Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with PayPal

Adding Discount Code to Paypal Items

terrapin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:37:12 -0800

How to add discount codes to the Paypal checkout process? I helped a neighbor set up a website to sell some things. It is a basic page with a bunch of "buy now" buttons. Now my neighbor would like to offer 20% off of his wares for a few weeks for the holidays. I'd rather not have to make new buttons for each item. I noticed during the checkout process that one is prompted to enter a discount code if they have one. But I am having a great deal of difficulty finding out how I can use the feature. I assume some javascript is the way to go?

My neighbor has a fully verified account (premiere?) if that helps.
Adding a third-party shopping cart or changing from Paypal at this time are not an option.

Am I safe from a paypal bill? Can they find me?

UMDirector — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:43:19 -0800

Am I safe from a paypal bill? Can they find me? Long story short - I sold an iPhone on eBay. Paypal held the money while it verified the transactions. They released the money to me and I shipped the item. 4-5 months later some dude disputes the transaction on his credit card. When I look closer at the transaction it is clear it was fraud - none of the email addresses match ANYTHING on the ebay account, there are about 3 different names. None the less eBay and Paypal processed the transaction. Now they have hit me with the bill, however, since I had zero money in my paypal account I have a negative balance that they expect me to pay. I will not do this as it is CLEARLY something they should have caught. I disputed the transaction with them and they basically ignored me.

So I DO NOT have a linked bank account and am not "verified" on Paypal. Can I just ignore the money I owe them? Is there any way they can track me me down and hit my credit report?

I certainly don't want to be sent to collections, but my only thought is MAYBE they can find me through my eBay account, but I don't know legally how that would work.

Also any other ideas how I could dispute this?

Thanks!

Need recommendations on automated checkout and download

arniec — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:38:25 -0800

I need recommendations for a web host and software to allow people to purchase digital downloads using Paypal, etc. (think Rifftrax or eBooks, etc.) I want to have a web site where I can make electronic things available for purchase. Be it software packages, MP3 podcasts, or eBooks, I want to have an automated checkout and download system where people can pay and then immediately download the item they've paid for. Credit card purchasing is a must.

In my research I've come across DigiVendor Pro at http://www.idevspot.com/DigiVendorPro.php and the software is very cheap (in price), and security and reliability is a must for me so I'm not afraid to spend more if it means a more robust, secure solution.

Has anyone done this and can they recommend a good package for me?

(as an aside, I'm a programmer and web developer not afraid to get up to my elbows in code to implement or customize the solution. And yes I asked this question: http://ask.metafilter.com/120735/Need-a-store-thats-quick-and-cheap but this one is different as it's digital download automation, whereas the last one was shipping a physical product).

Solutions for a web-based form that takes payment...?

You Should See the Other Guy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:27:22 -0800

Have to build a form for a web site that takes generic stuff (name, address, etc.) but also processes a payment, preferably through Paypal Pro. The site is hosted by Dreamhost and the CMS is Expression Engine. Paypal Pro's site is a little mind-boggling for an amateur like myself. Are there companies that will just do this aspect of the development (and quickly) or a site that has solutions given these variables? I don't mind paying, I just need it done fast.

How do I use up the funds on my prepaid credit card and then use another payment method in one transaction via Paypal?

hotdiggitydog — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:33:30 -0800

How do I pay a retailer via Paypal using more than one option? I want to use the funds in my Paypal account, a prepaid credit card, and then cover the rest with a debit card. I'm trying to purchase something from a retailer online with Paypal. The problem is, I want to use the funds in the account (it'll automatically do that anyway), use up the funds in a prepaid American Express gift credit card, and then cover the rest using a debit card. Paypal won't let me pay with the funds in the account and the prepaid card first, because the purchase costs more than what I have on the card. I already emailed the owner and he said they could only accept one form of payment.

Any idea on how I can get around this? I'm wondering if I can transfer what's on my prepaid credit card to the Paypal account, but I'm not sure how to go about doing this. I need to use my debit card as well, because the money in the account plus the prepaid credit card still doesn't add up to the total I need to pay.

Thanks, MeFi.

