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Author Topic: Avoid Paypal currency exchange fees?? (dollar -> euro)  (Read 30489 times)

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« Reply #75 on: February 06, 2017, 07:04 »
0
Well if you're losing hundreds from the 2.5%, you're gaining thousands from the Euro being 1.05 to the Dollar rather than 1.25... swings and roundabouts!

Not really a relevant comparison... Pricing adjusts over time and if the dollar gets more expensive there might be fewer sales at the same price point as a result.


« Reply #76 on: February 06, 2017, 07:06 »
0
For each $10k it costs $250 in conversion fees. I think that is expensive. My regular bank takes 1%, or $100. Big difference. It's huge. Bad.

I fully agree. My bank takes 0.5% but I would be happy with 1% or 1.25%.

I really think 2.5% is OK up to a maximum amount though, say $50. It makes sense for small transactions.

 As you say, when you start earning a bit of money you're paying a new camera in conversion fees each year.

« Reply #77 on: February 06, 2017, 09:35 »
0
Well if you're losing hundreds from the 2.5%, you're gaining thousands from the Euro being 1.05 to the Dollar rather than 1.25... swings and roundabouts!

For each $10k it costs $250 in conversion fees. I think that is expensive. My regular bank takes 1%, or $100. Big difference. It's huge. Bad.

But I agree, the exchange rates have had a big (positive) impact on my earnings. 1 euro is $1.07 today but it was $1.31 five years ago.
Its relative I suppose but $150 on $10,000 doesn't sound "huge" to me

« Reply #78 on: February 06, 2017, 10:01 »
0
Well if you're losing hundreds from the 2.5%, you're gaining thousands from the Euro being 1.05 to the Dollar rather than 1.25... swings and roundabouts!

For each $10k it costs $250 in conversion fees. I think that is expensive. My regular bank takes 1%, or $100. Big difference. It's huge. Bad.

But I agree, the exchange rates have had a big (positive) impact on my earnings. 1 euro is $1.07 today but it was $1.31 five years ago.
Its relative I suppose but $150 on $10,000 doesn't sound "huge" to me
I like to see how you negotiate a mortgage for example.

« Reply #79 on: February 06, 2017, 10:59 »
0
Well if you're losing hundreds from the 2.5%, you're gaining thousands from the Euro being 1.05 to the Dollar rather than 1.25... swings and roundabouts!

For each $10k it costs $250 in conversion fees. I think that is expensive. My regular bank takes 1%, or $100. Big difference. It's huge. Bad.

But I agree, the exchange rates have had a big (positive) impact on my earnings. 1 euro is $1.07 today but it was $1.31 five years ago.
Its relative I suppose but $150 on $10,000 doesn't sound "huge" to me
I like to see how you negotiate a mortgage for example.
Poorly no doubt but you can "negotiate" as much as you like with Shutterstock but you will still get paid by Payment to Skrill/Moneybookers or Paypal.

« Reply #80 on: February 06, 2017, 12:14 »
+1
Paypal support told me today that the only way for me to get dollars is to open a bank account in the USA. Pretty much what we established here already.

« Reply #81 on: February 06, 2017, 16:56 »
+1
we're back to square one, ask shutterstock to lodge the money into your bank account. they cant. so you use paypal to get paid, great service, so you pay for that. dont understand the moaning. if a client tells you that your image is too expensive, they say, its digital, cost you nothing to shoot a photo, just your camera. what do you say? but but but my time, the editing, my electricity bill, the office rent,  etc etc all cost money. same difference.

« Reply #82 on: February 07, 2017, 04:05 »
+1
we're back to square one, ask shutterstock to lodge the money into your bank account. they cant. so you use paypal to get paid, great service, so you pay for that. dont understand the moaning. if a client tells you that your image is too expensive, they say, its digital, cost you nothing to shoot a photo, just your camera. what do you say? but but but my time, the editing, my electricity bill, the office rent,  etc etc all cost money. same difference.
Thank you for your constructive contribution to this discussion.

« Reply #83 on: February 09, 2017, 11:55 »
0
Appalling?? It's only 2.5% no worse than banks or anyother financial outfit.

