Paypal now forcing currency conversions

[a52split]

I sell stuff on ebay and on non-ebay classified sites.  The non-ebay requires a manual payment by the buyer after I supply my PP ID.  My ads are listed in $USD, and I reiterate that in my payment instruction email.

A couple of weeks ago I started getting payments in $CAD.  I just discounted this as a "helpful" buyer making the currency switch on me.  Then 2 days ago two different buyers sent $US, but I received $CAD (at the usual horrible Paypal exchange rate)

I emailed one of the buyers to ask him what happened since he confirmed I wanted $US prior to sending payment.  He said he was made to choose between a "US seller" or "International" .  Since he knew I was in Canada, he picked International, then entered the amount in $USD.  Paypal then converts it without asking the recipient.  

I did a calculation.  Paypal charged 2.47% more than the street vendor I use in Vancouver to convert the USD.

Another example of greed by Paypal.

[momcqueen]

But this is only occurring with your non-eBay sales, right? Probably the PayPal discussion board would reach more people who should be notified of this but thanks for the head's up anyway. 

[momcqueen]

Also, eBay.ca switched to CAD only so this would only affect Canadian sellers who list in USD. So the eBay.com board might be a better place than here on eBay Canada to warn users. It would reach more people likely to be affected. 

[a52split]

ebay sales in $US are not affected.  We still receive $US when a sale happens on ebay.com.

[momcqueen]

That is the reason I suggest that you take this concern also to the paypal Discussion Board if you want to get the word out since it doesn't necessarily affect Canadian sellers on ebay.ca.

[pjcdn2005]

I would phone PayPal abiut it.  They may have made a change and you might have to tell your buyers to check off US seller in order to get paid in US$.

PP charges the same 2.5% that a lof banks or exchAnge places to.  If they are charging that much more than where you normally make the exchange they must not be adding any fee at all?

question..how are you taking your money out of PayPal in US$.  Do you have a Bank account with a US bank? 

[a52split]

This is the street vendor I use:

https://www.vbce.ca/

It's located in the financial district of downtown Vancouver.  I've heard people say that bank tellers have recommended this place.  Get your best quote from wherever you convert then go to this site immediately after to compare.  It's about a 5 min walk from my office, so easy to duck out at break time.

Every ebay seller who is paid in $USD needs to have a bank acct in the USA.  You link that acct to your Paypal then you get your $US out without the lousy PP conversion rate.  Years ago, my online sales was to generate cash for when I travel in the US.  Transferring to a CDN bank caused the conversion.  Then I had to convert it back.  There's 5% gone!  Even if you have a $USD acct in your Canadian bank, our banking laws don't allow a direct deposit, and PP is glad of that! 

I'm in the US often enough that I just take cash out of the bank.  A friend with the same setup writes himself checks in $USD, then cashes them at his Canadian bank for a fist full of Bennys with no fee.  That way you don't have to visit your US bank.

The added bonus is that you can get yourself an ATM card.  Use it for all your purchases in the USA.  I even use mine for online purchases sometimes.

Three years ago I was travelling in Central America. I experienced something completely foreign to me.  My US bank does not charge extra charges to use other bank's machines like ALL of the Canadian banks do.  The biggest bonus was in El Salvador where they use $USD, so no conversion fee!

[pjcdn2005]

Thank you for the information.  I don't go to the US that often although I know at one time you could open a US bank account through some of the Canadian banks (not referring to a$US account) but I don't know if that can still be done.

[dianequeenofstuff]

Is what I see is, eBay being compliant with a currency conversion grab by Paypal?

First we are forced to sell in CAD. 

The US buyer may or may not being paying in US funds but Paypal converts it to CAD and charges a fee?

How can I stop this? I'd love US funds in Paypal so I could use their credit debit card again and get my 1% kick back again.

Example of what I see.

Sale to US total, $53.21 CAD Paypal fee: $2.38

Sale to Ca total, $59.75 CAD Paypal fee: $2.03

[a52split]

If you want to be paid in $USD, list your items on ebay.com.

The items you have listed on ebay.ca will always be paid to you in $CAD regardless of where in the world the buyer is.

[a52split]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

PP charges the same 2.5% that a lof banks or exchAnge places to.   

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Update:  PP now charges 3% to convert your $USD to $CAD.

[femmefan1946]

If you have a bank account in a US bank, you can accept payment in USD, and not pay any exchange.

Open an account with the Royal Bank in US dollars.

Open an account with Royal Bank subsidiary RBCBank. This is a US registered bank in the USA.

Have your PP payments in USD withdrawn to the RBCBank.

Transfer US balance to Royal Bank. Or keep it in the RBCBank. You can have a credit card and cheques on the account.

Note that a USD account in a Canadian bank is NOT a US bank account.

If you prefer, the TDCanadaTrust has a similar subsidiary called TDNorth.