Most cost-effective way of transfering money from UK to US

moiraine — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:30:39 -0800

Need to transfer modest amounts of money from UK to a US bank account every 2-3 months. What would be the most cost-effective way to do so? I am working in the UK. I need to pay off study loans in the US, with the first loan installment due in a couple of months. I intend/ need to transfer between anywhere between $500 to $2000 to my US bank account regularly, say every 2-3 months.

The most cost-effective way that I know of would be to take out the money in the UK, change at the Post Office (with 0% commission rates), and physically the money to the US, and place it in my bank account there. This, of course, assumes my plane ticket is paid for and I am not robbed (I have done this before, and I was fine, but I don't want to do a regular basis).

Wire transfer appears to be the second cheapest method, and I am happy to pay the wire transfer fees (~20 pounds, depending on the bank). However, I understand that the bank have non-competitive exchange rates, which are hidden costs of the transfer (~50 pounds will be 'lost' in the exchange).

I considered making regular transfers from my Paypal UK to my Paypal US account. This would be extremely convenient, but there are hefty commissions -- about 5%, and I think more is taken off from the receiving end (?)

Anyway, I was wondering whether people had any personal experience with wire transfer and non-competitive fees. Any additional ideas are also appreciated. Would appreciate if there were no comments like, "But if you just paid a little more, you could save yourself the hassle!" as I am willing go through a fair amount of hassle just to pay less fees.

I have family in the US who are probably willing to cash in a check for me every month, if this makes any difference.

Sell a finite number of identical items on the internet

monkeystronghold — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:48:01 -0800

What is the best way to sell (and accept payment for) a finite number of identical items (50) on the internet? I expect the items to sell out reasonably fast, and so I'll need to be able to take orders as they are received, and stop accepting payment when the 50 are sold. I'll use it this one time and never again. The items will sell for a yet-undetermined price between $600 - 800. I have minimal coding experience.

I thought that a paypal link would be best, but then I have no way to stop people paying when the 50 are gone.

I considered just having people email, but then I have no way to separate people saying "Oh, I have the money, I'll get it to you next week" and taking the space of people who are actually paying.

I considered phone calls, but I don't know how to process the credit cards. And it would be a pain.

Is ebay an option? If so, how do I set that up? Are the fees comparable to other options?

The item will sell for between $600 and 800 and buyers will have to pay shipping.

How to use a different default funding source?

Solomon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:16:26 -0800

How can I get a visual warning every time I pay for something with Paypal, warning me to change my payment source? This Greasemonkey script would do what I want, but it's US-centric, so it doesn't work with the UK version of ebay, or apparently any UK Paypal sites. It could just be out of date, I guess. I use Firefox, always.

Is there another method by which I can get some kind of visual reminder (preferably a big neon sign...) that I'm on a Paypal payment page and that I should take a look at my payment source?

[I don't want to open another account with Paypal, as I already have a credit card associated with my current account, which means they won't let me register it again with a new account. Nor do I want to remove my bank account from my Paypal account, as I sometimes find it useful. Paypal don't offer any way to set a credit card as a default payment method, as it costs them more in fees. And no, "just remembering" isn't enough, sadly.]

Me Bad At ++

arniec — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:08:19 -0800

Not Homework Filter! Paypal Filter: Paypal charges me 2.9% plus $0.30 for every transaction. Someone needs to pay me X. What is the formula to determine how much they need to send with paypal so I get X and not X - (X * 0.029) - 0.30? This has frustrated me... I do favors for friends and they want to pay with the convenience of Paypal... but I can't figure out the formula to quickly determine how much they need to pay me. I end up spreadsheeting it and plugging in numbers until they match...

Say they owe me $100, I can't say $102.90 (which is 2.9% added to the $100) because 2.9% of $102.90 is higher than 2.9% of $100...

I guess I FAIL at Algebra today...

Bonus points if you show me HOW to calculate this so I'm learning something as well as the formula for how to do it. I mean, I have

X + (X * 0.029) + 0.3 = y

where X is what they owe me and Y is how much they have to pay Paypal so I get paid in full... But then I do all those algebra tricks, divide by X, etc. but haven't gotten it yet

A wordpress site where customers can log in to their account.

brenton — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:13:01 -0800

A wordpress plugin to make a "customer login" section. Ok, I know it's weird to ask this on mefi, but after failing elsewhere on the net, I thought I'd give it a try.

