lens from kerso strange paypal conversion

moralproduction

bought a 24-70 from kerso,it was £781 sterling,when i checked on a conversion site it worked out at 883,but when i payed through paypal but it converted to 943

Anyone any idea's as to why this happened ?

Thirdfox

Paypal sucks in relation to the conversion rate, that is all.

I once bought some goods in dollars from Dealextreme - the dollar conversion rate was way off, instead of around 1.30 I was only getting 1.04.

But monopolies get to fix their prices so unless a competitor springs up (or you can pay via credit card) then you'll have to just smile and take it. I normally pay by credit card whenever I can, unless it's a euro purchase.

Also, on normal conversion sites they only give you the banks' inter-loan rate - you'll never get such a good rate as a private individual.

nilhg

It looks as if paypal charge a 2.5% currency conversion fee.

Official Sterling/Euro rates are here, there's been quite a lot of volatility, so its possible that and the fee might account for the OP's difference.

challengemaster

credit card conversion rates aren't the same as normal currency conversion. It even differs from bank to bank.

tbh, there was no way you were getting a 24-70L for less than 900 anyway.. I have looked _EVERYWHERE_

jackdaw

Simple explanation is paypal are greedy robbing ´f*cking c*nts...!!


I got a 24-70L for €880 from Kea a few months back ..

challengemaster

jackdaw wrote: »

I got a 24-70L for €880 from Kea a few months back ..

It's 970€ including shipping this week.

soccerc

challengemaster wrote: »

It's 970€ including shipping this week.

You can get it in belfast for just under €900:D

ejmaztec

I was going to get an EOS40D body from Kerso, but was reluctant to let Paypal work out how much Sterling was worth. In the end I ordered one from Jessops, which worked out cheaper than Kerso by a few quid. They only charge £9.95 to deliver to Ireland, whereas he charges £39.

I've mentioned on the consumer issue forum that the most accurate exchange rate I've come across is this Visa one:

http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_services/consumer_ex_rates.jsp

There's a box for the % charge on top of the basic exchange rate, which in the case of my AIB Visa card is 1.75% for EU non-Euro transactions.

I'm wondering whether this % would be in addition to the Paypal conversion charge. I wouldn't put it past the robbers!

coylemj

Paypal converted a purchase for me in dollars this week which involved a 3.25% premium over the interbank rate.

However I was more than happy to pay this because I was able to order some stuff from Adorama, pay for it with Paypal and get it delivered to a friend of mine in the US who is coming home to Dublin for Christmas so she is not involved in the money which makes it very convenient for both of us.

It's hard enough at the best of times to get a mail order company to deliver to your place of work if that's not your credit card billing address, using Paypal allows me to get the stuff delivered to a different person in a different country and while it's obviously open to abuse if someone got hold of my Paypal login and password, I regard it as a brilliant facility and have no problem paying the premium.

jpfahy

If you contact Kerso directly, he will sell to you outside eBay and you can make a lodgement in his Bank Account to avoid paypal fees.

ejmaztec

jpfahy wrote: »

If you contact Kerso directly, he will sell to you outside eBay and you can make a lodgement in his Bank Account to avoid paypal fees.

I asked him but he wanted an extra 1.5% to cover a Paypal fee (I was still going to use my card), and the difference was minimal, Jessops even beating the final price.

samhail

If you are ever using your credit card on PayPal - always change the options at time of purchase to charge the credit card in the sellers currency rather then let paypal change it for you. ridiculous prices