They have to make some money in order to offer a great service like that

yes, indeed, appalling -- in most of Europe, you get REAL forex rates for your foreign currency payments (Den Danske Bank, Creditanstalt Austria, Svenska Handelsbanken, Deutsche Postbank, Credit Agricole -- just to name a few). The typically anglo-saxon approach of greed and of ripping off the little guy makes Paypal seem "like other banks" in some places (UK, U. S. where no one has even heard about foreign currencies existing, pun intended)...

And what's that "great service" Paypal are providing, again?

In this time and age of Bitcoin, Litecoin, other Crypto currencies offering INSTANTENOUS and next-to-no-cost payments wordwide, who really needs Western Union, Paypal, or even the -- in fact -- slightly better Payoneer services?

It is easy to convert Paypal dollar (or any other) balances to bitcoins and on to a local currency using the right Bitcoin Exchange in your local country (local currency, bank account). You may even sell bitcoins over-the-counter and without needing wallet software when using localbitcoins.com in face-to-face transactions available in most cities that have Starbucks or Burger King. All of these options will save you all those -- truly -- annoying fees. (Feel free to PM me if you need URLs for a local exchange in certain countries, too wide a subject to include it here.)

Better still would be some stock agency actually offering Bitcoin payments in the first places. Curious to see when that will finally happen.

Bitcoin, Be Your Own Bank -- in case you guys still haven't heard about it...!
That sounds time consuming and risky to me I can't really get my head around it so I will stick to old fashioned currency. An article in the Financial Times says this "As a phenomenon bitcoin has all the attributes of a pyramid scheme, requiring a constant influx of converts to push up the price, based on the promise of its use by future converts. So the ultimate value for bitcoin will be the same as all pyramid schemes: zero."

so...?

I mean, do you really "philosophize" over Bitcoin's distant future and whether or not it will have had "zero value" in a hundred years' time instead of using it NOW when it can have a lot of value by avoiding extortion by "Paypal who are not a charity"?

Bitcoin, by the way, is one (or, rather and more precisely, it's a non-profit org)...

In a hundred years' time, your dollars-in-hand will have equally zero value, by the way: the dollar has a track record of losing around 95% per one-hundred years, but you're still using it.

Think about it.

« Reply #84 on: February 09, 2017, 13:11 »
+1
Appalling?? It's only 2.5% no worse than banks or anyother financial outfit.

They have to make some money in order to offer a great service like that

yes, indeed, appalling -- in most of Europe, you get REAL forex rates for your foreign currency payments (Den Danske Bank, Creditanstalt Austria, Svenska Handelsbanken, Deutsche Postbank, Credit Agricole -- just to name a few). The typically anglo-saxon approach of greed and of ripping off the little guy makes Paypal seem "like other banks" in some places (UK, U. S. where no one has even heard about foreign currencies existing, pun intended)...

And what's that "great service" Paypal are providing, again?

In this time and age of Bitcoin, Litecoin, other Crypto currencies offering INSTANTENOUS and next-to-no-cost payments wordwide, who really needs Western Union, Paypal, or even the -- in fact -- slightly better Payoneer services?

It is easy to convert Paypal dollar (or any other) balances to bitcoins and on to a local currency using the right Bitcoin Exchange in your local country (local currency, bank account). You may even sell bitcoins over-the-counter and without needing wallet software when using localbitcoins.com in face-to-face transactions available in most cities that have Starbucks or Burger King. All of these options will save you all those -- truly -- annoying fees. (Feel free to PM me if you need URLs for a local exchange in certain countries, too wide a subject to include it here.)

Better still would be some stock agency actually offering Bitcoin payments in the first places. Curious to see when that will finally happen.

Bitcoin, Be Your Own Bank -- in case you guys still haven't heard about it...!
That sounds time consuming and risky to me I can't really get my head around it so I will stick to old fashioned currency. An article in the Financial Times says this "As a phenomenon bitcoin has all the attributes of a pyramid scheme, requiring a constant influx of converts to push up the price, based on the promise of its use by future converts. So the ultimate value for bitcoin will be the same as all pyramid schemes: zero."

so...?

