currency exchange, border fees

mavuser

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generally speaking if i buy something located in London for $2,000 American, plus $200 American for shipping...how much adddional $$ will it cost me at the end of the deal? thanks!!
 

GAD

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It depends on what it is. Cuban cigars are different than guitars which are different than gold coins.

If it's a guitar it depends on what it's made out of.

It also depends a bit on luck in my experience. I've seen stuff skate through and I've seen $20 items get confiscated outright.

I could be wrong, but I'm not sure we mortals can produce a simple formula.
 

chazmo

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Mav,

As far as the currency exchange goes, (a lot) of money will be lost during the exchange, even if you do it by electronic bank transfers, etc. I don't know if there's any way to avoid that. Travelex or whoever exchanges the money takes a (big) bite. Are you paying the seller in Pounds Sterling? I'm only asking because the question is who is being asked to absorb the fees? For you to convert the money so he receives British currency will probably cost *you* the transaction.

Are you actually paying this person in dollars? If so, write a check and let him worry about conversion fees. I don't know how that works, but maybe it does.

Good luck; curious how this works out for you.
 

steve488

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In my dealings in the far east, exchanging at the airport (or similar) cost you more than if you get "into town" and go to a bank. Either way they always take a share. I would expect a money transfer via mail would process through the banks at very close to the posted exchange rate but in a face to face you lose out. I have quite a few yen and Hong Kong dollars & coins as leftovers.
 

mavuser

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ebay. paypal. a guitar. yes the fretboard is rosewood, im less concerned about that part
 

geoguy

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Do NOT let the seller use ebay's "Global Shipping" service.

Neither of you will likely ever see the guitar again, if he/she tries to ship via that outfit.

As others stated above, there will be a currency conversion fee, similar to if you used an ordinary credit card.
 

silverfox103

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First hand info, not hearsay:

I bought a classical guitar off of ebay, it was already in US$, but located in London. I paid by PayPal. I think it was around $900. I bought it on a Saturday and I had it in my possession on a Monday or a Tuesday. It was incredibly fast. The seller took care of any paperwork. No extra money for anything, it was for personal use, not resale. It was fast and easy, the seller must have known the ins and outs. Oh, and the shipping was by Global Shipping, no complaints here. Somehow they have a relationship with the USPS.

Tom
 

mavuser

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sliver fox what year was that?

the guitar im considering was made in usa
 

silverfox103

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sliver fox what year was that?

the guitar im considering was made in usa

It was somewhere around 2010. It was on a US ebay site, location of the guitar was London. It was a Yairi guitar, made in Japan. It stunned me how quick shipping was. Once it cleared customs, you could track it on USPS. Before customs you could watch it on the Global Express site.

Tom
 

adorshki

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ebay. paypal. a guitar. yes the fretboard is rosewood, im less concerned about that part

Mav it might not be too bad since the $'s pretty strong right now.
The pound's falling against it lately.
https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GBPUSD:CUR
The" gotcha" would be how long it takes whatever bank to process the exchange, which normally happens at that day's rate of exchange.
Still, the current climate works in your favor before taking processing fees into account.
 

mavuser

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2010 ahh...the good ole days

maybe ill wait for the pound to crash more, if i decide to go for it

thanks all!
 

JohnW63

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1.2:1 is not bad. I don't know if I've seen it less, recently.

I would check at your bank or credit union and ask about the costs of converting currency. Yes, there is a few, but it's not big. My wife got US bucks converted into Euros, before she and the kid vacationed in Rome.
 
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