General Forum

Hello. I am purchasing cards from a TCDB member. I am from Canada and he is in the USA. What have members her found to be the best (cheapest) way to do that? If I send using Paypal "Friends and Family" it looks like I will still be charged fees, but does the receiver in the USA have to pay fees to receive as well? Thanks! 

I have done this many times here and elsewhere. Since F&F without fees does not exist across the border, I suggest you send G&S. The fees the seller pays will be less than the $3 fee you would be paying. This is assuming this is a small deal. If it is a large deal you should be using G&S regardless for your own protection.

This should be communicated ahead of time with the seller. Perhaps a mutually agreeable $ adjustment needs to be be worked out.

As for me I will accept checks.   But do people use checks now days?   

I've never seen a check in real life, in my life. ...I've barely even used cash in my lifetime for that matter ...governments should all go digital & get rid of physical money

If you can convince the trade partner you can use an international transfer service like TransferWise. 

Fees are generally a fraction of a percentage point, especially as transactions get larger.

Of course for some reason I have found Americans especially refuse to use it instead insisting on the money grabbing rip off that is Paypal. Euros and Australians have been more willing to use alternatives in my experience.

If I start to send to the USA using Paypal "goods and services" it says that the seller will pay a small fee. Does anyone know if that is the case, and if so, how much it will be?

From a US site:

What Are PayPal’s International Fees?

PayPal offers two different payment methods for international money transfers, and each has its own fee structure. When sending money directly to another PayPal account, PayPal charges 5% of the transaction with a minimum fee of $0.99 and a maximum fee of $4.99.

This assumes the transfer is funded by a PayPal balance. If the transfer is funded by a credit card, debit card, or PayPal credit, a funding fee of 2.9% plus a fixed fee (based on the currency used) is also applied.

Interesting info.

Note that if that is accurate, the credit card fixed fee can be huge, I've had it be in excess of $50 USD for transactions originating in NZD if the below percentages are correct. That is for both Friends and Family and Goods and Services.

I perfer check and cash.  I dont want the government to know every single purchase i make and if we go digital they will know 

i perfer to keep the government my employee not me to be a slave to the government telling me i can or cant do this or that just because they dont like it

but each there own. 
 

if i was the seller a check or money order would suit me just fine and sent in a regular envelope as if you were writing a letter 

If I were you I’d just do it through eBay. Very smooth and easy through my experiences.