posted on May 5, 2001 03:11:03 AM
I am in Australia and have been selling on ebay and several other sites for almost 2 years so I am not new to the online auction scene. My experiences, I’m happy to say, have all been good … until I came across PayPal.
First of all they suspended Australian accounts in March. I don’t hold them to blame for that, as it probably wasn’t their fault.
Now that the accounts have been reopened it was a big relief for me as I really like the service they provide.
However, there are some sneaky hidden costs that they neglected to tell us about, and what they did tell us was incorrect.
I understood that when I transferred funds to my Australian account there would be a charge of fifty cents. WRONG! The charge is $US1.50. Peanuts, I know, but it would have been nice and honorable had they told the truth.
The other hidden charge is a MAJOR ONE. AND NOTHING WAS EVER SAID ABOUT IT.
Today the official exchange rate US dollars to Australian dollars is 1.9234. PayPal’s rate is 1.8027. This means that the hidden charge is 12.07 cents in the dollar or $12.07 in every $100. WHAT A RIP-OFF!
And to think that some of you lovely people in the USA are complaining about a thirty cents charge (which, incidentally, we also pay in addition to the 2.2% fee).
Come on, PayPal, why can’t you tell the truth? We would probably still use the service. But it would be nice to know the sneaky bits up front.
posted on May 5, 2001 03:45:13 PM
Hello Australia. I also use Paypal on E-Bay and my sales are in US$. I am convinced that I get higher bids on UK based lots as folks like the convenience of being able to pay without problems or hassle. This is not my EBay trading name but 70% of my lots go to USA and Australia and New Zealand sales appear on my ME page. New Zealand bought from me last week with Paypal.