My wordpress site sells one and only one product, which is renewed weekly (aka a subscription).

I want the customer to fill out some data that I want, then they're taken to paypal to pay (and they have to fill out some new data [like credit card info] which I don't care about seeing, though some of it is redundant [name] so it'd be nice if that was pre-polulated in the paypal page). (By the way, this is a small operation so I can't afford to "upgrade" paypal beyond "website payments standard.")

Then later, customers can come back, log into their "my account" section, and make changes: like updates to their name or address, or canceling their subscription.

Also, I want access to all the data about all my customers.

There has to be a wordpress plugin that does something like this. I've tried a few e-commerce plugins, but they all failed in one way or another... what advice does metafilter have for me?

How to dispute non-delivery of item?

silentbicycle — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:35:30 -0800

How do I dispute a claim for a handmade item when the PayPal dispute time has expired? The seller strung me along with claims that it was going to be sent until I ran out of time to dispute it. I ordered a $100 ring off of Etsy in mid-July, and the seller (shadejewelry) claimed that it would arrive within a few weeks. A month later, I returned to message him about when to expect the ring, only to find that his shop had been closed. Some googling found his Facebook page, so I sent him a message, a posting on his fan page, and an e-mail asking for an update. He said that he would send my ring the following Monday.

Two weeks later, I asked what was taking so long, and he responded, "Scott your ring was shipped, I'll give you the tracking number tomorrow." I haven't heard from him since. I also found a page about his banning from Etsy due to several other people reporting similar behavior. In retrospect, his e-mails were probably intended to string me along until after the 45-day window to chargeback the transaction on PayPal closed (which was within a day or two of the last e-mail). Still, it was quite a surprise - his Etsy feedback had been high, and I ordered a ring from the seller roughly a year ago without any problems. He was also a featured seller (the page has since been deleted), etc.

As word got around, he changed his store name from Shade Jewelry to Brink Jewelry (NOT Brink's in Minnesota), but still appears to be in operation. (There is even a picture of the ring I ordered on the front page.) Incidentally, the original ShadeJewelry website still redirects to the closed Etsy store page.

This was supposed to be my wedding ring (I'm getting married in two weeks), but at this point I think the odds of getting the ring in time or being reimbursed are slim. What can I do to prevent this from happening to anyone else? I used PayPal linked to a checking account, so (AFAIK) I cannot do a chargeback the way I could with a credit card, and the PayPal chargeback period is over. I reported non-delivery to Etsy and sent a report to the IC3. I also posted on the etsycallout blog, and have been followed by several similar complaints.

This scam seems to exploit a vulnerability in the way Etsy+PayPal operates: The buyer pays ahead of time for a custom item that can take weeks to make, but at that point the 45-day PayPal chargeback window is already closing. Etsy has already banned the seller, but since they don't handle the money directly, they seem to consider the matter closed. Still, they haven't done anything to remedy this major loophole in the way they operate, so it will almost certainly continue.

Does anybody have any ideas what to do to keep this from happening again? (Besides not paying in advance for custom items?) Anything I could do to get closure on this would be appreciated as well.

How to prevent a PayPal horror story

aniola — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:23:05 -0800

What's the best alternative to PayPal? There are too many options! Which one is right for my local bicycle collective?

We're starting a website, and we'd like to be able to get the occasional donation through this website. When we get Internet at the collective, it would also be nice to accept donations through our website then and there (that is to say, we might start using it a bit more).

I'm also wary of using Google Checkout. Are there any other cheap/good alternatives? How much do they cost?

Web App to manage client uploads???

spock — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:20:46 -0800

I'm looking for a web application (preferrably Open Source) that will help me accomplish the following: I have a service business that works on digital files for clients. I'd like to broaden my reach through web, so want to give clients/public the ability to upload files to me and for me to keep track of who those files are from, and to be able to invoice them and track when they have paid, etc. so I can return the finished file to them. I'd like it to work with Paypal. It is possible that this cannot all be done by a single application, but I'd prefer an all-in-one solution. But feel free to suggest partial solutions.

I'm an experienced server and web application admin with multiple platforms. I'd prefer a PHP/MySQL solution, but will certainly consider others. My Google-Fu is not strong today, apparently, as I'm having trouble locating this, but I'm sure that somebody has already invented this "wheel".

