posted on July 25, 2006 11:43:23 AM new
With sales in the toilet these days, I had a store sale to an Italian buyer. I sent my invoice with my acceptable International payment options.
Here is what this person emailed me back for their needs.
I am skeptical about this as I have never experienced this method.
Is this safe or should I pass?
"BANK TRANSFER. PLEASE GIVE YOUR FULL IBAN AND BIC SWIFT CODE"
posted on July 25, 2006 01:10:09 PM new
Tell him you live in a small hamlet in the Ozarks where there are no banks. Therefore, a Western Union wire transfer is all that you can accept. Also, the only people in the USA that deal with Swift and the other bank transfer schemes in Europe are the CIA.
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
posted on July 25, 2006 01:14:23 PM new
what did he buy and how much?
I dont see anything wrong with that,it may cost you a small fee for accepting incoming wire.
posted on July 25, 2006 01:27:22 PM new
mama, in the future, you might want to list your international payment and shipping details in the auctions description. If you don't want international bidders, block them in your settings. Just a thought
posted on July 25, 2006 01:33:21 PM new
Small fee = $35.00 or more at many banks in California. If bank transfers are not in your TOS as an acceptable method of payment, then it's a moot subject. When he bid, he agreed to your payment terms as listed. Don't let him start changing things at this point. Be aware also that if you mail the item to him, it may take a couple months for him to get it, if he gets it at all. The italian Postal system isn't noted for their efficiency.
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
posted on July 25, 2006 01:41:18 PM new
Oi! Sparky is correct-o-mundo...
Last time I shipped MONKEY PORN to ITALIA, it only took about 5 days to get there...BUT it then SAT in CUSTOMS for: THREE WEEKS!
OTOH: I really like DIRECT BANK-TO-BANK WIRE TRANSFERS for my BIG TICKET items, even though my bank (COMPASS) charges me $12 to RECEIVE moola -- but, on a $2000 or $3000 order, WHO CARES?
One does HAVE to give the sender the following INFO in order to do it:
1) C-ACCOUNT ROUTING NUMBER
2) C-ACCOUNT NUMBER
3) YOUR NAME (duh?)
4) And I always include the BRANCH NAME and PHONE NUMBER
Usually, da MOOLA is in my account within 12hrs, and once IN, it cannot be taken back...
posted on July 25, 2006 01:41:56 PM new
Thanks all. I do post info about International buyers in my listings but you know that there are always going to be buyers who want to change your terms if they don't like it. I do send out an invoice indicating the acceptance of Western Union Transfer, Inter. Postal Money orders and good old American Cash, our country's legal tender(still makes me angry that feebay won't let us post it on our listings anymore).
I have never had this experience before so I just wanted to check in.
the item is a book($20.00) as I sell primarily vintage & hard to find items but I have a client who works at Disneyland who occasionally wants me to sell items for him.
For the first time I accepted a Bank wire transfer from Denmark for 1000.00 and my bank told me the fee was $12.00.......when I got the statement from the bank the fee was 12.00 plus another 20.00.........so I had the buyer pay that fee also. That was our agreement if I took the wire transfer she would pay all fees.
Also FedEx told me shipping would be 48.00 with signature to Denmark for priority, when they billed my account the cost came out to $68.00 .........it seems that when you deal with international nothing is what they say it is going to be.........why?......I don't know.
I wanted to ship with USPS because I know what the fee will be, nothing more is added on. But she wanted Fedex.
Anyway I wouldn't take a wire transfer on your transaction because the amount is very low, I would tell him to send cash, thats if you don't take paypal for International.
I always take a chance and take paypal from all countries but I do worry like now I have 107.00 that was charged to paypal from Australia and until it arrives I worry, why I do this .........I don't know......lol
I do alot of International business and I am trying to find a better paying method other then paypal.
posted on July 25, 2006 04:09:23 PM new
Thank you again. I emailed her back indicating what my Inter. Payment option were and that the Bank transfer wasn't one of them.
She is using Western Union transfer. So far so good.
mama
posted on July 25, 2006 04:36:41 PM new
If you are paying twice for bank wiretransfer-12 and 20 in your case,this is because two banks are involved.
small,medium size regional banks usually use big banks to accept intl wiretransfers
posted on July 25, 2006 09:20:06 PM new
Mama asked: Is this safe or should I pass?
BANK TRANSFER. PLEASE GIVE YOUR FULL IBAN AND BIC SWIFT CODE
Yes, it's safe however most USA sellers should pass (unless they have international bank accounts).
IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identifier Code) permit free or low cost cross-border transfers in many countries, but of course the USA is not one of them. I routinely receive BIC + IBAN transfers from international customers half way around the world without any deduction of bank fees or commissions; most transfer take between a few hours to several business days. I work with a few good banks that value my business and don't try to fee me to death.
