If I buy a product from abroad, substantially cheaper in Germany than here in the UK, and the price includes the postage, are there any other hidden charges, like there would be in you aboard from the US???
Tax paid in EU would mean no duty so the answer is no.
What's the item ? Should I buy one too ?
lol, its a gear shifter for my road bike. They sell them in singles in Germany but they sell them only in pairs over here. Looking at £125 for one from Germany, or around £250 for a pair from here! Thus thought I'd better check that I wouldnt get stung for anything else other than just postage! Cheers.
One of the joys of the e.u. Only thing to watch for is the bank charges. You can get preloaded euro visa cards for around £5 plus the exchange for the euros. Can work out cheaper.
Another silly question, how does it work paying for things like a holiday? I got a couple of quotes from UK based villa rental companies for the same villa, one quoted 1850euro, the other quoted £1800. Can I pay in Euros from my bank to their bank even if we are both based in the UK? 1850Euro with current exchange rates is only about £1500, so I definitely want to take them up on the offer
Another silly question, how does it work paying for things like a holiday? I got a couple of quotes from UK based villa rental companies for the same villa, one quoted 1850euro, the other quoted £1800. Can I pay in Euros from my bank to their bank even if we are both based in the UK? 1850Euro with current exchange rates is only about £1500, so I definitely want to take them up on the offer
Well, I don't know if you can. But I can. I have a euro current account at my bank (Citibank) and can either switch my debit card to operate off my euro account and do a card transaction or do an on-line transfer request. This is all at no charge and the euro rate is pretty good too. Surely most banks have a similar set up these days? (I also have a US$ account with them which comes with a cheque book but unfortunately they cannot provide a cheque book for euros because all the Euro countries have vastly differing cheque clearing systems - dumb eh?)
Another silly question, how does it work paying for things like a holiday? I got a couple of quotes from UK based villa rental companies for the same villa, one quoted 1850euro, the other quoted £1800. Can I pay in Euros from my bank to their bank even if we are both based in the UK? 1850Euro with current exchange rates is only about £1500, so I definitely want to take them up on the offer
We've just hit this snag. We don't have a Euro account but can pay in Euros via Swift apparently but it will cost us £30 per transaction. We didn't pursue it as the campsite deposit needed was only 50 Euros! So if there is a cheaper way, I too would love to know about it.
Another silly question, how does it work paying for things like a holiday? I got a couple of quotes from UK based villa rental companies for the same villa, one quoted 1850euro, the other quoted £1800. Can I pay in Euros from my bank to their bank even if we are both based in the UK? 1850Euro with current exchange rates is only about £1500, so I definitely want to take them up on the offer
We've just hit this snag. We don't have a Euro account but can pay in Euros via Swift apparently but it will cost us £30 per transaction. We didn't pursue it as the campsite deposit needed was only 50 Euros! So if there is a cheaper way, I too would love to know about it.
Used to work in financial institution. Swift is expensive but you can send a bank draft if you have plenty of time (that's if they still do them), this will work out much cheaper & will guarantee payment (providing bank doesn't go bust!).
Do a Google search for pre loaded travel card. Martin's money forum has some good ideas. This would not be as cheap I am sure as cafcfan but would work out cheaper than bank charges. Some of them allow distance selling.
Or you can try a currency exchange service such as HiFX who I have used in the past to send funds to Canada with no problem. They give you a rate quote, then send funds in the destination currency once they receive your GBP. Charges included in the rate, but I found them pretty competitive and transparent.
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What's the item ? Should I buy one too ?
Only thing to watch for is the bank charges. You can get preloaded euro visa cards for around £5 plus the exchange for the euros. Can work out cheaper.
They give you a rate quote, then send funds in the destination currency once they receive your GBP. Charges included in the rate, but I found them pretty competitive and transparent.