hello to all, please excuse me while i get this off my chest.
why is it that so many sellers on Delcampe do not offer paypal or moneybookers as a means of payment?
this can be extremely frustrating; there are currently about twenty cards i would love to bid on but the sellers will only accept cash payments or bank transfers.i have gone down the cash route but the process was so involved and costly i vowed i wouldnt do it again.
i understand the issues over paypal fees but as a buyer i am COMPLETELY happy to pay these because it means i can use paypal and make the whole process easy.
i think that many sellers are unaware how much it costs them in terms of fewer bids when they do not offer paypal or moneybookers.
thanks for your patience in allowing my rant.
p.s. for those interested i collect silk / embroidered postcards mostly from the ww1 era

hello to all, please excuse me while i get this off my chest.
why is it that so many sellers on Delcampe do not offer paypal or moneybookers as a means of payment?
this can be extremely frustrating; there are currently about twenty cards i would love to bid on but the sellers will only accept cash payments or bank transfers.i have gone down the cash route but the process was so involved and costly i vowed i wouldnt do it again.
i understand the issues over paypal fees but as a buyer i am COMPLETELY happy to pay these because it means i can use paypal and make the whole process easy.
i think that many sellers are unaware how much it costs them in terms of fewer bids when they do not offer paypal or moneybookers.
thanks for your patience in allowing my rant.
p.s. for those interested i collect silk / embroidered postcards mostly from the ww1 era

hello to all, please excuse me while i get this off my chest.
why is it that so many sellers on Delcampe do not offer paypal or moneybookers as a means of payment?
this can be extremely frustrating; there are currently about twenty cards i would love to bid on but the sellers will only accept cash payments or bank transfers.i have gone down the cash route but the process was so involved and costly i vowed i wouldnt do it again.
i understand the issues over paypal fees but as a buyer i am COMPLETELY happy to pay these because it means i can use paypal and make the whole process easy.
i think that many sellers are unaware how much it costs them in terms of fewer bids when they do not offer paypal or moneybookers.
thanks for your patience in allowing my rant.
p.s. for those interested i collect silk / embroidered postcards mostly from the ww1 era

So far, all 3 responses have been from US/UK members.
Although I understand your frustration perfectly well, bear in mind that this is a European based site. Within the Eurozone, the most common payment method is by bank transfer and it is free.
I cannot offer it as a payment method, because my bank charges me £7 per transaction and the vast majority of my items are of much lower value - as a result I also lose/have lost sales to European buyers. Equally I have had to "let go" of items I would have liked to buy.

There are 2 sides to this issue.

Of course, feel free to come and buy from me; I accept both MB and PP

So far, all 3 responses have been from US/UK members.
Although I understand your frustration perfectly well, bear in mind that this is a European based site. Within the Eurozone, the most common payment method is by bank transfer and it is free.
I cannot offer it as a payment method, because my bank charges me £7 per transaction and the vast majority of my items are of much lower value - as a result I also lose/have lost sales to European buyers. Equally I have had to "let go" of items I would have liked to buy.

There are 2 sides to this issue.

Of course, feel free to come and buy from me; I accept both MB and PP

Talk about the other side of the coin: I received a negative retaliatory feedback yesterday from a European because "I don't accept bank transfer".

So far, all 3 responses have been from US/UK members.
Although I understand your frustration perfectly well, bear in mind that this is a European based site. Within the Eurozone, the most common payment method is by bank transfer and it is free.
I cannot offer it as a payment method, because my bank charges me £7 per transaction and the vast majority of my items are of much lower value - as a result I also lose/have lost sales to European buyers. Equally I have had to "let go" of items I would have liked to buy.

There are 2 sides to this issue.

Of course, feel free to come and buy from me; I accept both MB and PP

Dear Mainlypostcards

I'm sorry to hear that you got a neg because you cannot except a bank transfer. However, there is an option for people in the UK. Lloyds TSB allow me to receive bank transfers in EURO for no fee except a slight loss in exchange rate. It really is an option to think about. As you say many, many, people in Europe (especially Belgium) will only pay by bank transfer, so I'm sure I have made more sales because I have the ability to offer this payment method. I don't know if any other banks offer this facility but I wouldn't have thought Lloyds would be the only ones that did.

