Just a whinge.

I think banks and similar services are just here to make it impossible for
small timers to sell overseas. I'm in Australia.

I'd love to sell my jewellery to people everywhere. But there seems to be
no method of payment that will charge me less fees than the money I make.

Cash in foreign currency - $7.50 exchange fee (this was free until a few
years back).
Money Order - I believe these are something like $20 to exchange -
ridiculous.
Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if it would
help me anyway.

Is there ANY way to do this and not get charged up the wazoo so much that
I'm actually losing money to fees rather than making a profit?

Gemfyre


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Gemfyre wrote:

Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if it
would
help me anyway.

If you want to sell internationally, these are really your best bets. Why
do you think PayPal is so expensive? Compared to the costs of the other
alternatives you posted, they're very reasonable. I've used them for years
and had nothing but positive experiences.

If you have a credit card strictly for business purposes, then it would
either be cost-free or very cheap. Running a business means you have to
factor in all your costs, including the costs of doing business
internationally or even in your own country.

Here's a link to info on how to run e-commerce in Australia. They mention a
different company called PayMate too.

http://www.webandprint.com.au/e-commerce.html

You also have the alternative to find a web host that provides a shopping
cart for you, but they'll charge you transaction fees too.

-Su

On Wed, 19 May 2004 15:23:50 +0800, Gemfyre wrote:

I think banks and similar services are just here to make it impossible for
small timers to sell overseas. I'm in Australia.

I'd love to sell my jewellery to people everywhere. But there seems to be
no method of payment that will charge me less fees than the money I make.

Cash in foreign currency - $7.50 exchange fee (this was free until a few
years back).
Money Order - I believe these are something like $20 to exchange -
ridiculous.
Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if it would
help me anyway.

Is there ANY way to do this and not get charged up the wazoo so much that
I'm actually losing money to fees rather than making a profit?

Gemfyre


Gemfyre,

I have the same problem in NZ.... We Recently got charged $10 by the bank
in foreign currency exchange ( as if they don't charge enough already!
I'd say, shop around... Do you have credit unions over there? Go to ALL
the banks and maybe Negotiate? I'm going to have a serious talk to my
bank about it and tell them that my money won't be staying in their bank
if they continue to charge like that...

I do have the option of leaving it offshore so I may look into that a bit
more...

But yes, you are right! It sucks big time!!!

Mavis

The problem is the transactions I'd be doing are so small that Paypal would
be taking the majority of my money in fees - making it not worth the
trouble.

Paypal is great for people who deal in large amounts - but for small time
people not in the U.S. it's useless.

Gemfyre

"Su/Cutworks" wrote in message
...
Gemfyre wrote:

Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if it
would
help me anyway.

If you want to sell internationally, these are really your best bets. Why
do you think PayPal is so expensive? Compared to the costs of the other
alternatives you posted, they're very reasonable. I've used them for
years
and had nothing but positive experiences.

If you have a credit card strictly for business purposes, then it would
either be cost-free or very cheap. Running a business means you have to
factor in all your costs, including the costs of doing business
internationally or even in your own country.

Here's a link to info on how to run e-commerce in Australia. They mention
a
different company called PayMate too.

http://www.webandprint.com.au/e-commerce.html

You also have the alternative to find a web host that provides a shopping
cart for you, but they'll charge you transaction fees too.

-Su




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.688 / Virus Database: 449 - Release Date: 5/18/04

Hi Gemfyre,
I'm from australia and I don't mind using Paypal only because i find that if
I ever want to sell to anyone outside Australia, I convert to US$ myself,
tell them the price, let them pay into my paypal account and then I don't
ever (unless there's a large sum) physically move the money from paypal... I
use the money that's there to pay for stuff that I might want to buy from
the US (eg. beads) and that way I don't have to pay transfer fees.
Z

"AmazeR" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 19 May 2004 15:23:50 +0800, Gemfyre wrote:

I think banks and similar services are just here to make it impossible
for
small timers to sell overseas. I'm in Australia.

I'd love to sell my jewellery to people everywhere. But there seems to
be
no method of payment that will charge me less fees than the money I
make.

Cash in foreign currency - $7.50 exchange fee (this was free until a few
years back).
Money Order - I believe these are something like $20 to exchange -
ridiculous.
Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if it
would
help me anyway.

Is there ANY way to do this and not get charged up the wazoo so much
that
I'm actually losing money to fees rather than making a profit?

