# Problems with using eBay: Buying from someone in another country **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 21, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534 "2003-05-21T12:35:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/1 "2003-05-21T12:35:07Z")
I recently made a successful bid on an item I found on eBay. The seller is in England and won’t accept checks–even cashier’s checks (we’ve been exchanging e-mails). And the USPS ceased issuing International Money Orders six months ago. I don’t want to send cash–I used to work in the post office and it’s practically a commandment not to send cash through the mails–especially to another country; and certainly something I would consider hard to locate here in Southern California in the first place–five- and one-pound British notes. What should I do? ---
**Author:** ![mooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mooka)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/2 "2003-05-21T13:24:11Z")
Use Paypal - [www.paypal.com](http://www.paypal.com) Or you can wire money using Western Union or something. ---
**Author:** ![tirial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@tirial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tirial)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/3 "2003-05-21T13:26:26Z")
If he takes Paypal you could use that to pay by credit card, since it has starting doing multiple currencies. I don’t know the US side of it very well, but could you get a Sterling draft from the bank, and would he accept it? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/4 "2003-05-21T13:36:51Z")
I have sent cash in the mail–both domestically–many, many times. I’ve never had a problem with an international seller refusing US currency. Now, I can’t say that I would _recommend_ that to anyone. The stuff I have bought is usually pretty low-cost (under $20). Registered mail is an option for international pieces, although I’ve never done it. Again, I would never recommend it to anyone, but I do it with a clear conscience and knowing the risks. The only is I make sure that the cash is taped down inside the cover letter so that it doesn’t float around. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/5 "2003-05-21T14:12:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dougie\_monty \* > **And the USPS ceased issuing International Money Orders six months ago. I don’t want to send cash–I used to work in the post office and it’s practically a commandment not to send cash through the mails–especially to another country; and certainly something I would consider hard to locate here in Southern California in the first place–five- and one-pound British notes.** I did not know that they weren’t issuing postal IMOs anymore! What a pain in the ass. Most eBay dealers in Europe will accept PayPal; if your guy won’t, he’ll probably accept U.S. dollars. I’ve never had a problem sending cash overseas. (Contrary to the usual advice, don’t send it registered. That’s like writing “Steal me” on the envelope.) BTW, you can’t even get British one-pound notes; that denomination has been coin-only for ages. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/6 "2003-05-21T15:53:01Z")
When I used my credit card through paypal to pay a company in HK & got my statement, there were three charges, one for currency conversion on it. For $180 those charges were about $7.00 ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/7 "2003-05-21T16:39:42Z")
I just went to the USPS website and they _do_ issue international money orders to countries with whom they have treaties to that effect… most of which are in the Americas! No major European trading partner in the lot! What a shock! Wow. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/8 "2003-05-21T21:57:24Z")
The amount I want to send this person is 6.50 in UK pounds (about $10.90 in US funds) and I hesitate to pay a fee that’s anywhere near the amount of my successful bid. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/9 "2003-05-21T22:52:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dougie\_monty \* > \*\*The amount I want to send this person is 6.50 in UK pounds (about $10.90 in US funds) and I hesitate to pay a fee that’s anywhere near the amount of my successful bid. \*\* Don’t you know anybody with accounts on both sides of the Atlantic? You could deposit USD in the US and have them pay the amount in GBP ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/10 "2003-05-21T23:23:05Z")
My father often buys and sells on ebay. He says the best remedy is to send cash for the item and let the seller in England worry about the exchange rate. Put two pieces of cardboard around the money, one on each side. He has often received cash from overseas, and there haven’t been any problems. My father ususually tries to avoid doing business with people overseas, purely because of the hassle involved in such matters. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/11 "2003-05-21T23:59:23Z")
I’ve paid with cash to Europe several times. I used a plain #10 security-lined envelope. No markings on the outside to indicate the letter is anything other than a regular letter. Never had a problem. If the amount was to include change, I would always round up to the next even dollar. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/12 "2003-05-22T01:21:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*If the amount was to include change, I would always round up to the next even dollar. \*\* Yep. Me, too. ---
**Author:** ![Tommyturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Tommyturtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommyturtle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/13 "2003-05-22T05:44:24Z")
Paypal does NOT charge for converting Pounds to dollars(or visa versa)…I have sold to people there many times and they haven’t so far…possibly in other countries(maybe for Euros?) Unless this is a new policy anyway ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/14 "2003-05-22T10:40:12Z")
Paypal sounds good, but since the bidding has already been completed (I was the high bidder) I don’t knoiw how to iniitiate this with eBay… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Tommyturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Tommyturtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommyturtle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/15 "2003-05-22T11:22:32Z")
You don’t do it with Ebay but with the seller…Ebay doesn’t care how you pay they just want you to pay so they get their cut from the seller Once you have that persons’ email address go to Paypal sign up if you haven’t already and send to that email address(I’d ask first to make sure that is indeed the email address they use for Paypal) and once the seller gets the notification you sent the money they ought to send your item If you have an account already and they do not you might suggest they get just the regular account unless you are planning to pay with a credit card(regular account cannot take credit cards)…but the Premiere account can however Paypal will take a percentage of whatever you send ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/16 "2003-05-22T11:44:47Z")
You shouldn’t just assume that the seller has a PayPal account; it may also be true that he has one but does not wish to receive payment that way for this transaction (perhaps because of the fees that can be involved). It really isn’t my intention to come across as the smug smartarse here, but these sort of concerns are supposed to be resolved before you place your bid. ---
**Author:** ![Tommyturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Tommyturtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommyturtle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/17 "2003-05-22T12:44:40Z")
It is incredibly difficult to get paid from some countries without Paypal or the like…if the seller says they ship worldwide then it is almost assumed they have access to one of the online payment services I agree however the buyer should of checked on how they could pay BEFORE bidding…I always tell all my buyers to contact me with ANY questions BEFORE bidding…saves ALOT of aggravation for BOTH parties ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/18 "2003-05-22T12:50:07Z")
The reason I mentioned it is that I quite often seem to see the item I want (electronic or computer components) being offered on German eBay, but they almost never accept eBay - everything seems to be done by direct bank transfer there, which I assume works well for them, but it is costly to do that from the UK to Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/19 "2003-05-22T13:12:41Z")
Having done about 2500 ebay transactions (about 80% within North America, the rest in Europe), nearly all of my European customers used to send US cash, a practice I was brought up to abhor. The several dozen far Eastern transactions I have done have favoured this method as well. Rather endearingly, these offerings are almost always wrapped in tinfoil, or should I say _aluminium_ foil. Mostly smaller sums, but some brave souls have sent over $100 this way. Not one has ever gone astray, by the way. Fortunately, the advent of PayPal has started to change this practice, and now that eBay has purchased PayPal, it has started to gain a better reputation, although some still view it as the scabbed ewe. As for the sending cash thing, I know that in the UK at least, the banking system seems to have been caught in the late 1930s (at least last time I was over about 12 years ago), and makes absolutely **insane** charges for any kind of foreign cheques/money order/wire deposits. Even here in Canada, if I used to buy something under US $20 on eBay, I would just get cash, and send it off well-wrapped; a money order would cost me from $3.50-5.00 CDN extra! ---
**Author:** ![Tommyturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Tommyturtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommyturtle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534/20 "2003-05-22T13:26:06Z")
Oh man the cash thing…I get those now and again and I **HATE** it…you just know the first time the PO eats their cash you will get blamed as another scam artist [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-using-ebay-buying-from-someone-in-another-country/176534.md?page=2)