Buying from UK retailer in the US, help!

Niceguyeddie616

I have a very basic question about importing goods from an online shop and I figure someone here might know something, considering we have quite a few international posters. I'm looking to buy a game from the UK. The website says they are showing me the price in american dollars, but that I will be charged in GBP. I'm going to be using a debit card for purchase, it is a visa card in the US. How exactly would this work? Would the website calculate the conversion rate? Am I going to have to convert some of my funds into pounds? Or will it show up on my bank statement as a charge in USD? I'm a little confused here...

matt has a problem

They'll charge it in GBP, your bank will process it at whatever the current exchange rate + bank rape is, and you'll be done.

darqness

I would assume that the conversion would be done automatically, since you aren't paying with physical money, and using a card. It might depend on what card processor the company uses as well.

Honestly this is probably a question best asked to the company you would be buying from.

Blarghy

I live in Canada and buy from the US all the time, but I assume the same basic principles apply. The merchant charges your card in the foreign currency, which your card processor automatically converts for you into USD at whatever their current posted rate is (usually the official exchange rate + standard bank markup). You then pay that amount in USD (or have it automatically deducted from your account, as the case may be). It's exactly like buying from someone locally otherwise, just that the bank has to do some extra calculations first.

MushroomStick

It should be noted that some credit cards have an extra charge for currency conversions. Also, is the game a video game? If so, are you sure it'll work with your equipment?

Niceguyeddie616

stick, without going into too much detail, yes it is a video game, and I have made sure it works with the equipment I have

Essee

I'm from the US originally, but living in Canada. I have a BofA credit card (and debit card that I don't use much) that I'm using up here, and what happens to me is that I get charged what I paid, converted from CAD to USD at the current exchange rate according to BofA. I then get an extra charge, as per my cardholder agreement, of 3% per purchase added on as a seperate "international transaction fee" on my online statements. So just see if you can find out what your card is going to tack on... should only be a small percentage, at least if you're using a card from a big company. That's really all there is to it. So yeah, you'll be charged a little more than it looks like you're paying, but that's it.

Fantasma

What they will do is basically convert Sterling pounds to dollars and deduct that amount in dollars from your account or debit card. Let's suppose the article you want to buy costs 20.00 sterling pounds, they will multiply that amount by the current exchange rate, which right now is approximately ₤1.00 = US$1.6031, like this:

₤ 20.00 X US$ 1.6031 = US$32.06

US$32.06 is the amount that will be charge to your debit card (in this example of course)

Now, considering that they show the amount in dollars, they can divide the amount in dollars by the exchange rate :

US$20.00 / 1.6031 = 12.47 Sterling Pounds