i bid and won a jdm anodized VIN plate a week ago on ebay. the seller is in japan. paypal screwed him at the last minute before i could pay him. they would only accept us international postal money order in japan, or wire transfer. since i'm canadian and stateside is like 2 hours away, us postal money order was not an option. i went to the bank and their surcharge was $25! the item was only $38. and then i found out that his bank is on some sort of "blacklist" because of difficulties in the past and they wouldn't do it at all.

is there any other option for me?

it sux being a canuck sometimes

 

try http://www.bidpay.com for ebay..good luck

 

Don't say that! Being Canadian is cool all the time! Except on PAYDAY!!!!

 

Would it work if you sent me the money and then I got a US money order and sent it to him? Let me know if I can help.

 

Ben,

Maybe you can take comfort in the fact that Bank Of America charges me USD 37 for an international wire transfer.

Have you checked with the Canadian post office to see if they have an intl. money order?

 

Goto a bank here that has a branch in Japan and try to do a direct transfer to the guys bank account. I believe that HSBC branches might be affiliated with some JDM banks, so go and try.

 

HSBC, I bank with them


[Modified by kengs, 2:57 AM 11/22/2001]

 

hsbc... i will try that.

the stupid thing about canadian international postal money orders is that you can only use cdn currency. and we all know how much cdn currency is worth by the second

 

After sending money plenty of ways to Japan the best way is to wire transfer since you can do it in there current rates and it's less of hassel on both ends. US MO work well but if your item cost couple grand or so it's a hassle of being limited to 650-700 USD per MO and then you have to write the address on there a many of time and don't get it wrong...Japanese banks are picky. Most banks in Japan charge folks and business in Japan surcharge fees for cashier checks and bank MO's. Also most business won't send out your parts either until it clears which takes over 1 month because they have to send it back to the states to have it verified. So best way if you can get ahold of US post office MO's then wire them the money.

Hey do you guys have western union up there? If so they should be able to send it out on USD form. Plus it probably be cheaper then using the bank transfer as well. My bank charges us 35 dallors per wire transfer.

 

The problem with all these methods is that they are expensive. Wire transfers and Western Union and such will cost you USD$20-40 to send $37. Not cost-effective.

My advice: Go to an American Express office. There you can buy travelers checks denominated in USD (or Japanese yen, for that matter). It will only cost you a few bucks and you'll be able to make them payable to the guy you're sending them to. Only downside is that they come in round denominations so you may have to round up as needed. There are two American Express offices in Vancouver (click here for addresses) but you should call ahead to find out whether they sell foreign currency travelers checks or not (some offices do, some don't).

Another option would be to go to a branch in Vancouver of a Japan-based bank and buy a money order denominated in USD or Japanese yen. Basically this is a similar option to American Express.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 10:00 PM 11/21/2001]

 

Dammit Ben!!

I'll call the *** monkey and make the payment for you! Geez.. the things I do for friends...

 

now you know why I don't sell things to the States.....I always lose money on the red tape b.s., no matter how much I mark it up...

The only way to really do it right where you both don't get screwed by the process, is to send cash...but you have to really trust each other to do that...




[Modified by MiraiZ, 1:19 PM 11/22/2001]

 

um... i trust you?

 

sure...then send me cash!!

 

depends. where's my 98specr spark plug cover?

 

MiraiZ.. did you get your turbo kit yet?

 

hey ben,

If it was only $38, you can use http://www.payingfast.com. No hassles right from your computer using your credit card.

 

Hey if you can get someone there to get it for you it be best because I've sent MO and cashiers checks via America Express which is what my bank uses and I had 3 companies send them back because there just too many surcharges to deal with and it takes around a month to clear as well. I know one place told me the surcharge from there bank on just CC's was 7% but some banks apparently are even higher.

 

Hey Dee did you ever get your car running like you wanted it too I know you were working on it last time we talked. Oh and did you find out any more info on those shops or did they try to run you out of the store again? If so let me know. Hey if you got phone# IM me it and I can give you a ring to ask about few things and I probably like to have it since I should be coming for week in Jan.

 

tradenable.com iescrow.com .. little fee