I personally think that works fine for antiques/collectibles sellers, but not quite so greeat if yer selling NEW consumer goods...
"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection — an election in Iraq at this point in history?" Prez.Jim Beam, at the White House, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2005
posted on March 4, 2005 05:40:46 PM
I have a buyer now who is in England and wants to Paypal me over 2,000. Am I covered and should I suggest BidPay. Ralphie - help
posted on March 4, 2005 05:48:12 PM
for that amount I think I'd suggest a direct bank wire.
I went to 3 banks today to try and buy a MO or bank draft payable in UK funds ie Pounds.
They all readily suggested sending a wire transfer but were clueless on a MO or Bank Draft in Pounds Sterling. (well one bank did say they could do it but it would take a few days. I had cash in hand but they wanted to first take the money out of my account and then have me come back and get it in a few days)
posted on March 4, 2005 05:49:32 PM
Sounds GOOD to Ralphie!
Ralph will even HAND-LETTER a "Kick Me" sign and pin it to the back of yer shirt if ya REALLY beg him...
Just say the word, Bubba...
"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection — an election in Iraq at this point in history?" Prez.Jim Beam, at the White House, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2005
posted on March 4, 2005 05:55:44 PM
He will throw in an extra 50. to cover the PayPal charges, but me thinks a direct wire transfer is better. don't even know if PP accepts that amount. thanks Ralphie, darlin
posted on March 4, 2005 06:12:57 PM
"He'll throw in an extra 50 for the PayPal charges." Delicious. All of which he'll get back when he does a chargeback.
My international buyers get to pick between BidPay (to my registered account) or wire transfers (with an additional $10-$15 to cover bank charges).
Even if PayPal provided protection for sellers who sell overseas, charging more for PayPal (i.e., accepting the extra $50) invalidates any protections you might have had, and might get your PP account suspended.
posted on March 4, 2005 06:17:25 PM
He tried Bid Pay but they don't take over $1,000 so I have asked him to do a wire transfer and waiting to hear
thanks for your help people. I always can count on you and Ralphie of course
We get these bozos all the time -- usually from Germany or Elbonia!
Had one a month ago: "Ve vant to buy 100 scales & vill PayPal you IMMEDIATELY, no?JA!JA..."
Yeah, right...and Ralphie was Kaiser Bill's Batman too??!!
Anyhoo, Ralphie tells Herr Scammeister that ve vill only accept WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER -- NEIN TO DA PAYPAL, Fritz!
All of a sudden, Sgt Schultz I know nuttin...NUTTIN... and they GO AWAY FOREVER...
Tis a scam...
"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection — an election in Iraq at this point in history?" Prez.Jim Beam, at the White House, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2005
posted on March 4, 2005 06:42:45 PM
Especially while in front of impressionable youngun's like Ralphie, I should certainly hope so, young lady!
"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection — an election in Iraq at this point in history?" Prez.Jim Beam, at the White House, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2005
posted on March 4, 2005 06:46:12 PM
glasgirl,
if you have cash on hand,try american express,they will have the bank draft in UK currency the next day,as they have to puchase it from NYC bank.
Or Thomas cook travel agency,you can buy draft and hard currency there.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on March 4, 2005 06:52:01 PM
Glassgrl...You can send a Western Union money order in U.K. pounds via Bidpay. They will do the conversion for you at the time of purchase.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on March 4, 2005 07:29:25 PM
why do we tend to freak out over a wire transfer. That's bank to bank and no chargeback can be made on that?!
To the banking community it's a done deal. So you have to give them your banking number. That's the same as handing them a check...your bank number is right there for the world to see.
I looked at bidpay and couldn't remember what my log in information was.
Actually AAA will handle it all but their web page hangs up on XP sp2 with the popup blocker. I may try to log onto it with my very old computer tomorrow.
I saw where American Express was an option but I don't have an AE card.
posted on March 5, 2005 02:09:22 AM
>> So you have to give them your banking number. That's the same as handing them a check...your bank number is right there for the world to see. <<
Not so anymore. My latest checks came in with a funny number in my account # field. I called the bank to report the error and was informed that they no longer print the account number on the checks. They now use a reference number so no one can directly access my account.
posted on March 5, 2005 06:14:00 AM
glasgirl,
american express is more than just the charge card business,you dont need to have an amex card to do business with them.
look up yellow pages in your city and see if there is an office which sells foreign currency and drafts,you bring cash and they will have the transaction executed in NYC and you come back the second day and pick up your draft.
look into Thomas cook agency,they may have it done in one day.
Bank to bank wiretransfer is the best way of doing business ,just because someone has your bank account number ,they cannot wire money out of your account.But what they are cautioning you is that someone may get hold of your bank account number,routing number,name and address and start printing checks and use them to commit fraud,ever heard of nigerian who said i have a us bank account and i can write you a check,Or I bot 200 dollarsworth of merchandise from you but i am holding a us check of 450 someone wrote me,i can let you have this check and you write me a check of 250.
It seems in some countries you can get someone to print checks with magnetic ink without much scrutiny.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on March 5, 2005 05:07:58 PM
good news. My English chap is going to give me a US check so now just have to wait for it to clear and can give him his widget. He has a home in Fla., so very convenient.
thanks for your help, you'all
What is the best alternative to PayPal out there? And how does it compare?
Depends on what countries and markets you are talking about...
We sell collectibles and so can set the payment terms to our liking and acceptable risk factors. We don't accept PayPal or any other payment method that isn't safe (from a seller's perspective). I mean who wants a credit card charge back 18 months later like some of the Paypal horror stories you can read about all too often. Our customers are all international so if we accepted credit cards we would be potentially looking at around about 3 to 7% fraud depending on the countries we accepted orders from. Our acceptable payment policy in order of preference: domestic bank deposit/transfers (in 12 countries), Moneybookers or intl bank transfer, BidPay or money order/bank draft or check in major currencies, cash (bank notes only) in major currencies. We have a good relationship with our current banks and they don't charge us additional fees on foreign currency transactions.
PayPal really only exists for the US market as the domestic US banking system is not well integrated compared to the other major economies. For example, across the border in Canada electronic bank transfers are fast becoming a way of life much as they have already in Australia, Europe, Asia and Japan, etc. Payments are real time and non-refundable unless they were transferred into the wrong account (unlikely as checksums are used). In Europe most cross-border Euro payments are now free if you use the IBAN account code on your bank statement - this makes it really easy to sell across Europe to a single market that is larger than the United States and where cash is king. If you're serious about international sales then it pays to make it easy for customers to pay you in their local currency (most of which are now much stronger than the US peso).
We love building up mountains of Yen, Euros, Sterling, Swiss Francs and Yuan as we can often recycle them into local purchase (in those countries) either during vacations or more often business purchases for resale here. All out international accounts are with different banks and have secure internet banking so we can verify deposits and outward remittances.
For smaller international dealing on an occasional basis then Thomas Cook, Travellex or American Express might be worthwhile provided you check their cost beforehand.
niel35
have a buyer now who is in England and wants to Paypal me over 2,000. Am I covered and should I suggest BidPay.
Ask PayPal and I'm sure they'll tell you the truth (LOL). Basically all international PayPal transactions are not covered by their Seller Protection with very few exceptions. If a buyer even looks at you funny - you're dead and the money goes straight back to the fraudster/buyer plus they're smart they probably also have your goods too. BidPay has a limit of US$1000 including shipping (and no you can't split the $2000 into two $1000 payments). Our preference would be deposit into our UK bank account where we are currently enjoying 4.75% interest p.a. - yours is probably SWIFT transfer to your US bank account at sender's cost (or "Our's" in international bankers parlance).