Gemfyre


Gemfyre,

I have the same problem in NZ.... We Recently got charged $10 by the bank
in foreign currency exchange ( as if they don't charge enough already!
I'd say, shop around... Do you have credit unions over there? Go to ALL
the banks and maybe Negotiate? I'm going to have a serious talk to my
bank about it and tell them that my money won't be staying in their bank
if they continue to charge like that...

I do have the option of leaving it offshore so I may look into that a bit
more...

But yes, you are right! It sucks big time!!!

Mavis

That's how I would do it. I have only transferred money from Paypal-bank a
couple times, back when we were living on hot dogs and peanut butter ;o)

I'm sure I'm missing something here, but why don't you just figure the cost
of the Paypal fees into your prices? I currently pay (in the States) $0.29
+ 2.9% in fees for every payment i recieve. So, I just figured that in when
I priced my items. Does Paypal charge you extra to convert the currency?
Then use a site like www.xe.com, and do the conversion yourself before
quoting the price of the item. That's assuming you do direct sales (vs.
auction types, where the price has to be set before you have a buyer.

And, kinda unrealated, but do you have a website, or do you just sell
through you LJ? Just curious )

--
Kyla

"Zanaida" wrote in message
...
Hi Gemfyre,
I'm from australia and I don't mind using Paypal only because i find that
if
I ever want to sell to anyone outside Australia, I convert to US$ myself,
tell them the price, let them pay into my paypal account and then I don't
ever (unless there's a large sum) physically move the money from paypal...
I
use the money that's there to pay for stuff that I might want to buy from
the US (eg. beads) and that way I don't have to pay transfer fees.
Z

"AmazeR" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 19 May 2004 15:23:50 +0800, Gemfyre wrote:

I think banks and similar services are just here to make it impossible
for
small timers to sell overseas. I'm in Australia.

I'd love to sell my jewellery to people everywhere. But there seems
to
be
no method of payment that will charge me less fees than the money I
make.

Cash in foreign currency - $7.50 exchange fee (this was free until a
few
years back).
Money Order - I believe these are something like $20 to exchange -
ridiculous.
Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if it
would
help me anyway.

Is there ANY way to do this and not get charged up the wazoo so much
that
I'm actually losing money to fees rather than making a profit?

Gemfyre


Gemfyre,

I have the same problem in NZ.... We Recently got charged $10 by the
bank
in foreign currency exchange ( as if they don't charge enough
already!
I'd say, shop around... Do you have credit unions over there? Go to
ALL
the banks and maybe Negotiate? I'm going to have a serious talk to my
bank about it and tell them that my money won't be staying in their bank
if they continue to charge like that...

I do have the option of leaving it offshore so I may look into that a
bit
more...

But yes, you are right! It sucks big time!!!

Mavis

No website yet.

It is on the cards however. I'll rope my comp-sci student b/f into once
semester's finished I think - at the moment he's flat out with own work.

Gemfyre

"Kyla" wrote in message
. com...
That's how I would do it. I have only transferred money from Paypal-bank
a
couple times, back when we were living on hot dogs and peanut butter ;o)

I'm sure I'm missing something here, but why don't you just figure the
cost
of the Paypal fees into your prices? I currently pay (in the States)
$0.29
+ 2.9% in fees for every payment i recieve. So, I just figured that in
when
I priced my items. Does Paypal charge you extra to convert the currency?
Then use a site like www.xe.com, and do the conversion yourself before
quoting the price of the item. That's assuming you do direct sales (vs.
auction types, where the price has to be set before you have a buyer.

And, kinda unrealated, but do you have a website, or do you just sell
through you LJ? Just curious )

--
Kyla

"Zanaida" wrote in message
...
Hi Gemfyre,
I'm from australia and I don't mind using Paypal only because i find
that
if
I ever want to sell to anyone outside Australia, I convert to US$
myself,
tell them the price, let them pay into my paypal account and then I
don't
ever (unless there's a large sum) physically move the money from
paypal...
I
use the money that's there to pay for stuff that I might want to buy
from
the US (eg. beads) and that way I don't have to pay transfer fees.
Z

"AmazeR" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 19 May 2004 15:23:50 +0800, Gemfyre wrote:

I think banks and similar services are just here to make it
impossible
for
small timers to sell overseas. I'm in Australia.

I'd love to sell my jewellery to people everywhere. But there seems
to
be
no method of payment that will charge me less fees than the money I
make.

