Selecting currency at checkout
I live in USA and purchased an item in the UK. Our currency is USD, and theres is GBP. At checkout it asks me if I wand to pay in GBP (card issuer may charge a conversion) or USD (which shows me a conversion rate) This is the first time I've encountered this and its pretty confusing to me. I've bought many items internationally but never on ebay and have never gotten this prompt at checkout. Thank you.
12 comments
woodland_gnome
·1 year agoWhich you choose determines WHO will be doing the conversion (unless you happen to have a balance of the foreign currency, e.g. PayPal lets you keep balances in different currencies and pay those directly) and therefore whose rate you are paying.
I always choose to pay in USD and let the bank do the exchange rate conversion because it is always lower. I found ebay's and paypal's conversion rate always cost me more.
That's backwards. If you choose to pay in USD then eBay does the conversion at their current Buy Rate (which is about 4% higher than the "mid-market rate" you will see quoted as "the" current exchange rate, including in the "approximate" conversion figure eBay uses to quote the price in USD). To get your funding source's buy rate you need to have it billed in the foreign currency, e.g. GBP.
campanaelia
·1 year agoNo it's not backwards, I live near the san ysidro border and the majority of my sales are across the border. So I often use a mexican bank CC to pay so the funds are in mx pesos. I choose at PP to pay in USD when buying from ebay.com so the bank does the conversion.
sunshinedays2021
OP1 year agoThanks everyone for your help!
kathiec
·1 year ago@sunshinedays2021
The real issue isn't whether you're paying in USD or GBP. The final payment to the seller will be GBP, converted from the currency you use in your payment source, which is USD.
But there are additional things you need to realize before you pay. First, the USD amount you see in the listing is not the exact amount you'll pay in USD. That amount will be determined using the exchange rate at the time the payment transaction occurs. Exchange rates can change several times a day. Also, each payment source uses slightly different exchange rate tables. So eBay's rate will differ slightly from Paypal which may differ from your credit card.
You also need to take into consideration foreign transaction fees. Paypal, for example, charges a 4.5% currency conversion fee. Most credit cards charge about 3% in foreign transaction fees, although some cards don't charge them at all.
The point is that what you'll end up paying will almost certainly be more than the USD conversion figure the listing showed you.
campanaelia
·1 year agoMy cards charge no transaction fees, I only pay the actual exchange rate
campanaelia
·1 year agoI always choose to pay in USD and let the bank do the exchange rate conversion because it is always lower. I found ebay's and paypal's conversion rate always cost me more.
With that said, if there is a refund for the item, the bank will convert the USD at the current sell rate when the refund is posted. Ebay and PP will refund at the same rate as the day of purchase.
So even though I may lose a little for the occasional refund I benefit more from choosing the bank rate in the long run.
sunshinedays2021
OP1 year agoThank you so much! I've read it's better to use my credit card at checkout also and choose USD. (And bypass paypal all together) Do you usually do the same? I read paypal costs a lot more to use them. Thanks so much!
campanaelia
·1 year agoI always go through PP for the added protection, it will not cost you more. There are no fees for buyers using PP on ebay.
kathiec
·1 year agoThis is categorically not true for foreign currency transa on Paypal. From the Paypal website:
"If your transaction requires a currency conversion, we will use a retail exchange rate (the wholesale cost of foreign currency as denominated by an outside financial institution) plus a conversion service charge of 4.5%."
You can see the entire page here.
campanaelia
·1 year agoThat's not what I was saying. In the post before that I made it clear the I always let my bank do the exchange rate conversion. Then I stated that I also always go through PP for the payment for the addt'l peotection. But as I said earlier I don't use ebay or paypal for the exchange rate. So in that scenario there are no fees for the buyer from PP.
krazzykats
·1 year agoI don't see what the confusion is just pay for your item in USD.
All it is doing is showing you what your payment looks like in GSP.