Western Union Money Transfer - how much do they charge?

m33r4

Hi everyone.

I am looking to pay a seller in India for products I have bought off him. He gave me the total in US$. He has advised I pay by wire transfer into his bank account (not a mainstream bank) or by Western Union money transfer. I can't see approximate guide fees of how much Western Union charge for a debit card online transaction.

Does anyone know or have had experience of this please?

The sum is $446.

I don't know if this may help, but I have a HSBC current account as well as Barclays account and both have worldwide presence so perhaps I could use them instead?

Many thanks.

vax2002

SCAM !
western union is a ANONYMOUS transfer of money that can be collected anywhere in the world and never traced or refunded most likely is you will never hear from them again once they have the western union transfer.
Same things apply to wire transfers.
STOP
THINK !

m33r4

vax2002 wrote: »

SCAM !
western union is a ANONYMOUS transfer of money that can be collected anywhere in the world and never traced or refunded most likely is you will never hear from them again once they have the western union transfer.
Same things apply to wire transfers.
STOP
THINK !

Thanks for that. How else do you advise I pay this seller?

vax2002

What have you bought and from where ?

chalkie99

Well, if it's a scam don't pay them at all!

Anyone asking for payment by Western Union rings alarm bells.

Can you give more details of what you were hoping to buy?

m33r4

I am hoping to buy vanilla extract from this company. I have been emailing him for about 4 weeks now and all seems to be in order. I found his company on TradeKey, a worldwide wholesaling portal.

sjbrun

I used to buy from china a few years ago and I always paid by bank transfer.

Have you asked them to send a sample, so you can assess the quality and it shows they are likely not to mess you about with the bigger orders?

Most small companies will accept paypal but will charge a lot for it. If I were you, i'd ask for a sample first. If your in a rush for the product then I will pay using paypal and make the first order as small as you can to mitigte any risk. HSBC can do priority payment bank transfer for international transfers and this costs 16-30 pounds depending how your account is set up.

Do you know which courior they use? do they supply anyone else? If so can you ask them for a refrence?

Its best to be safe than sorry and make sure you cover yourself, however I think the first poster is jumping the gun saying its a scam when a lot of small businesses exporting products operate like this accepting wire transfers and weston union. If I were you i'd ask if they accept paypal for the first order and then bank transfer as its cheaper via bank transfer for larger amounts.

soolin

I still buy from China and the Far east and i agree that many reputable sellers will insist on bank transfers. However I will not risk my money dealing with them and personally unless I already had a very good working arrangement with the seller I would walk away.

No way would i put out that sort of money using a completely unsafe payment method. OP only do this if you are prepared to lose the money should it all go wrong.

OP, regardless of the payment method have you checked you can legally import the goods as there are some restrictions on food stuffs and have you factored in all the import taxes, duty and handling that will be payable?

soolin

OP, how much research did you do BTW? Only a very quick Google search turns up quite a few negative posts on the main wholesale forums about tradekey.

Go take a look, see if any of the points being raised fit the profile of your seller:

http://dropshipforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=6414

m33r4

soolin wrote: »

...OP, regardless of the payment method have you checked you can legally import the goods as there are some restrictions on food stuffs and have you factored in all the import taxes, duty and handling that will be payable?

Yes I have. It's not a restricted food item. At the amount I am ordering (ie small) there is no tax payable.

m33r4

soolin wrote: »

...No way would i put out that sort of money using a completely unsafe payment method. OP only do this if you are prepared to lose the money should it all go wrong....

What is the safest way to pay would you advise?

Seller says he does have Paypal but Indian government has put hold on business users using this method. Any truth in this I wonder?

Thanks.