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Do you charge more because of the exchange rate


flatpp

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I get paid in dollars to PayPal which has an obscene “current exchange rate” to my British bank account, and then I have to endure another round of financial tomfoolery in European ATMs.

$5 is worth nothing to me. It might scrape me up a nice Greek coffee (€1.50), but oh no, the government is having to raise VAT on some drinks to 30% because we need to bail out the German banks, who kind of started this whole crisis in the first place. But no, I don’t charge more because of the exchange rate. We have a very limited ability when it comes to setting prices.

Buyers will pay whatever they think is necessary to get your services. There’s no need to be explicit about your pricing to them. They’re certainly not going to care about the little oddessy that their money will go through to reach your pockets. Besides, the exchange rate IS good. It’s PayPal’s horrible money-skimming crap rates you need to moan about since there are no alternatives (unless you have an Indian bank account, which brings other discriminatory behavior to the fore…)

$5 ain’t much but it does add up, especially for the wise people who help you to get your money conveniently and fast. I’m not bitter, but I feel that I give these people enough money that I should point things out from time to time…

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I bet it isn’t as bad as the Greek one! Details in link with a helpful comparison v UK one (which is similar to US, I believe).

http://apokoronasnews.gr/why-the-greeks-struggle-to-pay-tax/

Some terminology: VAT is Value Added Tax which is a rubbish name since the only value is to the government in the form of sexy revenue. NI is National Insurance which is roughly equiv. to US social security.

If the above sounds unattractive, you ain’t heard nothing yet: http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/05/23/overtaxing-greeks-freelancers-42-tax-self-employed-businesses-to-pay-90-tax-in-advance/

90% in advance!

This makes Fiverr’s fees look like paradise! (Since some of you reading this may wonder, no, I don’t pay Greek tax–I chose to continue paying UK tax. Look at the first link and the reasons why are pretty clear, even if I don’t get much value from it except a hopeful pension at 105 years or whatever it will be when I reach the age!)

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I hate the $-£-Euro conversions that I have to go through. What I would love is a Fiverr where somehow the standard 5 bucks people pay is dependent on their or the sellers 5 bucks. i.e. in the UK you would pay £5, not $5. Of course, that is never going to happen as it would cause massive confusion… But ah what a dream!

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