Regards

Nick

Nick,

Many thanks for the Lloyds TSB info. I will look into it, but to be honest I am reluctant to open another bank account just for the occasional customer, who insists on bank transfer.

Nick and Delboy,
both of you mention a particular country (Belgium and Germany). I have had problems with French, Spanish and Dutch buyers as well.
I don't think it's defined to a particular country, rather to small numbers of buyers in each and every Eurozone country.

Delboy,
On several occasions I've asked European sellers if they would accept PP or MB payment, when it's not stated in their payment options - I've never been blackballed for doing so and on several occasions have had a positive response, albeit with the condition, that I pay the Paypal fees.
As far as items remaining unsold, again that goes both ways - I've had peeps asking me if they can pay me for a particular item by bank transfer and after saying no, my items have remained unsold.

I wasn't suggesting I have problems with Belgian buyers. In fact quite the reverse. I have made some very good sales with Belgian postcards, and they nearly always want to pay by bank transfer. Luckily I am able to comply.

I know it is a hassle to open a new bank account, but I have been surprised at the amount of people who want to use bank transfer (always European, never British). Also its fair to add that there aren't many other plus points for using Lloyds TSB.

So far, all 3 responses have been from US/UK members.
Although I understand your frustration perfectly well, bear in mind that this is a European based site. Within the Eurozone, the most common payment method is by bank transfer and it is free.
I cannot offer it as a payment method, because my bank charges me £7 per transaction and the vast majority of my items are of much lower value - as a result I also lose/have lost sales to European buyers. Equally I have had to "let go" of items I would have liked to buy.

There are 2 sides to this issue.

Of course, feel free to come and buy from me; I accept both MB and PP

Hello from PIPELINE in Denmark (a small European country)Link (http)

Here in Denmark we wote no to the Euro, so we still use Danish kroner, so if I shall take payment via banktransfer/IBAN, it will cost me a very high fee.
I have lost many buyers because I only take MONEYBOOKERS and PAYPAL.
But to all of you reading this post I NOW HAVE MORE THAN 8400 items, and all of them can be paid via MONEYBOOKERS or PAYPALL.

Here you see a couple of my ongoing auctions.Link (http)

Exactly. The high fee is the problem in the case of the UK too. I'm surprised that Mainlypostcards doesn't make that clear. I often make payments myself by bank transfer, even if I am sending £10 to my son, but only to people with UK bank accounts. It is actually cheaper than sending a cheque, because there is no postage; there is no fee; in most cases it is now almost instantaneous.

But obviously, if you are sending money from a bank account in one currency to a bank account in a different currency, this is going to be more expensive, or at least, it is an opportunity which banks can take of making a profit, and they do. This is one of the disadvantages of not being within a single currency; the eurozone folk have the advantages of a single currency and would recommend it. This makes it surprising to me that they can't imagine what the situation might still be between two different currencies, especially when it is carefully explained to them. When this has been explained to them, and they would rather stick to "Bank transfer only" and not sell their items than join paypal or Moneybookers and sell themwith the buyer paying the cost, I call them "Bank Transfer Freaks", and I believe I am justified in doing so.

Delboy Barrow

"I'm surprised that Mainlypostcards doesn't make that clear."

Maybe you should read my first post in this thread again. I stated there that I can't use bank transfer, because my bank charges xx amount per transaction.

"I'm surprised that Mainlypostcards doesn't make that clear."

Maybe you should read my first post in this thread again. I stated there that I can't use bank transfer, because my bank charges xx amount per transaction.

But Pipeline and I were replying to your LATEST pronouncement in which you concentrate on :
"The British are still far too suspicious about bank transfers."

This is hardly surprising when you yourself have referred, much further back, to bank charges of £7 per transaction even to receive money in euros; and to send it costs more than that, in the case of some banks, much more. Of course we are "suspicious" ! But you tell us that we are "behind the times" not to smile and pay up !

