It's a good idea to get paid in Euros

23 replies
I’m in Europe (Greece) and this is why my ebooks’ prices at my websites are given in Euros. A few people told me in the beginning that I should have my prices in dollars since I’m basically working with Americans online, but I didn’t change them for dollars. Now I see that the dollars are losing value everyday. Sometimes I get paid in dollars by many sites/people. The difference between dollars and euros is becoming huge!

Whenever I can, I ask for payments in euros. In the beginning I was asking for payments in dollars for my translations to facilitate the public, but now I’m asking for payments only in euros.

Perhaps it would be a good idea for you too to have euros at your Paypal account, even if you don’t live in Europe. You have this option anyway, and you’ll make more money by having euros at your account, than by having dollars.

For example: 100 Euros = 142.03 U.S. dollars

I’m glad when I make payments in dollars because they seem to be so cheap (every month I’m paying less euros to Aweber because of the dollar-euros difference), but I don’t like to see that when I make $100, this amount becomes only 70.40 euros… And I also lose money for transferring this amount to my bank account… Around 2.5 euros.

I believe that it’s a good idea to ask for payments in euros online whenever you can.
#euros #good #idea #it’s #paid
  • Profile picture of the author LooseChange
    I don't get the point??? If you want 100 Euros for something you're selling, then simply price it at $143USD. Currency conversion is a staple of the business world.
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    The point is that if you can keep your money in euros you have more advantages than if you have the same amount in dollars. Therefore, instead of caring about creating websites based on charging dollars, you should care about asking for payments in euros.
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  • Profile picture of the author Damani Tabor
    What are the incentives here?
    Convenience?
    Strength of exchange rate?
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  • Profile picture of the author areoo
    for customers to see 100 euros compared to 147 usd. the first thing on their mind would be thats cheap!
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    • Profile picture of the author LooseChange
      I think you're understimating the average person's ability to do basic math and realize that euros and dollars are not the same. I know if I see something in euros, the first thing I do is go to Google and use the currency calculator.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ralf Skirr
        Not sure that I understand your post. Either charge 100 Euros or $142.03 USD. You're getting the same amount either way...
        Probably he means setting the price in USD instead of Euros. For example setting the price to $ 97.

        Then obviously he gets less money per sale when the Dollar goes down.

        Makes complete sense and is a real problem for everyone selling outside the US but setting price in USD.

        Ralf
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    • Profile picture of the author phantom47c
      Originally Posted by areoo View Post

      for customers to see 100 euros compared to 147 usd. the first thing on their mind would be thats cheap!
      I don't think so. 13-year-olds purchasing a motherboard, maybe, but most people used to buying stuff online won't be mesmerized by seeing 100 euros instead of 140 usd.

      People get scared when seeing Euros. They're simply...inconvenient.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ralf Skirr
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    You could always change the price based on IP on your sales page like CB does on their order page.
    CB is not changing the price, it's changing the currency the price is displayed in using the current conversion rate.

    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    As for money being better in Euros, you've got to be kidding me.
    The point is that a non-US based merchants will get different amounts of money for their products in their own currency IF they base the price on USD.

    If they base the price on their own currency, for example Euro, then they get exactly the same amount to their account with every sale. But the buyers in the US will have to pay different prices every day, based on each day's conversion rate.

    Can't you see how that would make a difference to the merchant who has to pay his bills in his own currency?

    This thread is NOT about the long-term value of Euro or Dollar, this is about how the currency that is the base price of the product leads to changing earnings for the product.

    You could also look at it from a US based merchant perspective selling to customers in Australia or UK. How would his income change if he sets fixed prices in the related currencies INSTEAD of getting everyday's conversion equivalent of the fixed USD price.

    Ralf
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    • Profile picture of the author Brendan Vraibel
      Ralf

      You have completely valid points. However I was responding to the OP who, to my understanding, had a completely different reasoning for use of the euro.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sandor Verebi
        Originally Posted by clever7 View Post

        ... I'm glad when I make payments in dollars because they seem to be so cheap (every month I'm paying less euros to Aweber because of the dollar-euros difference), but I don't like to see that when I make $100, this amount becomes only 70.40 euros... And I also lose money for transferring this amount to my bank account... Around 2.5 euros.

        I believe that it's a good idea to ask for payments in euros online whenever you can.
        This is a real problem - which may seem uninterested to others - but we are faced here every day. This is a possible solution in this siuation, I think.

        Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

        ...As for money being better in Euros, you've got to be kidding me. Of all people, you should realise how unstable the Euro is right now as the EU must make some decision soon whether to let Greece have the Drachma back, throw another 150 billion into Greece or extend the borrowing terms. The dollar is not doing great but the Euro most certainly isn't either.
        I don't play the role of the devil's advocate, and I am not a banker, too - but I've seen this and that in my life. As you know, the world economy is changing more often lately than ever before. And a local crisis can has effect across the world.

