The world does not exist outside the USA!

[deniser]

Had my first complaint on the subject of currencies for a customer in USA.

She asked me to explain the discrepancy on her bank statement between the price she bought at and the amount on her statement and demanded an immediate refund.

Our site is priced in £ and the amount on her statement is in $, I answer. Did she not realise that we are in the UK?

Yes she said, that does explain it, she did realise that we were a UK site but why are the prices not in $? After all she chose USA as a delivery address and assumed that selecting the country automatically converted everything to the currency of that country so that £ meant $ having done so (even though the prices hadn't changed from those displayed on the site when she first entered it!).

No thought for all the other countries in the world which also have different currencies. Or the fact that US sites don't display £.

I was quite surprised by this.

I have looked into accepting different currencies but the problems outweigh the benefits so far and if I was doing so, the dollar would be rather lower down the list than the Euro, Danish Krona and the Norwegian currency whatever that is.

I am expecting a further complaint when she has to pay import duty (even though stated clearly on the site) although, to add insult to injury, the goods are actually US made so maybe this makes them exempt? Does anyone know?

 

You are dealing with a sub species of Homo sapien ,end of.!!

We have it a lot from the united confederation of plonkers.

Earl

 

[Wendy.Rule]

We have chosen to have two currencies $US and £. There is a lot of interest in our product from the US but also the Asian market and they are use to paying in $US. So we have accepted that the US only thinks in $$ with the benefit of having a currency accepted in other markets. We believe that the Europeans are happy with sterling so have not gone down the Euro route - like you we are concerned to simplify and minimise costs - we will change this if we get enough feedback to the contrary.
So if you find out where the majority of business comes from it may mean you have to yield to the $ and the American "our size fits all" belief.

Wendy

 

[Mister B]

I think that her attitude is sympotamatic of the majority of Americans, as in the planet starts on the east coast of the USofA and ends on the west coast.

I'm looking into taking payment by USD at the moment, not so much for the benefit of the consumer more so that I can stash the USD's and use them for foreign purchases so saving on some of my foreign currenct charges.

Mister B

 

[OldWelshGuy]

As I have doen and still do a lot of work in the US, I say nothing







Other than 'you are damn right '

 

[BootCamp]

I was going to type thats unbelieveable. But it isn't really when dealing with Americans.It is quite believeable. Yet still pretty shocking.

 

[I love Tees]

I have had this happen to me once so far, lady from the USA bought and didn't understand it was in £ and not $. Even when the postage was higher she still didn't twig. It was when she got her band statement she realised.

Although i will say in her favour she was a really nice lady , and she obviously had good taste because she bought from my site

 

[Eagle]

I frequently get asked: 'what's that in dollars?'

Well, work it out - you're online aren't you?

 

[OldWelshGuy]

In their defence guys, we brits accept poor service, while Murcans simply send a note in saying 'we are not paying for this food' etc.. They DEMAND good service, and expect it. Unfortunately, if there was an american flag link on the site, and they clicked it, I have to agree with the Murcans, in that it is fair to assume it would be $ not £

 

[Crunch Breaker]

I think we all agree that for most in the US, the world ends at the state borderine. I recently asked one US business if the exported and they said yes - to California.... Need I say more.

However, it makes sense to offer a payment in US$ as these guys just dont want the hassle of exchange rates etc. I think you'll find your business going up as a result.

Chris

 

[Eagle]

Outside business circles, I quite often hear: '...if it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking German...'.

How thick can you get?

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Outside business circles, I quite often hear: '...if it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking German...'.

How thick can you get?

I get .. " if it weren't for us y'all be speaking german now"

 

[Eagle]

Come to think of it, I actually got that comment from a guy whos surname was Fritz. They don't understand irony so I didn't bother pointing it out.

 

[deniser]

In if there was an american flag link on the site

Not on my site.

Only reference to USA is when they type in their delivery details and it appears in the drop down menu box for country. This happens after they have decided to buy of course......

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Not on my site.

Only reference to USA is when they type in their delivery details and it appears in the drop down menu box for country. This happens after they have decided to buy of course......

then you got a thick Murcan

 

[JamieM]

It does happen quite a lot. You should maybe think about testing accepting dollars. You could just use Paypal at first to see how the take up goes. It should increase your orders quite a bit from the US and I guess you could test it separate from your main site if you don't want to disrupt things.

I was looking at American new start and growth companies the other day and in fairness to them they have some pretty awesome innovative ideas going on. There are idiots all over the globe!

 

[SillyJokes]

Americans often got upset about the pound dollar difference. So we changed our basket, when they change the country of delivery to USA the currency automatically changes to US Dollars (or Euros where appropriate) in this way they can see how much the final cost is, including postage before buying.

