Paypal thieves money..?

[thanos]

Hello friends,

I just received a few payments for insects in my paypal account. Some payments I received in usd and some in euro. So,I used the currency converter of paypal,in order to have all my funds in 1 currency (let's say in usd). While,before I make currency conversions,I had about 670 euro,after 2-3 conversions within 1 minute,my total was becoming lower and lower..With the first conversion it became 662 euros,with the second it became 655 euros..So ,I stopped trying to find how the hell these money become lost,because I am sure that if I would have made one more conversion with paypal,my total would become even lower...! So,my question is : have you experienced also this ? What happens here..?

Thanos

[wollastoni]

Hello Thanos.

Paypal just take some conversion fees each time you convert a currency into another one. All banks do this.
My advice : keep your dollars to buy leps on Ebay and transfer only your euros on your bank account.

[thanos]

Thank you Olivier. I was thinking that the paypal currency conversions have no fees..,as I had made a few ones(in my paypal account) in the past,and my total amount had not been reduced.. So,paypal,not only holds about 5% fees for every payment someone gets,but it also seems that earns money even from the simple currency conversions..And the bad thing is that nowhere paypal tells you that fees are held every time you make a conversion (and the exact amount of the fee each time,like it does every time you receive a paypal payment).
After this,I will never again make a paypal conversion*,of course. And a minus(-) from me to paypal for this.

Thanos

*but I think that,if someone wants to send a payment for example in euro,and he has both euro and usd in his account(and the euros are not enough to cover this payment),even if he will not do the conversion himself,when paypal will do it(transfer usd to euros)the time when he makes the payment,then paypal will hold its fees secretly....without these fees to be written anywhere...... Here,I have also to mention the fact that,every time I buy an insect in euro on ebay,the equivalent amount in usd that is shown on ebay is ALWAYS of FEWER usd,than the usd which are removed from my paypal account when I make the payment...And this is NOT because the euro-usd exchange rate changes/has changed at the exact time you make the payment,BUT because paypal holds 'secret', not written fees for this payment(so paypal is not so free for the buyer,and it has fees not only for the sellers )......

[downundermoths]

PayPal is a bank...There is no better way for overseas buyers to settle their accounts, eBay or otherwise... Like any intermediary money handler they charge for their services... Put up with it or use other forms of international payment such as wire transfer or cheques, you will then soon be wishing you were back with PayPal...

Barry

[obewan]

I know the times I have made payment in USD for Euro payments, the paypal conversion rate is always MORE than what the rate is on the currency exchange...so seems everone is taking a hit!
obe

[thanos]

obe,yes this is true.

[africaone]

I completely agree. paypal is prohibitive.
the fee of more 4 % seems difficult to justify as it is an European bank and a transfer (Iban / BIC) is nearly nothing in fee ! The Paypal system is purely electronic (how justify that fee is so big comparing transfer fee in other system ).
I am like Olivier, I keep dollars for buying in $ or I keep dollars waiting the rate exchange become low (you can gain 10 % or more choosing the period )
On ebay using paypal, you must count around 10-15 % (sometime more, sometime less) of the final price eaten by different fees (ebay, paypal, rate exchange).
The ideal way is to take contact with ebay (and after making out of ebay offer), paying with Iban system transfer and being paid in €.
another incredible point with paypal. You can't transfer $ from the $ paypal account on a $ existing "normal" bank account (at least in Belgium and may be also for all de CEE lands). Then you can't use the $ you have on a PP account, you have to convert in € with PP rate, making the transfer on you normal bank account and and after re-convert in $, completely crazy

ps : some people are happy to use paypal as in their land fees were (are !) more expansive than paypal. The abnormality came from the incredible high and unjustified fees made before.

[wollastoni]

Yes but when I send money (100 €) to Japan sellers via my bank, it costs me 25€. Via Paypal it costs me 4 €.
Paypal is a really good tool.

The real problem for me is Ebay. Too bad InsectNet Auctions that are free do not work so well... I hope one day the whole insect community will use it : it is free !

[bobw]

For anyone that lives in Britain Thierry's PS certainly applies. Paypal is by far the cheapest way for me to send money to anyone as the fees are only 3.9%. A bank transfer to anywhere outside Britain costs me £30. Many countries have now started charging fees at the receiver's end too, which sellers generally expect the customer to pay. This means that a bank transfer only becomes economical once the value exceeds 1,000 Euros or 1,500 USD. Also, I get a better exchange rate with Paypal than I get from the bank and the seller gets the money immediately as opposed to 4 or 5 days for a bank transfer. The fees and exchange rates with Western Union are even worse, being tantamount to extortion.

Bob

P.S. Thierry - I emailed you twice in the last few weeks but have not received a reply. Have you changed your email address?