Paypal Exchange rate

[HighlandTiger]

Ok, so we all know when winning auctions on ebay, we are usually lumbered with using paypal. Fine if we are buying from the UK, but buying in foreign currency and if you let paypal do an automatic curency conversion, the rates are well known to be poor.

 

I just didn't know how poor.

 

Just won a French 20FF Gold coin on Ebay France in Euros. Won it for 185 euros. Wasn't really meaning to win it, but playing around thanks to a few tips from our 20FF expert RBG. (Thanks mate) , and all of a sudden it's mine 

 

Checking the exchange rate, that should be £145.78. Went to pay through paypal, and they wanted to do an automatic conversion making it a total of £151.22. Well I nearly fell off my chair..... Changed the card I wanted to pay with to one of my mastercards so i could pay directly in Euros and let the bank do the conversion, and It has come out at only £146.62

 

In other words Paypal conversion was a grand total of £4.60 more expensive, Or in our terms my new gold coin has gone from being only 2.24% over spot, to, (after the paypal attempted robbery) 5.55% over spot.

 

The moral of the story..............

 

ALWAYS pay in the currency of the auction you have won. NEVER EVER let paypal do an automatic conversion.

 

 

Message to RBG. .............That's me on 3 now.......   

[Keithoil]

I have not got any

[motorbikez]

Anyone buying from outside the UK read this it may help you.

 

http://thesilverforum.com/topic/107-costs-to-bear-in-mind-when-buying-from-outside-the-eu/

[Shamatti]

£145.78 sounds like a Google exchange rate. Isn't that the interbank rate? No one will give you that. And everyone knows Paypal rates are terrible.

[HelpingHands]

Does anybody know how to find PayPal's current FX rates before you commit. I've searched and it seems like you only find out when there is no going back.

[morezone]

Rates for Mastercard and VISA. I always charge in the local currency with a foreign commission fee free card.

 

https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/index.html

 

 

http://www.visaeurope.com/making-payments/exchange-rates

[Shamatti]

Does anybody know how to find PayPal's current FX rates before you commit. I've searched and it seems like you only find out when there is no going back.

 

It's a pain.

 

You have to go through your profile. (The cog in the top right)

then click on "My Money"

Then click on Currencies in the Paypal Ballance section.

Then in the box on the right side of the page there is a conversion section. Choose balance or transaction, and the currency to convert from.

 

Of course this only works if you have first selected the "Classic Site" in the bottom left hand corner of the page!!

[morezone]

 

Of course this only works if you have first selected the "Classic Site" in the bottom left hand corner of the page!!

 

I hate the new design and never noticed the "classic site" option.  Glad you pointed it out  

[Pete]

Some credit cards in addition to an exchange rate that seems a bit greedy also apply a foreign transaction fee.

Not all cards do this but check your statement.

[HighlandTiger]

Currently the Mastercard conversion rate is £1 = 1.2615 Euros

Currently the Paypal Conversion rate is £1 = 1.2234 Euros

 

Mastercard Non Sterling Transaction Fee is 2.75%

Paypal Non Sterling Transaction Fee is 3.9% + 20p

 

100 Euros through Mastercard should cost £81.45

100 Euros through Paypal should cost £85.12

 

 

My adding may not be spot on, but you can see the difference..................

 

 

Update

 

Actually scratch that, the 1.2234 from paypal appears to include the transaction fee

 

 

God its bloody confusing.........................I give up. I'll let someone else work it out..............

[morezone]

 

Paypal Non Sterling Transaction Fee is 4.4% + 20p

 

 

This rate is only for receiving payments.

[HighlandTiger]

This rate is only for receiving payments.

LOL As I said, they don't make it easy do they.......

[Pipers]

Ok, so we all know when winning auctions on ebay, we are usually lumbered with using paypal. Fine if we are buying from the UK, but buying in foreign currency and if you let paypal do an automatic curency conversion, the rates are well known to be poor.

 

I just didn't know how poor.

