You know how, when you enter a casino, the rule of thumb is that eventually the house is going to win overall. Maybe not every time but that’s how a casino survives, the house needs to win more than the players in order to keep running. You’re at a disadvantage the moment you walk in!
I kind of feel that way with Paypal lately – as much as I like the ease of doing transactions using it, it seems like every time I transfer money the conversion rate is always working against me (it’s never the same as the posted bank rates). As I was snarking about this with my husband I realized that yes, I guess Paypal is a business like any other and their job is to make money in the end too, so if I want the service I have to succumb to their rates. Boo. Anyone else feel this way (Canadians?)
I have some online shopping to do so I suppose it’s not the worst thing keeping a balance in the account. Debating a new landing page design perhaps (us Bloggers get bored so easily don’t we?) and of course always looking for deals on baby items!
Still, I’m always torn – do I spend the money shopping in US funds and deal with the shipping (and not deal with the silly conversion) or do I transfer it out and take a kick to the teeth sometimes?
Huh. I never thought about how the conversion rates might work against you. What a pain. I guess if I were you I would calcualte whether the conversion hit was a bigger deal than the extra shipping charges.
Exactly – have to weigh out which one is the lesser of two evils!