General Forum

All the card purchases I have made from members on this site I have paid by PayPal. However, it agitates me each time to see how much PayPal charges to send money. Sometimes it is almost as much as what I am paying for the cards! Is there a better way of sending cash that I am unaware of? Am I wrong in thinking sending cash in the mail is a bad idea? I don't know if it matters, but I am in CAnada and usually buying from USA sellers. 

I don't think PayPal friends and family charges (if you take the money from a bank account and not a credit card).  I have started using Venmo in the last year, and to a lesser degree CashApp.

I had the same suggestion (for smaller transactions).  If the transactino is on the larger side, I would suggest still using "Goods and Services" so that you have buyer protection.

Also, when you send money using "friends and family" on any of the apps, be sure not to put anything in the comments section.  If the app requires you to include a comment, put a happy face or some other benign emoji.

Adjust your prices to maintain sales margins when using a service like Paypal.

If you have an iPhone and you're comfortable given the other party a phone number you could use Apple Pay and text the money for free.

Many larger sellers on FB are going to Cashapp primarily.  Other services as well, but Cashapp seems to be gaining quick acceptance.

Zelle is probably the best service. Most banks have it connected to their app already - super easy to set up. You just need a phone number or email address for who you are sending it to.

Friends and Family is pretty good when you're talking about two parties in the United States. But when you get into cross border transfers as the OP is talking, you get into a maze of exchange and service fees.

Last I checked, PayPal charges 2.99 CAD per personal transaction that requires a conversion to USD. And that's on top of the foreign exchange rate, which for CAD to USD is an astronomical 4% And that's if you're funding from a bank account. If funding from credit card, add on another 2.9% AND a 30 cent fixed fee per transaction. 

In other words, for a Canadian to use PayPal for a small personal purchase from the US is a pretty expensive undertaking.

The cheapest way other than sending cash or cheque is to use a wire transfer, but it's too complicated for most people to bother. 

Tscastle wrote:

I don't think PayPal friends and family charges (if you take the money from a bank account and not a credit card).  I have started using Venmo in the last year, and to a lesser degree CashApp.