I mean, do you really "philosophize" over Bitcoin's distant future and whether or not it will have had "zero value" in a hundred years' time instead of using it NOW when it can have a lot of value by avoiding extortion by "Paypal who are not a charity"?

Bitcoin, by the way, is one (or, rather and more precisely, it's a non-profit org)...

In a hundred years' time, your dollars-in-hand will have equally zero value, by the way: the dollar has a track record of losing around 95% per one-hundred years, but you're still using it.

Think about it.
It remains more risky than traditional curriences down 7% today and in the end NO ONE to support it. Do I have a choice about using national currency? You may do well if you are not risk averse I am though.

« Reply #85 on: February 09, 2017, 13:26 »
0
Exactly. There's a good reason dollars are used and not the Brazilian real, Kazakhstan tenge or Zambian kwacha...

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« Reply #86 on: February 09, 2017, 13:39 »
+1
In a hundred years' time, your dollars-in-hand will have equally zero value, by the way: the dollar has a track record of losing around 95% per one-hundred years, but you're still using it.

Well most people won't hold 100 dollars in their hand for 100 years. They'll spend it, or put it in a high interest account which will pretty much cancel out inflation. So your 100 dollars will only be worth zero if you're an idiot who happens to be immortal, and you have enough money that you don't actually need to spend it during those 100 years.

And your 95% claim (I would have thought it was about 80 to 85%, but I'll take your word for it) it only makes Bitcoin sound that great because Bitcoin hasn't been around for 100 years so you can't compare it. What will it be worth in 100 years? $100 per BTC, $10, $1, nothing?

I think it's more likely that a bitcoin will be worth $0 in 100 years, than $100 being worth $1.

« Reply #87 on: February 09, 2017, 14:22 »
+1
In a hundred years' time, your dollars-in-hand will have equally zero value, by the way: the dollar has a track record of losing around 95% per one-hundred years, but you're still using it.

Well most people won't hold 100 dollars in their hand for 100 years. They'll spend it, or put it in a high interest account which will pretty much cancel out inflation. So your 100 dollars will only be worth zero if you're an idiot who happens to be immortal, and you have enough money that you don't actually need to spend it during those 100 years.

And your 95% claim (I would have thought it was about 80 to 85%, but I'll take your word for it) it only makes Bitcoin sound that great because Bitcoin hasn't been around for 100 years so you can't compare it. What will it be worth in 100 years? $100 per BTC, $10, $1, nothing?

I think it's more likely that a bitcoin will be worth $0 in 100 years, than $100 being worth $1.
I'm pretty sure bitcoins wont exist in a 100 years I will come on here and apologize if they do!

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« Reply #88 on: February 09, 2017, 15:48 »
0
Yeah, I'd be surprised! Even if cryptocurrencies do become the future of currency, bitcoin would probably be a bit outdated in 100 years. Maybe a Bitcoin 4.0 or something, but I'd be very surprised if it still exists in its current incarnation. 

« Reply #89 on: February 15, 2017, 18:34 »
0
you get paid 2 months late every time, missing out on interest, plus you have to cash the  checks as well, costing you time and probably petrol, plus you have to invest time to manage multiple payment streams, you will have more layers in your administration, all adding cost, which you dont consider.

i think if you properly calculate all the cost of receiving  checks, you will probably find that the cost are higher than using paypal,

not sure how that works for your principals, you want to incur higher cost, because paypal is too expensive, doesnt make sense. you cut of your nose to spite your face. paypal is a widely accepted payment processor, making my life and business so much easier,

quick calculation shows you would probably lose out on 0.25% interest alone over your 100K, and surely you can deduct the paypal fees from your earnings in canada as well.

Oh sweet! Unsolicited financial advice on the internet. How did I get so lucky?

You don't get paid 2 months late every month, you are simply deferring payments. This can actually work in your favour if, say, your income was dropping in the next year (not unheard of in microstock terms). You could be deferring income to the next year when you will pay lower amount of income tax.