TIA for any words of wisdom you may have to share.

To thank, or not to thank

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:49:20 -0800

Is it appropriate to use an email address given as a part of a donation to send a short thank you note, when the person making the donation through my website did not consent to me using their email address? I have a small, non-commercial blog on which I have a donation button inviting friends, family, interested strangers, etc. to donate funds through PayPal to help my family cover the costs of reaching a personal/family goal. In the couple of weeks I've had the donation button up, a handful of people have donated. Some are individuals I know IRL, others are not. PayPal collects the email addresses of those who donate, and I'm sure has its own privacy policy associated with email addresses. I have NOT done any disclaimer or notification to people that I might use their email address to respond to them or in any other way, nor do I have any anonymous donation option.

I am considering sending a simple emailed thank you note to those who donate, but I am wondering whether as a matter of etiquette, this comes off odd. I have a ticker on the website through ChipIn that shows people I have received their donation. The purpose of my email would be a second acknowledgment and a brief thank you. "Good manners" says thank people for gifts, but I am just wondering if there is any reason in this particular circumstances that my thank you notes might seem spammy or intrusive, since I have not asked permission to use the email addresses. I am of course not really concerned about this for those I know IRL, more so for those who are otherwise strangers. I would not be using the email addresses to create a mailing list or for ANY other reason whatsoever.

Yes, I overthink EVERYTHING. This is anon bc the website is linked from my profile, and it therefore seemed skeevy to not anonymize the question.

Should I pay VAT on an item shipping to the UK from the USA?

Del Chimney — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:13:41 -0800

I just bought an item online. I am in the UK. The seller is in the US. Payment was made through Paypal and I was charged VAT (UK Sales Tax). Is this a mistake? Google searches are throwing up conflicting information. Since the seller is in the USA then can they claim VAT? Has Paypal automatically added it to the total amount due just because I am in the UK?

I assume that I am due a refund but am not sure if I should be approaching the seller or Paypal themselves in order to get one.

Can anybody shed any light on this? Cheers.

Small change embarrassment

bad grammar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:12:32 -0800

Small change embarrassment: After buying an eBay item I had $4.20 in my Paypal account. Unluckily my eBay seller fees were charged at the same time for $4.35. I now presumably have a negative balance of -$0.15 in my account. I have added $10 from my bank account (which has money in it sufficient to cover all this) to Paypal, but it will not clear for a few days. What will happen to my Paypal account.

Paypalfilter please help me!

spacefire — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:16:22 -0800

How do I send someone a Paypal subscription invoice? I need to send someone a link via email where they can set up a recurring payment to my paypal account. I can't figure out how to do this! Please help....

US bank account outside the US

saysthis — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:52:12 -0800

Assuming I'm a US citizen with no bank account, what's the best way to obtain a debit card, bank account, or credit card within the US? I'll need it for online ID verification, online ordering, paypal, and the other standard slough of uses a debit card is good for. I haven't been home to the US in years, and I haven't used my debit card in ages. The bank, probably rightfully, has placed my account on hold until I can show up in person at a branch to withdraw cash. I still haven't fully investigated my options there, but from the phone calls I've made, it seems like they mean it, and it looks like it'll just have to stay that way until I find my way back to the States again, which likely won't be for awhile.

In the meantime, I'd like to start picking up freelancing work outside China, where I am. China has silly currency and reporting restrictions that I'd really rather not deal with. The easiest way to facilitate this, then, is with a USD paypal account, online bank account, or some other payment system that I'm not familiar with. I'd also like to order things online, obviously, which China's local Unionpay doesn't do very well outside the mainland. If I'm not in the US to apply directly, though, I'll need some form of online application.

Ideally, I'd like a Visa or Mastercard debit card tied to a bank account that I can apply for and manage from here. I can use my parents' address in the States and have them forward my mail if need be. What are my options?

eBay and counterfeit goods.

pdb — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:14:29 -0800

Should I send my counterfeit goods back? About a month ago, I bought something on eBay because the price seemed too good to be true. Which, of course, it turned out to be. Shortly after "winning" the item, I was notified by eBay that the item I had purchased was "under investigation", which along with the fact that my auction was never listed under "my eBay" as having been won, indicated to me that I was probably buying something counterfeit. I paid with PayPal, so I opened up a dispute with them so I could get my money back, since I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to get the item for which I had paid. We went back and forth a bit, during which time I attempted to contact the seller with no luck, but ultimately, I got my money refunded. End of story, or so I thought.