It also takes off VAT where appropriate.

This has practically eliminated the exchange rate misunderstandings.

 

[J-Wholesale]

Americans often got upset about the pound dollar difference. So we changed our basket, when they change the country of delivery to USA the currency automatically changes to US Dollars (or Euros where appropriate) in this way they can see how much the final cost is, including postage before buying.

It also takes off VAT where appropriate.

This has practically eliminated the exchange rate misunderstandings.

That's a good idea, just as long as your exchange rate is accurate. I used to buy a lot off Play.com, until they forced Irish buyers to pay in Euro at the most ridiculous exchange rates imaginable. Priced a book there today at £8.49 or 11.49 Euro. (correct exchange rate would be about 9.15 Euro). I'd have paid the sterling price, but it's no longer possible with a non-UK address, so I bought elsewhere.

 

[deniser]

Americans often got upset about the pound dollar difference. So we changed our basket, when they change the country of delivery to USA the currency automatically changes to US Dollars (or Euros where appropriate) in this way they can see how much the final cost is, including postage before buying.

It also takes off VAT where appropriate.

This has practically eliminated the exchange rate misunderstandings.

How do you set the exchange rate? Do you change it manually every day? Do you receive dollars and have a separate account for them? What about other countries that don't have dollars, euros or pounds - do theirs stay in £?

 

[paretowasright]

I think the statistic is something like 80% of Americans do not even have a passport so the word insular springs to mind!
"Hey do you ever see the Queen walking up London High Street" ?!
"Do you know John Smith" ?

 

I think the statistic is something like 80% of Americans do not even have a passport so the word insular springs to mind!
"Hey do you ever see the Queen walking up London High Street" ?!
"Do you know John Smith" ?

Oh for gawd sake don't mention passports to em.

we don't want them getting ideas about coming over here.

I do notice a lot of the smarter ones are infiltrating the uk already.

Earl

 

[BootCamp]

I think the statistic is something like 80% of Americans do not even have a passport so the word insular springs to mind!
"Hey do you ever see the Queen walking up London High Street" ?!
"Do you know John Smith" ?

I have worked with them a fair bit in my Military Career, they used to get issued a reminder card that they had to keep on their person while we were with them. They now just get told it, I would have loved to get one of the cards.

It read:


You are warned against GAMBLING, DRINKING and FIGHTING with the BRITISH. You WILL lose.

General Blah Blah.



What an awesome flash card!

 

[dingbat]

In their defence guys, we brits accept poor service, while Murcans simply send a note in saying 'we are not paying for this food' etc.. They DEMAND good service, and expect it. Unfortunately, if there was an american flag link on the site, and they clicked it, I have to agree with the Murcans, in that it is fair to assume it would be $ not £

Hi,
I really don't think that's true. I speak to many Americans and have dealt with many American companies. The standard of service and professionalism can be extremely poor.
Yes, we hear all the stories like some woman suing McDonalds because her coffee was too hot but the reality for most Americans is very different. I think Brits are the biggest complainers.

Back to the OP, I've also had an American customer who didn't know dollars and pounds were any different.

 

Back to the OP, I've also had an American customer who didn't know dollars and pounds were any different.

Yeah its great init,we don't do refunds to the US.

and we seem so cheap to the morons.

Earl

 

[dingbat]

Yeah its great init,we don't do refunds to the US.

and we seem so cheap to the morons.

Earl

I don't know if the guy was actually that dense or just trying it on but I sent him the item anyway 'cause he was starting to make my brain bleed.

Maybe my kind gesture got him to spread the word about to fellow Americans and we're all being skanked.

 

[SillyJokes]

Worldpay provide an exchange rate file every day which we call on.

But the real trick is changing the currency automatically to dollars when the US is selected because before, although the dollar currency change was available they just weren't using it.

Anyone know why Americans never give a full address though? Often they just say 2345 Evergreen Terrace, 142345. I find it hard to believe this is sufficient delivery address.

 

Worldpay provide an exchange rate file every day which we call on.

But the real trick is changing the currency automatically to dollars when the US is selected because before, although the dollar currency change was available they just weren't using it.

Anyone know why Americans never give a full address though? Often they just say 2345 Evergreen Terrace, 142345. I find it hard to believe this is sufficient delivery address.

I suspect its something to do with them thinking that if you live in London you must know everyone who lives there.