        Yes, Euro is slightly unstable at present. But it may be said for dollars, too. See the american economy data, with the unemployment situation. See the changes in the value of the dollar within last two years.

        Anyway, several factors contribute to a changes of a currency value. The speculation is one of the biggest rollercoaster which may be fitted to a currency. This can be seen now, too.


        Originally Posted by Ralf Skirr View Post

        ...The point is that a non-US based merchants will get different amounts of money for their products in their own currency IF they base the price on USD.

        If they base the price on their own currency, for example Euro, then they get exactly the same amount to their account with every sale. But the buyers in the US will have to pay different prices every day, based on each day's conversion rate.

        Can't you see how that would make a difference to the merchant who has to pay his bills in his own currency?

        This thread is NOT about the long-term value of Euro or Dollar, this is about how the currency that is the base price of the product leads to changing earnings for the product.

        You could also look at it from a US based merchant perspective selling to customers in Australia or UK. How would his income change if he sets fixed prices in the related currencies INSTEAD of getting everyday's conversion equivalent of the fixed USD price.

        Ralf
        That is right. Thank you.

        Sandor
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

      The OP gains nothing by pricing in Euros. His income won't be stable because his sales will go up and down as the value of the euro goes up and down with respect to their currency. In fact, he'll put off many US customers.

      In short, he's losing with this strategy ...
      ... is the correct answer.

      Apart from the gender of the OP and the references to "his", rather than to "hers" ... but that hardly affects the validity of the argument.

      Some Americans simply won't buy at all, if the price is given in Euros. The currency of the internet is $US. And I'm saying that from Europe, myself.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sandor Verebi
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        ... Some Americans simply won't buy at all, if the price is given in Euros. The currency of the internet is . And I'm saying that from Europe, myself.
        These are the other side of the thing, which can not be ignored. And I know, America is a bigger market than the others, presently.
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        • Profile picture of the author jimbo13
          If you sell something then the currency used should be in the currency that that market uses.

          If the main currency used by your buyers is the $ then the $ it is.

          One of the posters below says you underestimate the ability of a buyer to make the conversion.

          Actually this should be the other way round. You overestimate the ability of a buyer to make a conversion so why take the chance?

          Where do 80% + of your sales come from?

          Dan
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        • Profile picture of the author Henry White
          Originally Posted by Sandor Verebi View Post

          These are the other side of the thing, which can not be ignored. And I know, America is a bigger market than the others, presently.
          What I would really like to know is what are the local/regional counterparts to PayPal? Do you use them for local/regional trade?

          IIRC the incentive for more trade between and among member states was one of the primary talking points for the Common Market and adopting the Euro.
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      • Profile picture of the author spearce000
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        .
        Some Americans simply won't buy at all, if the price is given in Euros. The currency of the internet is . And I'm saying that from Europe, myself.
        Most Americans won't buy if the price isn't in Dollars in my experience.


        One way to get round Dollar - Euro exchange rate fluctuations is to get a bank account denominated in Dollars. That way, you can play the exchange rates to your favour. BTW, Clever7, what will you do if Greece does go back to the Drachma? I can't see many customers outside Greece wanting to pay that way.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          The Euro is the currency in Greece - it replaced the Drachma about 10 years ago.

          But the US$ is the currency of the internet, in Greece and almost everywhere else too, I think.

          (I dare say one might want to use a local currency, if targeting only a local market - that's all. But for information products written/compiled in English, the US$ is surely the appropriate currency in which to display prices online?).
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  • Profile picture of the author kerry kimani
    of coz, euro is not prone to much inflation as the dollar
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  • Sounds to me like the OP is just trying to fool people into thinking they are getting the product cheaper since it says 100 Euro instead of $143 USD. As an American, though, I can tell you I definitely do check conversion rates before buying. And the fact is, whether you sell it for 100 Euros or $143 USD, it's still the same amount of money.

    Since the vast majority of my buyers are American, I think I'll just stick with using USD. But it shows you are thinking outside the box, OP, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.
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    • Profile picture of the author chykee
      Sincerely, when it comes to selling things online, you don't try to deceive your potential clients by letting him to think that because the number is smaller, then it should be cheaper. You would only make him use more of his brain in making sure he is getting a better offer. You have a better chance of selling faster with US dollar and at a very cheaper price.
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      Read the forum rules! And STOP posting nonsense one-liners, before you lose your account.

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  • Profile picture of the author ganesh
    I am also in Europe. I charge my offline clients in Euros but for everything online, I use only US$. For the online world, US dollars is more of a standard.
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