Cheapest way to pay a UK seller that doesn't accept PayPal?

coinpictures

This is a non-eBay transaction, so PayPal/Visa/MasterCard requirements do not apply.

I want to make a purchase from a dealer in the UK. We've agreed on a price, but the logistics have me stalled at the moment.

He doesn't accept PayPal, only wire transfer or cash.

The notion of sending large amounts of cash by USPS, even registered mail, scares the beJesus out of me.

My bank charges $45 to send any international wire transfer (talk about highway robbery!). Wire/bank transfers simply aren't a way of doing business over here.

Is there any cost-effective non-PayPal way for an American to pay someone in the UK or Europe?

I've contacted one board member here that I believe lives in the UK, in the hopes that I can send him the funds by PayPal (paying all fees of course) and then he can wire the funds to the dealer. My assumption is that the PayPal fees will be less than what the wire transfer would cost me.

Of course the recent decrease in the dollars/pound exchange rate sucks moose testicles...

satootoko

Check out XE Trade. You can buy almost any world currency at a small premium over the spot trade rate, and have it sent to anyone you choose. The recipient doesn't need an XE account. I've sent as little as a couple of bucks to as much as several thousand dollars, in five different currencies that I can think of offhand.

Muygrandeoso

Here is a fixed link for XE. I have used them too....with no problems.

XE

ajaan

Will he take a bank draft in GBP? I've sent them often to the UK. Not very expensive, it is free at my bank.

coinpictures

<< <i>Will he take a bank draft in GBP? I've sent them often to the UK. Not very expensive, it is free at my bank. >>



At my credit union: "$12.00 and up". It's the "up" portion that concerns me.

I've applied for an account at xe.com, so we'll see how that goes.

Thanks for the pointers...

EDIT: That was fast. Just got my account approval without them contacting me at all. Played around and this seems like the cat's meow for doing international transactions (assuming you don't need the protection/recourse that credit cards/PayPal provide).

From what I can tell, sending a payment to the UK, assuming the payment is made by either EFT or draft, won't cost me a plugged nickel in fees. Or am I missing something?

norwegianguy

They probably have their income from a slight difference in exchange rate between selling and buying. All banks do that, and it's perfectly OK.