Help!

QUOTE (80class @ 23 Mar 2008, 21:20) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Having a big problem, I'm trying to pay for an item that I won on eBay from a German seller. I have used bank transfers many times before, but always within the UK. Now when I enter the sellers sort code into my banks online bank transfer facility it won't accept the sort code. I have tried my two banks now (Nationwide and Ulster bank (basically RBS) and both will only accept 6 digit sort codes rather than the 8 provided by the seller.
This is indeed a real annoyance that everyone buying from Europe on eBay or from model shops etc. gets hit with when they start. Why in 2008 the banking system for ordinary people is still medieval (except for investment bankers and what a brilliant job they've been doing of late!) in the UK amazes me. For international transactions within the Eurozone under an EU directive the banks have to do them at cost, and they are virtually instant in many cases...but here in the UK...four working days to another bank!! Finally "Faster Payments" is being introduced in the UK, and only for transactions within the UK of course, and the banks don't like it of course because they lose 4 days interest on your money, which is also why they themselves will do nothing about any of this unless forced.

For my hobby alone, I want the UK to join the Euro - then we will be bound by that EU directive and transfers to eveywhere from Amsterdam to Zeltweg will be almost instant and virtually free...

...and roll on one global currency!

QUOTE (dbclass50 @ 24 Mar 2008, 08:48) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Don't think it's medieval at all - just plain greedy. Most banks charge around £25 for an IBAN transfer, no matter what the amount.

Unless the amount is over £100 we send euros in cash by international signed for, disguised in something like a CD case - touch wood, never had a problem yet. Fortunatly, more sellers on German Flohbay are realising that PayPal as an option makes it a lot easier to send & receive money. Yes, PayPal is yet another eBay/Yahoo Swiss snout in the trough, but it can be cost effective & safe.

Yes as with a lot of things with Banks these days, greed has taken over from giving the customer what they want.

My seller has requested I send him cash in a registered letter, as the item (two fully working Fleishmann HO turntables) cost 152 euro including postage to me that seems risky. I will enquire about insurance for that. I'm still hopefully I can persuade him to take a euro cheque. He will take PayPal, but will charge 20 euro for the pleasure.

For once I'm thinking maybe we should have joined the euro.....

Rob

Why shouldn't you use Western Union? Would you give cash to a stranger just because he said he'd send you something later? In effect, that's what sending cash by Western Union is. Western Union themselves say you should only use it if you personally know or trust the recipient.
For sending cash overseas the Royal Mail says this "For customers sending cash overseas - We will require a bank or building society withdrawal statement or a receipt from the Bureau de Change. Please note: Sending cash to some countries is prohibited and we will not pay any compensation for losses of cash sent to these countries. " Check for more details on the Royal Mail website. http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/print?c...ediaId=15500190

I agree with dbclass that in most cases sellers who try to surcharge for buyers using Paypal should be reported. But in this case it appears the seller doesn't normally accept Paypal and is making special arrangements for 80class, so maybe a little leeway should be allowed.

I would opt for paying by Paypal in this instance as you will still have some buyer protection. If you were to use any other method you could lose your money.

In the past I had a very low opinion of PayPal. I thought that they existed purely to fleece me of whatever they could. I failed to understand why eBay just didn't accept credit cards for payments and transfer money from one person's card to another.

However, a year or so ago, I bought a "brand new" mp3 player on eBay. When it arrived, all looked good and it worked well, so I left positive feedback. 6 days later it developed several major faults so I contacted creative (the company who made the player) who told me that the player was in fact 18 months old and was known to them as being disposed off due to a faulty hard drive. I passed this onto the seller who told me to "F&%$ off" by email.

I them opened a dispute via PayPal and in ten days had 95% of the money back in my account which PayPal had to fund themselves due to the seller removing his payment details from them when I opened the dispute. All in, I was very impressed with their service.

SO...if possible I always use them now. I have tried to avoid using sellers who only use bank transfers outside the UK, but I couldn't resist the chance of owning another two Fleischmann turntables, as the one I have is in my opinion the best around, better than the Heljan models for me, so I took the chance. We shall see if this proves to be the good value it seems once the items are in my hands!

Thanks guys,

Rob

I received a neat 20 Euro coupon the other day from PayPal. Valid thru Easter, on any item worth more than 80 Euro. I double checked and found out: any single item that costs 80 Euro or more. No combining two Railtop ÖBB coaches...

My hobby allowance piggy bank is pretty empty, and the red-headed lady with whom I share my life, apartment, bed and food made it clear to me that another model engine would not make her happy at all (and as we all know: if she´s not happy, you´re not happy either...) - she spoke with Austrian dialect, which usually indicates that any discussion will be counterproductive if anything. (Note to self: hide that NOB Hercules that arrived the other day under the bed until she´s in a better mood...)

So, I decided to squander the coupon on some Pandora jewelry for her ("I" = "she suggested"). Turned out no seller accepts paypal any more due to the high costs. However, I contacted one of them, explained the coupon thing, and asked whether he´d accept PayPal if I paid for his costs. We spoke on the phone, he did, I used my coupon, everything is fine.

Imho, taking action against these sellers who depend on eBay to make a living and feed their family and who refuse to accept Paypal because of the cost seems unfair to me. Personally, I´d love to accept it for foreign buyers, but not for Germans, who can transfer me the money by bank. No way, said eBay, either everybody can pay with Paypal, or nobody. So now, it´s nobody (since I only sell occasionally, I do offer Paypal to a winning foreign bidder at no cost, though).

The problem seems to be the costs involved with Paypal, not the sellers.

QUOTE (poliss @ 24 Mar 2008, 17:49) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>There is no buyer protection if you don't use Paypal. The Ebay standard buyer protection scheme has been discontinued. Can you name a cheaper safe way to transfer money? Sellers who do not take Paypal will get fewer bids and will therefore lose more money than they save.

In the EU Eurozone: bank transfer .

Judging from what friends tell me, the Paypal "buyer protection" leaves a lot to be desired as well. Apparently, the best way is to sell (in my case) in/to Germany only.

Rant mode on: There´s a lot of people out there, from my experience, who can´t comprehend the words "bank transfer or personal pick-up only". Or who, YIKES!!!, find out that a bank transfer will cost them some money. Which I am not even remotely considering to reimburse. What trouble is there if a foreign bidder reads "item location Germany, payment solely via bank transfer, insured s+h 17 Euro"? Because a lot of foreign bidders and winners try to convince me that carrier pigeons are cheaper (if the doesn´t get to them first, of course) , that my bank won´t accept their money (knowing my bank, they´ll accept gold-pressed Latinum if necessary), that they transferred 10 Euro less because of the exchange rates, which will they thought make up for what turned out to be my loss (sure, sucker... ), or because their country won World War 2 (an American favorite... ). All of this has convinced me to sell to members in Germany only henceforth. If I want comedy, I´ll buy a DVD. If I want to make some hobby money, I sell via Ebay. Not vice versa.

Rant mode off.

disclaimer: I´m not the person who sold 80class the turntables.