Against my better judgement I won another ebay auction on an item from France.

I need some advice on how to pay those picky bastards.

I've used international money orders with mixed reslults (huge PIA)
None of them take PayPal.
Western Union works well, but it's also expensive.

So WTF, can anyone help a brotha out? Someone's got to have a better way.

I've sent cash over before ... but the guy had awesome feedback. You can always ask about Western Union, too ... it's a little more expensive, but you don't have to worry aout the money getting "lost."

DG

Go to your bank, or an international bank, and get a cashiers check in Euros.

I've sent cash... maybe three times over the course of a year.

No problems...

Research your seller though!

Cash, if it's not too much $$ you're sending. Otherwise, ask 'em if they'll take a personal check, which they'll probably charge you extra for (for the bank fees).

Every French seller I've dealt with, I have sent a nice letter (translated into French) explaining that by using PayPal they 1) get their money today 2) get their money in Euros with no additional fees 3) save me LOTS of money (the only bank in Denver that will even sell Euros or send international wire transfers charges nearly $50 for the priviledge) 4) can put the money right into their bank account without leaving their house.

Almost every single seller has opted for PayPal.

I'll be happy to send you a copy of the letter I use; just insert "cuillere" or "verre" or whatever it is you bid on in the appropriate place.

I refuse to trade with the enemy.

And how many would that be?

15, to date.

Lystie,

I'll send you a PM with my address, I'd love to get that letter.

I just paid this last guy with Western Union.
The item I purchased cost 112 euros including shipping. After all the fees and Western Union's shitty exchange rate the item cost $175.

It's hard to walk after a screw job like that.

You've had an astonishingly lucky run, if almost every French seller you've dealt with has agreed to join PayPal in order to accept a payment from you. My experience, in hundreds of transactions, has been just the opposite - there is a total lack of French interest and acceptance of PayPal, outside a tiny core of net savvy, high volume vendors like Frenchman Phil.

While PayPal is very convenient for buyers in the US and elsewhere, it's certainly not free, nor especially convenient for foreign vendors - there are most definitely additional fees for the vendor - PayPal and bank fees together can total more than 6% of the transaction value. Nor does the vendor get his money immediately - he receives it in his PayPal account immediately, but there are sometimes very significant delays in transferring the money from PayPal to his French bank account, where he can actually use it (the minimum time is about a week, often longer - this compares unfavourably with Western Union, where he can draw the money in untraceable tax-free cash within 15 minutes of it having been sent).

What's more, PayPal's security requirements are far more onerous for non-US users, and there is a significant chance of his account being frequently frozen for "routine" security checks, even if he's never had a disputed transaction and only deals with irreproachable buyers (I speak from bitter personal experience here).

Add to these quite legitimate concerns the general French reluctance to trust any institution with their money, let alone one that has no physical infrastructure, operates in a foreign country, doesn't abide by banking regulations, answers questions in English only, and requires them to periodically fax through copies of their personal bank statements for security purposes, and you have whatever the opposite of a winning formula is.

Thanks for taking the time to fully explain the situation! It's a shame that Paypal has alienated some of the few European sellers that tried using it's service.

True.

I don't like using Paypal, and I'm an American. Not long ago someone called paypal posing as a police officer, requested personal information on someone with a paypal account, and the people at paypal faxed that person the info without asking any questions!

Hows that for respect for privacy?

That, and I made the mistake where I became a "premiere" member, in order to accept credit card transactions, and now they charge a percentage on every paypal transaction I make.

Paypal sucks!

Whenever I buy anything from France I use Western Union. It's expensive, but it's cheaper than writing them a check and paying the bank fees.

I think you should just send physical Euros via registered mail, requiring signature confirmation.

I barter in white slavery, but that's just
my angle. Never a problem though.

Keywords, Prol?

Plenty here to pick up on. Any workd can be a "keyword": Paypal, barter, American, white-slavery, Tax-free . . .

It's ho search engines work, see?

He paid extra for top-of-page listings in the ho search engines, but he still hasn't gotten many customer referrals.

6!!

Fuck's never around when you need him, and always around when you don't.

Must be gettin'
his staples buffed
by some young
waffle head.

I doubt it.
His wife'd kick his lilly white ass.

Nobody expects....

Fortunately, greeneyes is still around when I'm not.

For me, anyway.

ANAL RAPE!

Slow day @ work?

They all are
for him.
Sorting washers
isn't high speed
work.