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eBay

If you buy or sell items on eBay, you will find tips and advice on this forum.

Original poster

anyone know about bank transfer for buying from abroad? sorry i am thick!! lol

17 replies

AnAngelWithin · 18/01/2008 09:40

i am looking to buy something on ebay germany. its buy it now for 169 euros including postage, but they don't take paypal. Says bank transfer. I know I am being thick but can i just buy it and then go to my bank and give them the sellers detais they provide me with and then they work out the exchange rate etc and transfer it into their bank? do banks charge for this? how long does it take roughly? thanks.

OP posts:
Brangelina · 18/01/2008 09:44

You have to go into your bank, fill in a form with seller's details (IBAN code very important, they no longer do international transfers without it) and write the final amount in euros you want the seller to receive. The bank will then calculate the exchange rate and take the relevant sterling out of your bank account. It will take around a week to arrive and it'll cost you a bit more because you're converting currency. I don't know how much, but for instance if I transfer money to say France it costs me 4.50 euros, whereas if I send to the UK it costs me something like 10 euros because of the hassle of currency conversion.

HTH

Original poster
AnAngelWithin · 18/01/2008 09:59

thanks

i have just rung customer services and they said i can only do a bank transfer to another account of mine in a different country, so i probably can't do it cos the listing says bank transfer only

OP posts:
Brangelina · 18/01/2008 10:05

That sounds very strange. What bank are you with? I've always been able to transfer money in and out of the UK from a crappy building society account even. I think you only can't do it if you have a child's savings account but for all others you should be able to.

BTW you can also go into another bank, pay cash and get the money transferred, you don't need an account. It really is quite easy, I don't understand why they're making it so difficult.

Original poster
AnAngelWithin · 18/01/2008 10:12

barclays i thought it was odd. might just have to go into the branch and ask them.

OP posts:
Brangelina · 18/01/2008 10:16

Yes I think you should. Then if they still insist it can't be done, ask them what crappy account did they give you. Then tell them you want it improved immediately or you'll close it immediately and go elsewhere. Usually works.

SenoraParsnip · 18/01/2008 10:20

don't do it. bank transfer means you have no protection whatsoever if they rip you off. It also means you'll have to pay to send the money (usually £12, can be as much as £30).

Barclays should allow you to do it though.

SenoraParsnip · 18/01/2008 10:22

(NB should have added that it is common for ebay fraudsters to specify bank transfer only. is it an electronic item by any chance?)

Brangelina · 18/01/2008 10:24

That's true, but on the other hand I've bought a lot from Germany and paid with bank transfer and have never had a problem. All the sellers I've dealt with have been correct and efficient, unlike many in the UK or (oddly enough) Belgium, alas. Maybe I just got lucky

Brangelina · 18/01/2008 10:25

The Germans pretty much all have bank transfer, it's more a case of common practice there. I don't know why they don't like Paypal. It's not liked much in France either.

QuintessentialShadow · 18/01/2008 10:26

Yup, if you are scammed you wont get your money back if it was a bank transfer, you will be on your own. You cant just claim your money back through paypal, as you did not pay through them.

Do you want to give us the item number to check if it screams out "scam"?

I have seen lots of nintendos out of asia sold from germany

Original poster
AnAngelWithin · 18/01/2008 10:28

its for a set of mountain buggy covers here

i only have the basic bank account. i don't even have a debit card. Thats all I am allowed with my credit history!!

OP posts:
Brangelina · 18/01/2008 10:33

Well, the seller has 100% feedback and has sold a lot of other baby items successfully, all within Germany though. I personally would buy from her but the 169 euros is possibly less of a risk to me than it is to you. How much did she say delivery would be?

Original poster
AnAngelWithin · 18/01/2008 10:38

she said delivery would be 9 euros.

OP posts:
QuintessentialShadow · 18/01/2008 10:41

you are paying £118 just for the covers?

Original poster
AnAngelWithin · 18/01/2008 10:43

arent they about that much anyway?

OP posts:
Brangelina · 18/01/2008 10:44

That's not bad. If you do decide to go for it insist on a parcel number and be aware that packages from Germany are sometimes very slow to arrive (at least that's often the case from Germany to Italy), so you could be waiting a couple of weeks for the parcel.

Do what you think's right. If you need to do a bank transfer then you can go into any branch and pay cash. You do have some protection, if only proof of payment, so you could get the seller kicked off ebay if she scams. Cold consolation as you won't get your money back, but a serious seller is not going to risk their reputation.

Brangelina · 18/01/2008 10:45

Yes I did wonder about the price of the covers but I have no experience of buggy covers so presumed it was normal.

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