At 08:06 AM 4/20/2000 -0600, you wrote:
>At 08:52 PM 4/19/00 -0700, Acer V wrote:
>>Or you could write him a personal check--or cheque--in US funds, and the
>>bank down under credits him in AU funds.
>
>
>Speaking on behalf of all non-U.S. recipients of U.S. payments everywhere,
this is a bit of a pain, since you can see a fair amount of the value of
the payment in U.S. dollars get eaten up in transaction costs and the cash
spread between the U.S. and other currency (not to mention that in many
non-U.S. jurisdictions, it can take weeks or even months to clear a
U.S.-based personal cheque). Canadians have it relatively good, but if
you're in some other countries which have chronic foreign-exchange
shortages, this can be quite a problem.
>
>Personally, when doing transnational business, I *always* try to convert
from Canadian funds into the target currency *before* sending my payment
off. That way, the recipient doesn't get burned by the conversion process.
I've only been frustrated once, trying to convert into New Israeli Shekels
(Israel has a *huge* foreign-exchange problem). I finally had to send the
payment denoted in U.S. dollars, with a little extra tacked on for the
"hassle tax."
>
>Garth
>
Garth (and others),
Thanks to all for your responses to my question. I am now only slightly
more befuddled than before I asked. :/
Seriously, I really agree with Garth in that I'd like the recipient not to
be inconvenienced receiving a payment from me simply because he doesn't
live in the USA. This just seems like common courtesy. I'm willing to send
cash if the seller offers it as an option (which mine has, as it turns out,
but sort of as a fallback). I was joking with him before my abortive trip
to the Post Office for an IMO that I wished I could deliver the dough in
person (never having visited Oz); I didn't realize it would have been
easier that way. 8-0
Joel Wilcox
Iowa City, Iowa USA
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