So I don't think you are making it clear, except to people who read everything you have written several times, making notes and weighing up the conflicting points for themselves. For most ordinary delcampers in Britain or America, not forgetting Russia and many other countries, the fees alone are the deciding issue, and when this is pointed out to eurozone delcampers (who are often only too keen to charge buyers for their own paypal and moneybookers fees) they should appreciate the situation and offer the delcampe recommended payment methods. It is almost xenophobic not to do so. Delcampe trading is not supposed to be confined only to the countries which have adopted the euro.

Delboy Barrow

Could I ask you again to read back through the posts?

Pipeline is replying to my quote where I state that international bank transfers are too expensive in the UK and free within the Eurozone, not to my latest post prior to his.

Also, the example I gave when saying the British are too suspicious about bank transfers, referred to a national transaction, which is free, where the suggestion was made I'd use a savings account, so that the person who'd get my details, would not be able to withdraw money from my account. The details needed for a bank transfer are no different then those details anyone can read on a cheque when you make a payment by cheque.

As far as Delcampe recommended payment methods is concerned: I didn't think Delcampe recommended any particular payment methods. Paypal and Moneybookers are integrated, but unlike Paypal on Ebay, they are not compulsory and each seller is free to accept whatever payment method they feel comfortable with.

Earlier on in this thread Nick alerted me to the fact that one British bank does do free euro transfer. However, I am reluctant to open another bank account for the odd occasion that a potential European buyer insists on paying by that method. Does that make me a Paypal/Moneybookers freak?

Dear Mainlypostcards

I'm sorry to hear that you got a neg because you cannot except a bank transfer. However, there is an option for people in the UK. Lloyds TSB allow me to receive bank transfers in EURO for no fee except a slight loss in exchange rate. It really is an option to think about. As you say many, many, people in Europe (especially Belgium) will only pay by bank transfer, so I'm sure I have made more sales because I have the ability to offer this payment method. I don't know if any other banks offer this facility but I wouldn't have thought Lloyds would be the only ones that did.

Regards

Nick

Dear Mainlypostcards

I'm sorry to hear that you got a neg because you cannot except a bank transfer. However, there is an option for people in the UK. Lloyds TSB allow me to receive bank transfers in EURO for no fee except a slight loss in exchange rate. It really is an option to think about. As you say many, many, people in Europe (especially Belgium) will only pay by bank transfer, so I'm sure I have made more sales because I have the ability to offer this payment method. I don't know if any other banks offer this facility but I wouldn't have thought Lloyds would be the only ones that did.

Regards

Nick

Could I ask you again to read back through the posts?

Pipeline is replying to my quote where I state that international bank transfers are too expensive in the UK and free within the Eurozone, not to my latest post prior to his.

Also, the example I gave when saying the British are too suspicious about bank transfers, referred to a national transaction, which is free, where the suggestion was made I'd use a savings account, so that the person who'd get my details, would not be able to withdraw money from my account. The details needed for a bank transfer are no different then those details anyone can read on a cheque when you make a payment by cheque.

As far as Delcampe recommended payment methods is concerned: I didn't think Delcampe recommended any particular payment methods. Paypal and Moneybookers are integrated, but unlike Paypal on Ebay, they are not compulsory and each seller is free to accept whatever payment method they feel comfortable with.

Earlier on in this thread Nick alerted me to the fact that one British bank does do free euro transfer. However, I am reluctant to open another bank account for the odd occasion that a potential European buyer insists on paying by that method. Does that make me a Paypal/Moneybookers freak?

I'd have thought it was worthwhile opening an new account just to stop Delboy from giving you grief!!

Delboy: only kidding mate. Just a little humour.

In the unlikely event of my wishing to purchase a postcard from this British seller, sorry, UK seller (I think that's right), I would be most careful to pay her by eBay or Moneybookers, whichever she preferred, either via or not via the Delcampe electronic wallet as she preferred.

See Link (http)
for the British / UK argument, and read every posting from this lady at least twice.

Delboy