Cashing a cheque is easy. I often going to my bank anyway (I walk there, so no petrol or fuel costs), and these days you can send a photo of your cheque to the bank and they will process it. That takes no longer than processing a Paypal payment. It might even be faster because you don't have to look up rates to be sure Paypal is gouging you a full 4%!

"you will have more layers in your administration, all adding cost, which you dont consider."

Are you mental? Why would I not consider administrative costs? Well, to answer that "argument," no, I do factor in all admin costs, and they aren't that costly. I have 3 stock photo accounts. Two of which used to be funded through Paypal, and one via cheques. There is no real difference in time or energy or admin costs between the two, except for the much lower exchange rate that I get from processing cheques.

My bank actually offers me a +1.6% exchange rate, so that's a difference of 2%, or $2000 on every $100k earned, or 20k over a period of 10 years. It is VERY worth it for me, I just couldn't defer payments until recently.

"you want to incur higher cost, because paypal is too expensive, doesnt make sense. you cut of your nose to spite your face. paypal is a widely accepted payment processor, making my life and business so much easier"

Thanks for the advice, I'm glad that works for you, but stop projecting your ill informed advice towards me. Enjoy paying $1000's more to Paypal for a negligible convenience.

« Reply #90 on: February 16, 2017, 01:54 »
+1
have you read your reply? what a load of work to use a bank. my word,  walking to a bank, scanning and emailing photos,

deferring payments, but that doesn't add more work to your financial administration?

You said it would take 2 months to get a cheque, not me

anyway,  not my business, you are right


« Reply #91 on: February 18, 2017, 00:58 »
0
have you read your reply? what a load of work to use a bank. my word,  walking to a bank, scanning and emailing photos,

deferring payments, but that doesn't add more work to your financial administration?

You said it would take 2 months to get a cheque, not me

anyway,  not my business, you are right

It seems that you like to exaggerate to try and prove your point.

Opening up the banking app on your phone, is one click. Then you click the button to submit cheques, then you point your cellphone camera at the cheque and press the button. Then review it. Finally you press another button to submit it.

Brutally complicated, isn't it?

Paypal annoyances notwithstanding, that's not much action required to save, say, $100 on a $5000 cheque, or $200 on a $10,000 cheque.

Deferring payments isn't really a problem if you're financially stable. We already had to defer payments from iStock by 7 weeks. In the era of diminishing stock photo returns, it actually works out because (at least in my case) my income appeared lower and I paid less in tax. Not sure about anywhere else, but Canadians are already allowed to defer up to $20k / year, depending on income, and most people that are good with money will max out contributions to their deferred income account called RRSPs. I'm sure other countries have similar programs.

What I *really* said is that I was frustrated with PayPal's exorbitant rates and was looking at ways to avoid those losses. You came along with a bunch of reasons (and assumptions) why I should appreciate Paypal because: convenience. Most people couldn't defer payments if their life depended on it. So I don't expect them to really change their methods. I'm sure Paypal is aware of this and will probably end up raising their rates given how dependant people are on it. If I know anything about bankers, it's that they love making money off us plebs.

« Reply #92 on: February 18, 2017, 01:57 »
+1
in your previous comment you also said you were walking to the bank

and i didn't say paypal was only convenient

more selective reading

anyway,  you do what you do,  it seems to work for you 


« Reply #93 on: February 18, 2017, 04:46 »
0
I think the answer is that for the average earner then Paypal probably works well. If you are moving what to me are very large sums then a %age commission doesn't work. In the same way if I were staying abroad I would be happy to exchange say $30 at the hotel. I wouldn't dream of going to reception with $30k. I don't think paypal is especially greedy compared with any other "bank". So until my sales start to rocket when my genius is finally recognised I will stick with PP.

« Reply #94 on: February 18, 2017, 05:35 »
0
We just need a few more worthy competitors on the market and the rates would go down to 1% before you could say "currency conversion".

It's not like PayPal is a company struggling to stay afloat and 2.5% is the golden number to survive... They are very profitable and 2.5% is set because they dominate the market and try to get as much as they can, naturally.


 

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