Buyers Not Understanding How Money Conversion Works

[2nd-time-around-jewelry]

I am finding that a lot of buyers especially from the US do not understand how money conversion works. They think we are trying to cheat them somehow.

Just got this message from a buyer "This morning I checked my paypal account to make sure the payment was adjusted to US currancy and it was not. My credit card or paypal did not make the switch to US currency. My account does not reflect it - charge $37.49. You will need to reimburse my paypal account or possibly look into how eBay handled it. The amount should be $27.86 if I added right - if it cannot be adjusted, would you please cancel the purchase.

I had to phone PayPal & explain the situation & they said they would send an email to the buyer explaining things. They also said she can phone them. I just sent my buyer an email stating this & that I have nothing to do with money exchange. It is done automatically by PayPal, credit cards & banks.

Anybody else having problems with this? And how have you handled it?

[cumos55]

On Paypal all conversions   

US dollars to Canadian dollars .....or.....

Canadian dollars to US dollars

must be done by the owner of the Paypal account

[recped]

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@2nd-time-around-jewelry wrote:

I am finding that a lot of buyers especially from the US do not understand how money conversion works. They think we are trying to cheat them somehow.

Just got this message from a buyer "This morning I checked my paypal account to make sure the payment was adjusted to US currancy and it was not. My credit card or paypal did not make the switch to US currency. My account does not reflect it - charge $37.49. You will need to reimburse my paypal account or possibly look into how eBay handled it. The amount should be $27.86 if I added right - if it cannot be adjusted, would you please cancel the purchase.

I had to phone PayPal & explain the situation & they said they would send an email to the buyer explaining things. They also said she can phone them. I just sent my buyer an email stating this & that I have nothing to do with money exchange. It is done automatically by PayPal, credit cards & banks.

Anybody else having problems with this? And how have you handled it?

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It's pretty rare but I have encountered these mathematically challenged people who also don't understand that a dollar isn't a dollar.

The only thing you can do is spell it out.......

you bought X for CA$x.xx

CA$x.xx at the current exchange rate of X = US$x.xx

Be firm and don't get into a giant back and forth, in the end if they continue to "not get it" you could ask if they wish to cancel.

[2nd-time-around-jewelry]

I think you misunderstood me.  I have never heard of the owner of a PayPal account or a credit card having to do anything such as conversions themselves. The agencies do the exchanges for the customer depending on the conversion rate for the day.

[Anonymous]

If on eBay.ca, eBay NEEDS (more likely MUST) show Canadian funds and also USA funds so that the buyers will see how much, same thing on eBay.com.

I lost some potential buyers because of their confusion.   Thanks to eBay!!

[femmefan1946]

If the US customer is Searching on dotCOM ( and I suspect most do, and that these challenged customers almost certainly are)  he sees the price in US dollars.

When he looks at the listing, he sees the price in both currencies.

He may well not understand what he is seeing, but it is there.

@recped 

In corresponding with such customers, it may help to tell him that we call our dollar the "loonie".  Add a picture if you can find one.

Then only refer to Canadian dollars as "loonies".

It may help.

[cumos55]

On your Paypal; account go to the Help Centre  and search for 

"Manage Currencies"....    and start reading.... follow instructions for currency conversions....

It is the owner of the Paypal account that does the currency conversions on Paypal... That is the way it is....... 

[cumos55]

When I first started selling on eBay,  my eBay bills were in US dollars.... I sold in US dollars on eBay.com.

These eBay bills were paid with my credit card.

The credit card company converted  my eBay bill  from US to Canadian dollars... and I paid my credit card bill in Canadian dollars.

---------------------------------

With Paypal   all currency conversions were on my Paypal account...

My eBay bills in US dollars were paid with my Paypal balance.

and then... the balance in US dollars  was converted to Canadian dollars  before this balance in Canadian dollars was transferred to my bank account in Canada.

[cumos55]

I now sell in Canadian dollars on eBay Canada.

A potential buyer asked for an invoice in US dollars.

My response was they can pay in Canadian dollars and convert this paid amount in Canadian dollars to US dollars on their Paypal account.

They can then pay the Paypal bill in US dollars transferred from a US Bank account.

[mcrlmn]

I sell in CAD.
For clarity, U.S. customers always receive their invoice in USD from .com, and clearly stating "Pricing based on current conversion rates".
CND sales are invoiced in CAD.

[cumos55]

All of my buyers, and that includes US buyers, are invoiced in Canadian dollars and they pay me in Canadian dollars.

Just checked my Paypal account.....

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@Anonymous 

It's similar to "recently" released Canadian version of the Sellers Hub that still shows total (Global, USA, ...) transactions in US funds even though all sales automatically get converted to Canadian funds using a floating/sinking rate. Change it over once and let it update with each new transaction. You would think, a no brainer!!

-Lotz

[femmefan1946]

My PP carries two balances - one for payments on dotCA sales in loonies, and one for payments on dotCOM sales in US dollars.

The US money is transferred to a US bank, which is a subsidiary of a Canadian bank.

I can transfer the US dollars to my Canadian bank US dollar account without changing funds from US to loonies and back to US.  This may be a perk of that longstanding account , opened sometime in the 90s, or it may be a senior's perk.

Or it may just be the way the bank works it.

A seller who lists on European sites, might want to add a European bank account for payments in euros.  Again the bank has to be European, not the account.  I hear a lot about Deutsche Bank these days. They are supposed to be very flexible.

[hlmacdon]

Common issue in cross border ecommerce trade. Most in the business implement proper multicurrency setups if they are serious about target markets, avoiding the conversion misunderstandings altogether and handling the FX side themselves. Something as basic as even understanding how FX rates work escapes the average buyer, for exmaple people still think XE or any other given FX website is the conversion rate they should be getting. Not an easy thing to implement on ebay unfortunately due to conflicting interests. When you could sell in USD on .ca, Canadian buyers would hate you due to the FX spread their CC/paypal charges, and now you have the reverse.

Ebay buyers can't even handle using a shopping cart so you can't expect them to understand currency conversion on any meaningful level when the concept of adding multiple items to a cart boggles their minds.  Screenshots, red circles and minimal use of words work best when responding to things like this.

[pjcdn2005]

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@cumos55 wrote:

On Paypal all conversions   

US dollars to Canadian dollars .....or.....

Canadian dollars to US dollars

must be done by the owner of the Paypal account

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Buyers don't need to do any type of conversion in their PP account.  If they pay for an item that was listed on .ca and they only have US$ in their account, PP will  deduct the appropriate amount in US$ plus a hidden conversion fee and the seller will receive the money in Cdn$.