Last time I made a US purchase, the difference was about 1%, give or take. That was over a month ago but if PayPal decided to instigate a higher percentage for currency conversion, I'd be surprised it went unannounced. ?:|

By the by, though, I have always been shown the exact amount that will be deducted from my account before I confirm payment. Plus I kinda figure if I'm on eBay and at the point where I'm about to pay for my purchase, it's already too late to change my mind about it. :8} 😛

the 'conversion rate' you see on tv is the MID RATE.
I.E. it is the average of the buying and selling rates.


so.. if you go to any bank or Bureau d'Exchange you will see various rates quoted

1. the BUY rate, thats what they give you to buy foreign currency you may have
2. the SELL rate, thats what they charge you to sell you some foreign currency
3. the MID RATE, THAT is the average of the above two and is what is generally used as a rule-of-thumb to work out different currencies.

what PayPal charge you is the SELL rate (and it also factors in their exchange charges)... something the Banks usually add on after they have done the conversion and charge separately.


so no, PayPal is not skimming money, they are SELLING you a foreign currency, at their SELL RATE.

(THERE is no ACCURATE currency rate by law, the buy / sell currency rates often change 2-3-4- times a day at banks).

There will almost always be a disparity between the approximate price given on the ebay site and the actual rate charged by Paypal.

The ebay conversion clearly states it is an estimate and it does not change several times a day as does the realo exchange rate.

You do not have to allow Paypal to do the currency conversion for you unless you are paying with existing funds. You have the option to let your banki do the conversion instead.

I don't know anyone who has tried this more than once though as most banks give a worse rate than Paypal and then charge you an extra fee on top!

I agree with you helmutk9999.. Well there's too many excuses flying about. The bottom line is, well, you agree to a price before you pay it. I was worried, really worried, when I saw the total cost jump up by $15 after I committed to the purchase. That puchase price I agreed to was displayed on Ebay! not PayPal. Corporate Greed.... there you have it.

I have been letting paypal do all my conversions for years now....ever since I did the experiment of paying some invoices via paypal and some via my credit card rates.
Paypal is by far the best.
I have no idea where you get your figures from but in the last week I have paid a number of US invoices. I will detail the results

9/11/11 US$74.45 converted to AU$74.00
10/11/11 US$24.38 = AU$24.56
13/11/11 US$16.32 = AU$16.29
US$14.99 = AU$14.96
1411/11 US$14.43 = AU$14.40

All small amounts, but the same rules apply to larger amounts.
All those figures are exactly what has come out of my bank account with no extra fees as would be charged by my bank.

heather2work this thread is ancient, the OP as almost certainly found out by now that it is more cost effective to let Paypal do the conversion instead of their bank but if you think Paypal is all about corporate greed next time you go to make a payment in a different currency select the option to let your bank do the conversion but please do not come back here complaining that the exchange rate was worse and the bank charged you a fee on top.

actually this is a recent thing, today I bought US$8.09 worth and got charged AU$8.20 which I know is a pathetic amount to bitch about but it's still wrong as the aus dollar is still slightly higher than US.

My bank/credit card conversion rate is always better than paypals.

punch does that include the fee for overseas buying?