Earl

 

[Idontbuy]

We had a lot of enquires from Americans about our products so we built a duplicate website just for them and put the prices in $ they now pay alot more than we do in the UK and dont seem to mind at all

IDB

 

[paultnl]

Anyone know why Americans never give a full address though? Often they just say 2345 Evergreen Terrace, 142345. I find it hard to believe this is sufficient delivery address.

Street number and ZIP code is a complete address. You can do the same with a British Post code.

 

[stickylabels]

We have had many such problems - we now no longer sell to the USA (the PL insurance was going to be too high anyway!)

 

[Cornish Steve]

No thought for all the other countries in the world which also have different currencies. Or the fact that US sites don't display £.

I can understand this. As I travel the world, the one universal currency on the street remains the US dollar. Street vendors often prefer the dollar over the local currency. Also, many international sites accessed in the US present prices in the local currency. Take BA's site, for example: Travelers buying tickets in the US pay in dollars.

If you plan to do a lot of business in the US, you really should offer prices in US dollars. You just learned an important lesson from your customer.

 

[Cornish Steve]

Anyone know why Americans never give a full address though? Often they just say 2345 Evergreen Terrace, 142345. I find it hard to believe this is sufficient delivery address.

That's unusual. It's very rare for people not to quote an entire address. Some big companies do just ask for the 'ZIP' - and their systems convert it to the town. It would be rather like saying 1234 Plas Gwyn LL50 4AA. If your system is tied to a post code database, you'd know the person lived in a village somewhere near Llandudno.

 

[Cornish Steve]

Outside business circles, I quite often hear: '...if it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking German...'.

It may be a stupid thing to say in this day and age, but it is true! We would be speaking German if it wasn't for US involvement in WWI and WW2. When a country sacrifices hundreds of thousands of its young people to save its allies, it's not unreasonable for its people to remember why they did it. I'm sure Brits traveling to the Falklands, after disagreeing with a local down the pub, has said "if it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking Spanish."

 

[SillyJokes]

It may be a stupid thing to say in this day and age, but it is true! We would be speaking German if it wasn't for US involvement in WWI and WW2. When a country sacrifices hundreds of thousands of its young people to save its allies, it's not unreasonable for its people to remember why they did it. I'm sure Brits traveling to the Falklands, after disagreeing with a local down the pub, has said "if it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking Spanish."

Yes, we'd be speaking German -but what would the US be doing? Having to put up with another super power big enough to challenge them. I doubt their involvement was entirely alturistic and I can't help thinking of the lives they could have saved if they had helped when we asked them the first time.

 

[Mister B]

Yes, we'd be speaking German -but what would the US be doing? Having to put up with another super power big enough to challenge them. I doubt their involvement was entirely alturistic and I can't help thinking of the lives they could have saved if they had helped when we asked them the first time.

I agree, but without meaning to go off topic...what would have happened if the Empire, (yes Empire,) was defeated? Stalin too would probably have succumbed which would have led to a Japanese attack on the US from the Pacific and a German front opening on the east coast of the US.

The whole world may have become German/Japanese speaking

So I stand by my belief that the war(s) were won by an Allied force. Not British, not American, but Allied. And that includes all of the Commonwealth.

Mister B

 

It may be a stupid thing to say in this day and age, but it is true! We would be speaking German if it wasn't for US involvement in WWI and WW2. When a country sacrifices hundreds of thousands of its young people to save its allies, it's not unreasonable for its people to remember why they did it. I'm sure Brits traveling to the Falklands, after disagreeing with a local down the pub, has said "if it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking Spanish."

Oh I think we have had this history lesson before.

20 million dead

lets have a more balanced view.

and please remember ww2 as a business model for the US was unsurpassed.

Came out of ww2 twice as rich as when it started.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4508901.stm

Earl

 

[deniser]

If you plan to do a lot of business in the US

I don't, primarily because my goods come from the US in the first place and I feel guilty about selling US goods back there! They could get them there much cheaper.

It took me years to sort out PL insurance which I finally have. I sell to the US now because I get so many begging emails from the US and people trying to override my country list and causing chaos.

I do it for a quiet life. My target market is Europe.

 

[Cornish Steve]

Hey - if there's demand, there's a market and money to be made.

 

[leemason]

It may be a stupid thing to say in this day and age, but it is true! We would be speaking German if it wasn't for US involvement in WWI and WW2. When a country sacrifices hundreds of thousands of its young people to save its allies, it's not unreasonable for its people to remember why they did it. I'm sure Brits traveling to the Falklands, after disagreeing with a local down the pub, has said "if it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking Spanish."

Actually I think we'd be speaking Russian!

 

Actually I think we'd be speaking Russian!

Not sure with Joe Stalin in command any of us would be speaking.

Earl