 

Just won a French 20FF Gold coin on Ebay France in Euros. Won it for 185 euros. Wasn't really meaning to win it, but playing around thanks to a few tips from our 20FF expert RBG. (Thanks mate) , and all of a sudden it's mine 

 

Checking the exchange rate, that should be £145.78. Went to pay through paypal, and they wanted to do an automatic conversion making it a total of £151.22. Well I nearly fell off my chair..... Changed the card I wanted to pay with to one of my mastercards so i could pay directly in Euros and let the bank do the conversion, and It has come out at only £146.62

 

In other words Paypal conversion was a grand total of £4.60 more expensive, Or in our terms my new gold coin has gone from being only 2.24% over spot, to, (after the paypal attempted robbery) 5.55% over spot.

 

The moral of the story..............

 

ALWAYS pay in the currency of the auction you have won. NEVER EVER let paypal do an automatic conversion.

 

 

Message to RBG. .............That's me on 3 now.......   

 

 

HT I'm confused, are you saying you paid by paypal using a different bank account (debit card visa/master), or did you not use Paypal at all to settle your bill.  

 

How do you pay in euros with your cards using PAYPAL, because every time I have tried PAYPAL adds a fee?  

[HighlandTiger]

HT I'm confused, are you saying you paid by paypal using a different bank account (debit card visa/master), or did you not use Paypal at all to settle your bill.  

 

How do you pay in euros with your cards using PAYPAL, because every time I have tried PAYPAL adds a fee?  

If you have a VISA or Mastercard Credit card, (not debit card), on your Paypal account , you can pay in the sellers currency. Just remember to pay all the credit card balance at the end of the month otherwise any savings will be lost through the high CC interest rates. 

[Shamatti]

So if you paid in Euro on Mastercard, how did yo know how many Pounds you were being charged? They wouldn't show you that in Paypal, you would have to check your statement.

 

Love those 20 Franc coins by the way - what year did you get, don't the designs differ over the years? I actually really like the ones with the rooster on, for no logical reason! lol

[HighlandTiger]

I have online banking apps and on my laptop. I can see how much I spent within 5 mins of me making a transaction

[Danny-boy]

I have online banking apps and on my laptop. I can see how much I spent within 5 mins of me making a transaction

How did you know it was cheaper than PayPal before you did it then?

A guess?

[HighlandTiger]

Not a guess. Plenty of money saving websites have continuously reported on the high PayPal rates.

[HighlandTiger]

I never noticed before as all my previous foreign currency auction wins have been around the £20-£30 mark. Never noticed the odd pound or two difference from the auction price. But a £5 diff made me do a few checks online

[morezone]

Anyone making regular none Sterling purchases through Pay Pal should get themselves a commission free foreign currency card.  Halifax Clarity and Post Office cards come to mind but there are a few more.

[Danny-boy]

Not a guess. Plenty of money saving websites have continuously reported on the high PayPal rates.

So it was a guess based on reports of high PayPal prices then?

You didn't know how much it would cost you before you paid, you just assumed it was cheaper?

[StackemHigh]

As with all goods and products it's always good to shop around for the best items and deals before pulling the trigger or paying for said purchases.

 

Small saving can usualy be made somewhere along the way. It's normally just a bit time consuming.

[Shamatti]

I'm surprised you didn't have your master card already registered if you knew it would mean cheaper exchange rates. This can't be the first time you have purchased from over seas?

 

You didn't say what year it was!

[HighlandTiger]

I'm surprised you didn't have your master card already registered if you knew it would mean cheaper exchange rates. This can't be the first time you have purchased from over seas?

 

You didn't say what year it was!

 

I have two credit cards, two debit cards and one of my bank accounts registered with paypal. I try not to use my credit cards so I usually pay automatically through my bank account for Ebay items. I've only bought a couple of items on ebay in foreign currency, all around the £20-£30 mark. So the paypal costs were not really noticeable, you know 50p here, and £1 there on what I was expecting it to cost. So I wasn't really too bothered to check out the amounts properly. This is the first large amount I have bought in a foreign currency with paypal for about a decade. It was the £5 difference that shocked me into doing some checking.

 

As for the coin, it's a 1909 

 

[motorbikez]

Wow that's come quick bought on Sunday here on Monday.