accounted for the fact that paypal absolutely extracted the urine with their conversion rate (which wasn't easy to establish at the time) and ended up having to renegotiate the price because he had set an upper limited in $ based upon the conversion rates that we had been using on-line. All sorted in the end but a pita to get right. [/quote] Yeah, after reading the Paypal blurb I'm still none the wiser how it relates or updates with the exchange rate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 just copied and pasted my transaction - Amount: $345.00 USD Currency conversion: £227.80 GBP = $345.00 USD Exchange rate: 1 GBP = 1.51448USD Goods cost $330, he added $15 bucks to cover fees, PayPal took £227.80. Seemed a fairly hassle free way of going about things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1323617157' post='1465054'] just copied and pasted my transaction - Amount: $345.00 USD Currency conversion: £227.80 GBP = $345.00 USD Exchange rate: 1 GBP = 1.51448USD Goods cost $330, he added $15 bucks to cover fees, PayPal took £227.80. Seemed a fairly hassle free way of going about things. [/quote] Paypal didn't charge you at all? They only charge if you are in receipt - is that right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 You might consider a prepaid $ card like those from [url="http://www.caxtonfxcard.com/"]CaxtonFX[/url] They reckon their rates are competitive and they are also recommended for things like booking budget airline flights as you tend not to get the card charge. Obviously you don't get the "time to pay" that a credit card might give you but I was converted to them when MrsW & I went away for our big birthday/anniversary holiday. For that they are great. Load before you go and you can do it pretty much instantaneously by text too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 [quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1323622137' post='1465108'] Paypal didn't charge you at all? They only charge if you are in receipt - is that right? [/quote] I always get this wrong so I'd check with paypal but effectively someone somewhere within the transaction will be paying to use the paypal service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I use UKForex, great service, decent exchange rates and a flat charge of £7 per transaction. Really helpful if anything gets lost in the various banking systems as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 [quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1323622137' post='1465108'] Paypal didn't charge you at all? They only charge if you are in receipt - is that right? [/quote] PayPal charge at one end or the other but not both - something you can agree on with the seller as it can be altered either way during the transaction. In my case he agreed to pay the fee so added 4% to the purchase price to cover it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Good info guys, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johngh Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Just remember. If the bass is coming from the USA you will probably get hammered for the VAT when it comes through customs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 [quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1323637185' post='1465346'] I always get this wrong so I'd check with paypal but effectively someone somewhere within the transaction will be paying to use the paypal service. [/quote] i just used paypal to purchase an item from the forum here and whilst completing the transaction it did give the choice of whether i wished to pay the fees or the other party was paying the fees im sure someone will correct me if im wrong but recently i didnt notice the 'gift' option - seems like paypal may have pulled that as too many people using it to avoid declaring the fees correctly?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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