Buying Australian... ???

[Matno]

For those of you down under...

I'm considering buying something on eBay-AU, and I was wondering what the best way to pay for something like that is? The auction says personal cheque, money order, or bank deposit. The first two are straight forward (except that they're slow...). The bank deposit thing is not common here in America, and I'm not even sure how it would work.

What's the best/easiest way to make this happen? It won't be a large dollar amount, but I'd like to make sure it goes smoothly, nonetheless.

Thanks.

Matt

[shovelon]

Wow, that is a tough call. Sounds shakey to me to that he does not have Paypal or Bidpay.

The easy way would be for the seller to accept a Paypal transfer. Maybe he had his account terminated.

Otherwise maybe a forum member down under could bid the item for you and instruct shipping to you. You could transfer a Paypal payment to that member in Australia. The currency conversion is automatic. I have done this for a couple of people already and has worked well.

Terry

[colinv]

Only use paypal for overseas stuff, been had for nearly £300 using western union, I only use paypal now.

[Matno]

This auction had a link to a bank paying company - a direct deposit sort of thing that many countries use. (Like the Konto Ueberweisungen I used to do all the time when I lived in Germany). Like I said, the amount isn't huge, and I can smell an eBay fraud from a mile away. I just want to know if anyone knows if a direct deposit like this (where the buyer submits his bank account number) works internationally as well...

[colinv]

Upto you, but I would never give my account details to anybody for international use, if you can afford to loose the amount you are going to send then it may be worth doing but be careful.

[Matno]

No, supposedly he gives me HIS account info so I can send the money to him. Ebay has a description of the service on their Australian web site. I can only get it to pull up on the US site now for some reason (even clicking on the same link...)

[loaded]

Hi guys,
I'm based in Melbourne Australia, and yep the bank deposit method is common among australian ebay sellers.  I've used it myself when paying for goods within Australia at least 6 or 7 times without any problems, for items up to $470AUD.

We use direct deposits cause internet banking is all the rage over here and there are no fees for deposits within Australia, unlike paypal.

However, I think it might be a bit more costly for international payments.  For example if I want to put a direct deposit into an account outside of Australia my bank will sting me $30AUD for the fun of it!!!! [smiley=upset.gif]

So if the seller has good feedback and the amount is small you're probably safe, as long as your bank doesn't sting you at your end.

Hope this helps

[kiwi]

email him....you can paypal anuone cant ya.He doesnt need an account,you do.If you get stuck matno give me a shout,I have a freind in Aussie and can make it happen somehow!

[Matno]

Oh well, this whole post is now moot. The auction went just over my (wife's) budget... Darn. It was a better deal (even with shipping) than I've seen here in the U.S. in a long time. Oh well. I don't really need a new set of pedals right now anyway...