About e-Transfers Between Countries

[sylviebee]

It used to be difficult to transfer funds from a bank in the US to my Canadian bank, but the last time I checked was a couple of years ago.

Has anything changed?  I have a buyer who doesn't want to use PP and for me doing US checks means that I physically have to go to my bank to deposit the money.  An e-transfer could be the solution if they've simplified things.

[recped]

It is usually difficult and/or expensive to do it bank to bank, there are third-parties that can do it at more favourable exchange rates and virtually free of service charges.

Have a look at xe.com but there are many others as well.

[recped]

How much money are we talking about?

[piperscorner1924]

No e-transfers been there done that and this was in Canada same Province, so my advice to you is: I am Sorry but I am unable to accept e-transfers Via eBay as it does not comply with their Rules or mine - ( meaning yours ) for Payments as these types of Payments can be Reversed and Nullified to where the Seller Loses both, the Sale and Product.

You have NO PROTECTION with e-transfers.
Good luck if you do but be forewarned it can turn ugly fast.

[sylviebee]

Probably less than $1,000.  The buyer is asking about multiple items from my "other" store where prices are higher.

She doesn't want to use PP so I doubt that she'll want to fuss too much with a more obscure system.

Sounds like it's best to tell her to send an American check like she suggested and deal with the inconvenience at my end rather than complicating things for her.

[recped · Accepted solution]

They could send you USPS International Money Orders or a Western Union Money Order.

The USPS ones have a max value of US$700 so they would need to buy a couple.

Western Union ones have a higher limit (not sure of the amount).

The benefit of course is that you don't need to worry about a cheque clearing or the funds being held by your bank for up to 30 days.

WU MO's can be obtained at most grocery stores, payday loan places etc. hundreds of thousands of locations.

[recped]

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@piperscorner1924 wrote:
No e-transfers been there done that and this was in Canada same Province, so my advice to you is: I am Sorry but I am unable to accept e-transfers Via eBay as it does not comply with their Rules or mine - ( meaning yours ) for Payments as these types of Payments can be Reversed and Nullified to where the Seller Loses both, the Sale and Product.

You have NO PROTECTION with e-transfers.
Good luck if you do but be forewarned it can turn ugly fast.

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Protection from what? Bank to Bank e-transfers are irreversible, they are the safest method of transferring funds.

For the sender of course they are a risk for the same reason.

[sylviebee]

That's what I'll do.  The waiting period to clear a check it too long and an M.O. should be familiar enough so that I don't scare her away.

[recped]

Just remember if they want to send a USPS one it has to be an International type not Domestic. These can be cashed at any Canada Post (if they have enough cash that is) or your bank.

The WU's can be cashed at YOUR bank or at any Western Union agent here in Canada.

[piperscorner1924]

Don`t make me laugh and more than I am reading your reply geez

Try it then, see what eBay tells you in the end. Especially when the Buyer says there is a problem and complains to eBay that they paid Via e-transfer.

Good luck with that.

Try it and see what happens, you`ll find out a hard way,  if a problem did arise, eBay will side with the buyer NOT you due to the e-transfer.

[sylviebee]

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@piperscorner1924 wrote:

Good luck with that.

Try it and see what happens, you`ll find out a hard way,  if a problem did arise, eBay will side with the buyer NOT you due to the e-transfer.

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Sounds like someone really did a number on you.  😞 , but I'm wondering how that unfolded?

If you were paid via e-Transfer then it would seem that you hold all the cards so I'm wondering what went wrong?

[recped]

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@piperscorner1924 wrote:

Don`t make me laugh and more than I am reading your reply geez

Try it then, see what eBay tells you in the end. Especially when the Buyer says there is a problem and complains to eBay that they paid Via e-transfer.

Good luck with that.

Try it and see what happens, you`ll find out a hard way,  if a problem did arise, eBay will side with the buyer NOT you due to the e-transfer.

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I've been doing International electronic transfers for more than 40 years. It's true that eBay does not allow sellers to accept bank transfers but that is exactly because once sent there is NO protection for the buyer.

Understand that outside of North America e-transfers are the most common method of payment. Even after the eBay Safe Payments Policy started in 2008 for several years they made an exception for Canadian Interac Transfers.

eBay didn't institute this policy to protect sellers, they did it to protect BUYERS.