Paypal currency converter - from what planet?

[steveyboy1969]

Hello,

I took a breather before attempting to post this. I have noticed that EVERY sale I have ever made has been gouged with an incorrect currency conversion, and it is always in Paypals favour.

The sales I got this month for example, I get dinged a fee for taking a payment - ok, sure, why not. I guess I agreed to that somewhere along the line. Then on top of that fee, paypal, instead of using any conversion calculator known to man, screws me for another large sum of money - money that I should have actually made, not lost. The Canadian dollar has been slightly more than the US dollar for some time now, but Paypal shrugs off any such logic and pretends it is the inverse. How do they get away with this? When I ask them, some robot gives me a cut and paste response that doesn't come close to an answer. Is there any chance of litigation or is this a case of like it or leave?

[spinorfields]

This is normal. Banks, credit card companies, paypal etc have a "spread" on buy and sell rates. They buy Canadian dollars at one rate and sell at a higher rate. hat is how they make money.

[toff3]

OP,

The US dollar has been higher than the Canadian for the past month at least but it has been steadily dropping in value. According to the OANDA currency converter website,USD1 = CAD1.04 on June 5 and CAD1.01 today.

Tom

[tobyshitzu]

yes US$ is higher, then paypal takes a 2.5% (same as a Canadian credit card would) markup everytime a currency is converted

[ypdc_dennis]

The Canadian dollar has been slightly more than the US dollar for some time now, but Paypal shrugs off any such logic and pretends it is the inverse.

The Canadian dollar hasn't been worth more than the US dollar since May 7. The Cdn dollar has recovered a bit since the start of June, but it's still below par.

[brandeentertainment]

Sell in Canadian currency .. I have sold in both and ebay claims it may increase your sales by 15% I say noooooooooo way .. It does not increase your sales if the US dollar is strong they will be happy to pay Canadian currency .. I did both and no change in sale at all to the US but a drop in canadian buyers did occur ...

The only thing that will give you better sales is if someone creates new shipping rates for Canadians to be competitive online

[peacefuldovechristine]

I'm kindof a novice so please bear with me.

I'm in Canada.

 I just called ebay to because I've been charged all month the U.S.A. price when I pay for items purchased from China when the Canadian price is listed less and the Canadian dollar has been higher. I message the seller for an invoice in Canadian dollars and I never get one . I don't get involved in an investigation for non payment and ruin my reputation so I pay the U.S. price. This is adding up & I'm getting peeved.

Is it ebay or paypal who's gouging me?

Thanks

Chris

[recped]

Is it ebay or paypal who's gouging me?

Neither! You pay for items in the currency they are originally listed. You can set your preferences to display an approximate amount in Canadian Dollars but this is for informational purposes only.

If a listing in made on .com by any seller it will be in US Dollars just as a listing placed on the uk site will be in Pounds, in Germany in Euros. That is the currency in which you will pay for the item.

FYI - Canada is the only eBay site that has multiple currencies, both US & CA Dollars.

[cumos55]

The current conversion rate is

1 U.S. dollar = 0.984084 Canadian dollars

I use the currency converter at

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

The current Paypal exchange rate is

1 U.S. dollar = 0.958047 Canadian dollars

and the difference is 0.026037

Currently Paypal charges 2.60 cents per US dollar to CDN Dollar exchange

.

Always use the Currency Converter..... to determine the US to Canadian dollar exchange

[cumos55]

This is the reality of selling in US dollars and then having Paypal do the conversion to Canadian dollars...

[nuvistors]

OP:  Please return to the planet earth and you will find that the convertor works very well.

0000

[steveyboy1969]

You are aware that the convertor does change right? Go back and re-read, because I don't think you are very clear on the topic. I posted this when the Cdn dollar was higher than the US, so please don't go off with the mouth when you are replying to a post that is months old.

[pinetreecottage]

I totally agree with you. According to the news this morning (Sept. 27) 1.00 US $ = $1.02 Canadian. You will find a lot of the regulars on these boards will defend ebay and Paypal no matter what, so don't expect any sympathy.  I'm not sure if these people are actively buying and selling, or just sitting at the comp. 24/7.

We should also be aware, Paypal is not classified a bank, so it does not have to adhere to any banking industry regulations. It is simply a clearing house for money. They can charge whatever they want for their services. As ebay no longer allows for any other type of payment, we are at their mercy, if we want to sell on ebay.That started after ebay aquired Paypal. Before that most buyers paid with cheques and money orders. There was no incentive for ebay to get involved with paymentmethods. Now there's all those "lovely" fees.

My sympathies to those who agree, and to those who don't, I have to wonder why not. Maybe you like being gouged.

[recped]

As ebay no longer allows for any other type of payment,

False!

There was no incentive for ebay to get involved with paymentmethods

Did you forget Billpoint?

They can charge whatever they want for their services.

Which is why PayPal fees are generally very competitive especially for small volume sellers.

[femmefan1946]

 According to the news this morning (Sept. 27) 1.00 US $ = $1.02 Canadian. 

But if you go to your bank you will not get that rate. Nor will you get it at the bank across the street or the foreign exchange shop next door.

And those rates may be different from each other. And they will change later in the day, as likely as not.

That is the inter-bank rate and is useful if you are doing multi-million dollar exchanges.

The rate you get at your bank branch will include a profit margin for the bank and a service fee. If you buy US dollars and then immediately sell them back, you will not end up with the same amount you started with. You will be down by the price of those fees.

I also notice that most posters have a problem working from buy rates to sell rates. As a dysnumeric, I have the same problem.

[cumos55]

Just checked Currency Converter, using the link posted herein

$1.00 US = $0.980464 CDN

such that

$1.00 CDN = $1.02 US.

Makes a big difference  if you start with $1.00 US as opposed to $1.00 CDN (Canadian)

Do check to see whether it is $1.00 CDN as opposed to $1.00 US

where you start the calculation

[nuvistors]

I always cash  US postal money orders at the bank since Canada Post has  a different conversion rate than the bank.

[mikal3141]

not true on having to take only paypal. i had a buyer contact me and ask if accepted mo's siad yes sure do. he has marked pament as sent. too bad for ebay and not gouging me on that percentage to.

[zee-chan]

I'm surprised how often this topic comes up. I am more surprised about the number of people that are unaware that foreign exchange fee exists, and that Paypal/banks's rate would be slightly different as what you think you'd be charged as currency fluctuates throughout the day. MOST credit card and bank charges 2.5% fee when you make a purchase in foreign currency.

If you don't want to pay that 2.5%, get a credit card that does not charge it, then for Paypal, change your payment setting to "charge credit card in foreign currency instead of using Paypal conversion" (somewhere along that line anyway, forgot the exact wording). That way you won't get charged that 2.5% and you can stop questioning whether or not it's Paypal trying to scam you. =P

The only card I know that doesn't charge 2.5% foreign transaction fee and has no annual fee is the amazon[dot]ca visa card. I have been using it for 2 months and am very happy about not paying the 2.5% fee since my online shopping are mostly from international destinations. I use it to pay my eBay fees too now since my listings and fees are in USD. I wonder if this message would get deleted by eBay thinking I'm advertising for amazon... lol.

[zee-chan]

And for sellers that don't do this already, make sure on your Paypal account you have both the CAD and USD balance options open, so that Paypal doesn't automatically convert the USD payments you receive into CAD. I always wait until the USD is 2.5% higher than CAD to convert into CAD.