Hey Andrew!

I want to pay money to China dealer and www.xe.com gives me one rate, but let say PayPal gives very different. What is the way you doing when you need to convert GBP to USD. What payment method do you use to save as much as possible. It’s been a while since I was watching EAB2 course and I don’t remember if you mentioned this or not, however I don’t have time to watch it I am leaving home, I thought I can ask you.

Thanks
Best wishes,
Marius

Hi Marius & Thanks for your question!

There’s not much really you can do about currency exchange rates, you simply have to accept them as an additional cost when dealing with suppliers abroad.

If PayPal is the only payment method offered by your supplier, you simply have to accept PayPal’s exchange rate as it is. If wire transfer is an option, you could probably get a better rate from your bank BUT then again, they’ll take commission for international transfer which will offset all the savings you would make on the currency exchange.

If you have a really strong, long term relationship with your supplier, and you’re 100% confident they won’t scam you, try offering PayPal Mass Pay option to your supplier – in return of % from the total you have to pay (as by using Mass Pay, PayPal won’t charge any fees to supplier).

So for example, if you pay $1000 via PayPal in a normal way, PayPal will charge a fee of around $30 and net amount supplier will receive will be $970.

But if you agree on using Mass Pay, supplier could charge you only $980, creating savings for both parties.
$20 may not seem that much but that’s only if you send $1000. For larger payments this method can save hundreds of $ in fees!

Here’s a great, free online calculator to calculate PayPal fees!

But remember, only do this if you’re 100% confident about supplier you’re dealing with!

To sum it up – just count in currency exchange fees as an additional cost, you can’t do anything about it! Most likely PayPal will be the best payment method for you, especially if you sell on eBay (as buyers will pay you via PayPal as well)!

Thanks,
Andrew