Cash in foreign currency - $7.50 exchange fee (this was free until a
few
years back).
Money Order - I believe these are something like $20 to exchange -
ridiculous.
Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if
it
would
help me anyway.

Is there ANY way to do this and not get charged up the wazoo so much
that
I'm actually losing money to fees rather than making a profit?

Gemfyre


Gemfyre,

I have the same problem in NZ.... We Recently got charged $10 by the
bank
in foreign currency exchange ( as if they don't charge enough
already!
I'd say, shop around... Do you have credit unions over there? Go to
ALL
the banks and maybe Negotiate? I'm going to have a serious talk to my
bank about it and tell them that my money won't be staying in their
bank
if they continue to charge like that...

I do have the option of leaving it offshore so I may look into that a
bit
more...

But yes, you are right! It sucks big time!!!

Mavis







---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.688 / Virus Database: 449 - Release Date: 5/20/04

I take it Paypal must charge higher fees for those in Australia than
they do elsewhere... that's wierd! Any ideas why?

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Gemfyre wrote:
I think banks and similar services are just here to make it impossible for
small timers to sell overseas. I'm in Australia.

I'd love to sell my jewellery to people everywhere. But there seems to be
no method of payment that will charge me less fees than the money I make.

Cash in foreign currency - $7.50 exchange fee (this was free until a few
years back).
Money Order - I believe these are something like $20 to exchange -
ridiculous.
Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if it would
help me anyway.

Is there ANY way to do this and not get charged up the wazoo so much that
I'm actually losing money to fees rather than making a profit?

Gemfyre


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.686 / Virus Database: 447 - Release Date: 5/16/04

This may not sound like much of a solution, but to tell the truth, small
transactions are virtually worthless in the mail order biz. I used to
sell items for five dollars, and I discovered fairly quickly that the
time spent listing, invoicing, packing and shipping many small items was
simply not worth it. You might consider developing a product that has a
higher price point so you can recoup your labor more effectively.

In the US, Paypal fees are only .30 + 2.5% or something like that...
even for a $5 transaction that's not a large percentage. If you're doing
transactions even smaller than that, I cannot *imagine* where your
profit is coming from after you factor in your labor. Even if your
materials and labor costs for manufacturing were zero, your time/labor
in selling, invoicing, packing and shipping a (for example) $1.00 item
completely overtakes the profit.

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Gemfyre wrote:
The problem is the transactions I'd be doing are so small that Paypal would
be taking the majority of my money in fees - making it not worth the
trouble.

Paypal is great for people who deal in large amounts - but for small time
people not in the U.S. it's useless.

Gemfyre

"Su/Cutworks" wrote in message
...

Gemfyre wrote:


Paypal - more fees than the money I'd be making.
Don't have and don't want a credit card - although I'm not sure if it

would

help me anyway.

If you want to sell internationally, these are really your best bets. Why
do you think PayPal is so expensive? Compared to the costs of the other
alternatives you posted, they're very reasonable. I've used them for

years

and had nothing but positive experiences.

If you have a credit card strictly for business purposes, then it would
either be cost-free or very cheap. Running a business means you have to
factor in all your costs, including the costs of doing business
internationally or even in your own country.

Here's a link to info on how to run e-commerce in Australia. They mention

a

different company called PayMate too.

http://www.webandprint.com.au/e-commerce.html

You also have the alternative to find a web host that provides a shopping
cart for you, but they'll charge you transaction fees too.

-Su





---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.688 / Virus Database: 449 - Release Date: 5/18/04

When I shop from other countries, Paypal gives me the option of which
currency to pay in... so far the prices have always been quoted in US $,
but if I changed that to AU $ would there be an extra fee for the
seller? Anybody know?

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Kyla wrote:
That's how I would do it. I have only transferred money from Paypal-bank a
couple times, back when we were living on hot dogs and peanut butter ;o)

I'm sure I'm missing something here, but why don't you just figure the cost
of the Paypal fees into your prices? I currently pay (in the States) $0.29
+ 2.9% in fees for every payment i recieve. So, I just figured that in when
I priced my items. Does Paypal charge you extra to convert the currency?
Then use a site like www.xe.com, and do the conversion yourself before
quoting the price of the item. That's assuming you do direct sales (vs.
auction types, where the price has to be set before you have a buyer.

And, kinda unrealated, but do you have a website, or do you just sell
through you LJ? Just curious )