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MG TD TF 1500 - First and last time using...........

I've often seen reference to 'fee-bay' on these sites.
Now I know why it is termed as such.
Selling an item in Australia in $A, I was charged a fee in $US and an exchange rate fee on top. The exchange rate was a lot less than the current rate, hence the fee was greater.
As I said, first and last time...oh, there was also a Paypal fee!!
Don TF 4887
D J Walker

Don,

I think it is part of the American Bank Culture to charge you out the butt for foreign currency.
I had a life insurance mature in England and as I now live in America they send the money to my bank here in Pounds Sterling.
I was charged $35 dollars for the wire fee.
$8.00 dollars for the conversion fee and they then took $680.00 dollars on the crappy exchange rate.

I know the correct rate as my pension comes form England as well and they do the exchange there and send dollars

So don't feel too bad with Flea Bay :)
It probably ain't their fault.

Rod
R. D. Jones

I guess it has gotten better, but my first experience with paypal was my last...ever.
Bought a lens for a Lucas reversing lamp from a UK seller for $5.00 on fee~bay years ago & paid with paypal. Seller did not get the payment that was taken from my account. (plus a "fee")
Both he and I made inquiries and were promptly charged $50.00 each to "investigate".
After 2 months of no "resolve" I contacted the seller and offered to send a $20.00 US Cash to him to cover item & shipping.
We became good friends and I purchased lots of other items from him at great prices, but never got any refund from paypal or any resolve.

Turned out he had worked in Abingdon factory in October of 1954 and had actually (no doubt) built my car!
I considered it a well spent "finders fee" but have never used paypal since.
David Sheward 55 TF1500 # 7427

I agree with R.D. In my adventures abroad and in receiving pounds sterling in the U.S., U.S. banks are rapacious and not very good at foreign exchange.

You're actually typically better off taking $ to Europe to exchange and changing back to $ before you come home.

Lots of U.S. domestic banks don't even do forex, so if you approach them they have to go through one of the money center banks, piling on the fees.

In the bank's defense (I work for one :)), it is not something we've historically dealt with given the relatively small amount of retail forex that most U.S. banks deal with on a daily basis. In Europe, though the Euro has perhaps changed things, forex was historically a daily function at just about every corner bank branch. Walking around London you'll see exchange rates everywhere, and even the hotels will exchange money. In major US cities (besides New York, maybe), not so much.

I've never had a problem with Paypal and actually find them very convenient. I've made payments using my smartphone amazingly quickly. Maybe I'm due for a disaster...
David Littlefield

What I now find infuriating is trying to buy anything from England via ebay. They simply don't allow you to ship direct to the US via standard UK post any more, they charge an exorbitant shipping fee. I purchased a nice trouble lamp from a nice Brit for 12 GBP and they wanted 17 GBP to ship it to me. We cancelled the sale, I sent him 12GBP via paypal and he mailed me the lamp for about $6.
It used to be easy to buy from the Brits but ebay has decided that it's their expensive shipping way... or the highway!
Geoffrey M Baker

Before the Internet and ebay all I had in New Zealand to try and get parts was Hemmings delivered by an International Air Hostess about a week late. Every part I tried to purchase was already sold. I had to ring at an hour that I should have been asleep only to find "sorry sold" I never was able to purchased anything in those days.

So ebay and paypal have provided me with most of the second hand or NOS original parts that I have needed over the last 19 years and the associated costs are part of the purchase price in my opinion.

Without the above I would not be in the position I am now with my cars and may have given up and sold them on.

You can have money in the bank but if you do not have that vital needed part the car sits incomplete.

The freight to NZ is now so expensive one has to draw a deep breath but no parts no complete car.

Just my view and possibly a little envious of those that live in Countries where most of the M.G.'s were sold.
Rod Brayshaw

Another valid reason for calling it FeeBay in addition to the PayPal fees is that a seller is charged a fee placed on shipping costs. Neither the seller nor the buyer makes any money on this cost but FeeBay gets their hand in your pocket anyway. That is the one reason I refuse to sell internationally. The shipping fees just take too much out of my pocket for no good reason other than GREED!
Jim Merz


My wife and I go to Europe twice a year usually the UK or Germany. We have found that the best way to obtain cash is to use an ATM with our credit union credit card which does not have an ATM fee. We also have a Capital One credit card which does not charge any exchange fee. Both now have the chip which is standard in Europe and Canada.

Jim
James Neel

Jim Merz,
Ebay was forced to charge for shipping because too much was selling for $.01 with $99 shipping, or similar listings to avoid paying ebay their cut.
The high % they charge is pure greed.
See you at Indy? We'll be on the Speedway!
Jim Northrup
JRN JIM

If buying something from the UK is it not possible to simply ask the seller to check with his post office on the exact mailing charges, then send you an invoice reflecting the sale price and the postage cost plus the Paypal fee, you pay him the amount and he ships it to you? Am I missing something here?
John Quilter (TD8986)

Gentlemen,
On line with this topic I would like to share with you a very recent experience I just went through with the purchase of a set of used TF side curtains from Canada.

It was shipped Fed X with all freight charges prepaid by the seller. There were a few issues at the border that had to be addressed by the seller which was accomplished with just a fax. A few days later my package shows up and all is well.

But wait, there's more!
About two weeks go by and I get an invoice from Fed X for an additional $30+ for a "Customs Fee". I just love surprises. So much for our Free Trade Agreement.

Moral of the story I guess is there is always someone with there hand out.

Dan

Daniel Nordstrom

This has happened to me by FedEx, they would not release the goods until I had paid it. I went back to the seller and he advised he had paid door to door, so I was able to get the goods, but some days later.

always get the shipper to purchase door to door inclusive.
Rod Brayshaw

Dan, it is not the hand out that bothers me but someone's hand in my pocket that does!
Jim, a local friend and I are considering a drive over for a couple of days. Nothing firm yet other than the old MGs stay at home.
Jim Merz

No problem for me. I solved that by design when I decided to move out of Montreal 20 years ago.

I live 5 minutes from the US border and 12 minutes from my (US) bank and the post office in Chateaugay NY. Also my neighbour here in Rockburn, Québec moved to Chateaugay, so now I have the best of both worlds.

... except for the very strong US dollar.

And a note to those of you buying goods that cross the US/Canada border:- Always ask if the "all-inclusive" price includes brokerage fees. I don't like surprises either, so I always ask first before paying anything extra. NAFTA has nothing to do with that!

Gord Clark
Rockburn in the Adirondacks
45.022927, -74.015376
Gord Clark

I've been hit with the customs fee from DHL months later, long after I thought I had gotten a fair deal on shipping from the UK.

I travel extensively overseas and the foreign exchange fees on credit card purchases have always floored me. I now use the company issued Amex even though as a former small business owner I have an almost visceral hatred of that company, as there's no exchange fee and the expense reporting system automagically incorporates the charge and calculates the exchange rate. I do so dislike giving up the perquisite points to them.
JE Carroll

The 'no exchange fee' is a misnomer: it has been incorporated into the 'spread' which is the difference between the buying and the selling rate and is almost invariably larger for these agents. The actual number of widgets you get on exchange for your wodgets is what matters.

'No exchange fee' may be better for very small amounts, but look for professional brokers for serious exchange rates (they will manage the transaction for you from your bank to the supplier's bank, and tell them that you do not want to pay a fee for this work and to cover any charges at the recipient's end; the rate will be worse, but not as bad as using a c card).
Ian Bowers

This thread was discussed between 31/03/2015 and 02/04/2015

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