countzero
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Yes, it's worth paying attention to exchange rates when transacting in foreign currencies! The automatic conversion rates offered are almost never worth taking - this goes for auctions, airports, services like PayPal etc.
And as pointed out in an earlier comment, even better not to let your bank to do the conversion either (if an option, and deemed worth the effort). If you can access the FX markets directly, you can trade/convert at minimal bid-ask spreads and at effectively zero commissions. Of course, this is only applicable to situations where you are making an explicit transfer, as opposed to using a card.
PRO TIP: When you win an auction in another country, pay the auction house in the currency of the country it is incorporated in!
In other words, have your bank convert to that country's currency before sending a wire there. My story on this is that I recently won an auction for a wristwatch that took place in Switzerland and the winning bid was CHF115,000. The auction house proceed...
Well done.
Always keep an eye out on conversion rates, especially with such large amounts of money! Timeless lesson, cheers, Filip
One touring band 'lost' $650,000 due to currency conversion by banks.
On April 7th 2022 the site Music Business Worldwide had an article and how bad the unneeded losses are due to different currencies. Look up 'With touring costs spiraling.' Of course crypto solves a lot of this, including delays from send to receive. So ye...
True, and the same holds with virtually any foreign purchases (all my credit cards are from the US, so while in Italy I too am "abroad"! :-) Always pay in the *local* currency, or else the conversion fees are easily several percentage points... ;-)
Of course, the best cards to this purpose are those carrying no foreign transactions fees (FTFs). I have a pretty good "collection" of credit cards, and all three of Visa, Amex and Mastercard have a reasonable (and essentially comparable, I would say with...
+1, I see it here in Italy that the system is entirely "different" (read: totally biased against the consumer), where the good cards often also carry an annual fee while yielding a minimal (if any) cashback ;-)
I follow this market closely in the US (and I opened 16 new major, no-fee credit cards in the last 2.5 years alone, while keeping a 800+ credit score...if I do something I like to do it well! ;-)) However, I'd never open a card (or even a bank account!!) ...
Yes, i take care of that with any and every purchase!
And even better, don't let your bank do the conversion, some currency specialists get better rates. What did you get? 😉 Best, E.
Yes, it's worth paying attention to exchange rates when transacting in foreign currencies! The automatic conversion rates offered are almost never worth taking - this goes for auctions, airports, services like PayPal etc.
And as pointed out in an earlier comment, even better not to let your bank to do the conversion either (if an option, and deemed worth the effort). If you can access the FX markets directly, you can trade/convert at minimal bid-ask spreads and at effectiv...