About two weeks after all that, I got a package in the mail from China, containing the item that I had purchased - and, sure enough, one simple glance confirmed that it was counterfeit. I figured, whatever - I got my money back, PayPal considers the matter closed, chalk this one up to experience and move on. I reported the item as being counterfeit to the makers of the real item, and went on with my life.

Fast forward to today. I get an email from the seller which says:

"dear friend:

i am sorry to trouble you.the money have been return to your paypal account. if you receive the items and you like the items.could you pay the money to me again? If you no like please return the items to me."

The fishy thing is, the name on the email matches the seller's name, but the email account is totally different. What is my obligation here? I still have the item, but since what I received is not what I paid for (the ebay ad claimed that it was a genuine item, and it clearly is not), do I still have to return it? I'd just as soon throw the thing away and forget all about it, but I want to make sure that there is no recourse for the seller here if I ignore the email that was sent to me.

It should be noted here that I understand that a line on an eBay sales item screen is by no means a guarantee. I'm not upset, I don't feel like I was taken advantage of, I just want to know how much attention I need to pay to the person that wants me to send back their cheap knockoff goods.

Help me prove to Paypal that these Audio Technica ESW9 headphones are fake.

typography — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:39:36 -0800

So I bought this pair Audio Technica ESW9 headphones on ebay. The item arrived in this leather pouch instead of original packaging. After looking into the matter further at the head-fi forum, I've determined that these headphones are definitely fake. Many people seem to have fallen victim to this. After talking to paypal, I was advised that I should just escalate this dispute. Now after waiting for three weeks, paypal is asking me to provide unbiased, third party documentation to support my claim. I live in Baltimore, and I've called the two nearest guitar centers and since they don't carry these headphones, they can't provide me with the documentation. The exact request from paypal is: "Please obtain a document from an unbiased, third-party, such as a dealer, appraiser, or an organization that is qualified in the area of the item in question (other than yourself), which clearly identifies the item as not authentic. The document must specifically state how the item received differs from an authentic item and must include a detailed explanation of how the person evaluating the item determined that it is not authentic. If possible, the document should include a serial number, and must be on letterhead that includes the name, address, and phone number of the business or organization so that PayPal may contact them if necessary." Can someone help me resolve this issue? Thanks.

Paypal address management

aubilenon — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:26:49 -0800

How do I remove addresses from paypal for real? When I go to my account settings, I have two street addresses listed. My current home address, and my current work address.

When I go to buy something it defaults to sending the seller my address, and if I click "change" it lists seven current and old addresses I have used.

I want to delete the ones that are duplicates or outdated. Does anyone know how to do this? I asked paypal support and they had no idea what I was talking about.

How do I move dollars in a UK Paypal account to a US bank account?

caek — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:51:12 -0800

I have some US dollars in my UK Paypal account. I would like to move these to a US bank account in order to pay for a service. I can think of two ways of doing this. Are my numbers correct? Am I missing something? What's the best (read: cheapest/quickest) way of doing this? I would like to pay a colleague in the US his share of some money that's sitting in the US Dollars section of my UK Paypal account. For the sake of argument, let's call this amount USD 10,000. I can see two ways of doing this:

1. Transfer the USD from my UK Paypal account to his US Paypal account. He can then withdraw it into his US bank account.

2. Withdraw the USD into my UK bank account and then wire it to his US bank account.

My understanding of the fees involved is a little sketchy, and neither the banks nor Paypal make it very easy to figure out. Here's what I think the two methods involve:

1. It seems to me that the fee to send money from my UK Paypal account is nothing. This is based on the UK fees page. I think there is a fee, however, to receive a cross-border payment in a US Paypal business account. This is between 2.9% and 3.9% + 30c, depending on their previous month's income. This is based on my reading of the US fees, especially Receiving payments from buyers outside the United States. But it seems that it is completely free to receive domestic payments in the US if you have a personal account.

2. I would transfer the money from dollars to pounds within my UK Paypal (commission over wholesale exchange rates is 2.5%) and withdraw it into my bank account (no charge). I would then wire it using the terms offered by Barclay's Bank (£20/35 fee depending on urgency + 2.5% currency commission + ominous sounding "Overseas delivery", which "cover the costs and charges for delivering the payment in the destination country. They may be a flat fee or a percentage fee".)

The times involved are a little easier:

1. Paypal—Paypal is instant, and then it takes about 3 days to transfer money from a US Paypal to a US bank account.

2. Paypal—UK bank account is 3-5 days, and then it takes 1-5 days for the wire transaction.

So, my question is, have I got this straight? Am I missing an option? Is my description of the fees involved accurate (especially those for method 1)? Is the only way to be sure to send a small test amount and see what happens to it on the way? Which method do I use?!

What is a reputable, low-cost, non-PayPal merchant account to accept credit cards online?

roxie110 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:19:28 -0800

What are some reputable, low-cost, non-PayPal merchant accounts that enable you to accept credit cards online? Extra credit question: what are the best designed and lowest cost Web store options? I've been using PayPal for years to sell on Ebay, but want to open up a standalone web store and accept credit cards directly.

So my question is a two-parter:

1) Who out there has a good, reputable, low-cost merchant account to directly accept credit cards online? My business volume will probably be a couple thousand dollars a month to start, but hopefully as I move sales from Ebay to my Web store, it will be several times that. I'm tired of shoveling money into Ebay/Paypal's pockets, so I'm open to any suggestions. My biggest concern, besides cost, is protection against fraud. PayPal does have certain protections for the seller against unauthorized credit card payments, and I'm terrified of losing hundreds of dollars to bad apples if I go to a non-PayPal merchant account. Any insight on that?

2) Can anyone recommend a Web store that's easy to set up, allows for a certain level of customization, and has sophisticated inventory management? I've spent some time trying to set up a ProStore Business-Level account but refuse to open it because their inventory management is a joke if you have more than 10 or 20 items (I generally have 150-200). The entire interfaice is utterly slow and counterintuitive--though maybe I'd need to upgrade to Advanced to get more functionality. The upside is that it synchs inventory with your Ebay store, and it would be hard to let that go, as I'm constantly adding new items to the store. Any suggestions?

MANY THANKS for your help!!

A+++++++++ Best Question Evar Would Answer Again

iknowizbirfmark — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:27:17 -0800

What are the current best practices to make sure that you don't get ripped off on eBay as a seller, especially if you are getting paid by PayPal and/or selling to an international buyer? I'm selling a dozen or so relatively inexpensive items on eBay, but haven't really used it in years. So, I'm a little bit nervous about being ripped off in some way. I have looked here and here already.

Nothing is going to go for more than maybe $100 or so. I'm getting some interested buyers from overseas, places like Greece, Italy and Canada. I'm not averse to sending something to one of these buyers, but I want to make sure that I actually get paid. If I am getting paid via PayPal, what do I have to wait for until I know that the payment is legit? Should I just wait for the payment to show up, or should I wait for a certain period of time after that? Is there a way to be sure that I am not going to get ripped off? How are overseas PayPal payments handled, and is the systemic risk greater than using PayPal for domestic buyers? What do I have to be concerned about with domestic buyers on PayPal? Can they reverse the charge after I have sent the item?

My current plan is:

1. Accept PayPal payment
2. Send via UPS (cheapest possible), photograph stuff in box, send signature required, with insurance, and keep all the documentation.
3. Avoid getting ripped off
4. PROFIT! (at least compared to what this stuff is currently getting me)

Are there any other things that I need to do in 1 or 2 to make 3 happen?

Best method of transferring money from US to UK?

deeper red — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:15:06 -0800

Money transfer from US to UK. Cheapest and most efficient method that isn't wire/SWIFT? I receive quarterly payments from a US company, and I'm a UK citizen. Paying in US cheques to my bank account is tricky and expensive -- over £2000 in value and they have to be shipped off to the US bank, causing a two month delay and running up charges.

PayPal seems to be expensive but, irritatingly, I can't find out what the exact charges are.