You Know that you're obsessed with trains when......

[cteno4]

Some CCs dont charge any international fees at all (capital one i know does not) so you only pay the money you spent at the exchange rate of the day charged. others tack on the international fees, so thats why its good to check as if they dont then its better than paypal as its just the exchange rate. i would suspect they would use the same exchange rates or very close.

 

the international fee is one that visa/mc/amex charges to your cc company and then its if they decide to pass it onto you or not...

 

only downside with paypal is if there is a problem they can be a bit harder to deal with getting it straighten out. they dont seem to really care if they keep your business as they are the 800lb gorilla in the room. your cc company usually is really competing for your biz so they tend to be a bit nicer and will take your side some to keep you happy and charging on their cc!

 

paypal is is a really weird spot when you look at their biz. not quite a bank, not quite a cc company and owned by ebay. dont get me wrong they have done pretty well with me so far and even have clients who successfully use it for their cc checkout systems, its just harder to get someone on the phone and get some results sometime.

 

sorry i get an earful of this all the time, my wife is in the banking biz...

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

I tend to use PayPal for one-off buys, like when I see a shop has a train I really want and can't get through usual sources.

 

So far I've liked PayPal, even a $2500 USD payment went (painfully) fast ;)

 

 

As for the topic, am I obsessed when I can no longer open the windows in my room because there's stacks of train boxes in blocking them? =)

[Bernard]

Jeff, now you have me thinking of getting a Capitol One CC just for overseas purchases. Are there any other CC you might recommend for this type of transaction?

 

Martijn - yeah, that's obsessive..... or how about family and friends know you collect trains and give you gifts on this theme. (I can't even tell you how many train wallclocks I now have that I got as gifts.... and they all TOOT on the hour!)

[SubwayHypes]

yea my CC charged a small overseas finance charge, on my last train shipment it was like 8 dollars.

 

i bought the three car u@tech 223 series, which was 120 at first, but then 30 dollars shipping + finance will make it about 160ish.

[cteno4]

Jeff, now you have me thinking of getting a Capitol One CC just for overseas purchases. Are there any other CC you might recommend for this type of transaction?

 

Martijn - yeah, that's obsessive..... or how about family and friends know you collect trains and give you gifts on this theme. (I can't even tell you how many train wallclocks I now have that I got as gifts.... and they all TOOT on the hour!)

 

Since i knew the capital one cc did not i have just always used this one for overseas purchases or travel. I have not checked my other cc to ask if they do or not. I had heard a lot were now passing on the international charges from visa/mc now that they are looking for every penny in the process.

 

just call the cs of the cc you have and they should tell you. it ranges from 1-3% fee and if they charge it you get it as a fee even if you pay off the bill right away before any interest charges hit.

 

hey it can add up! if itll buy an extra something with every couple of orders its great!

 

also i think they are now accustomed to my japanese train purchases as they have not tripped a security alarm for a while which it did at first a few times. also easy to make sure of the transactions on that one as its only japanese hobby store mostly.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

You go to a Craft Store (Michaels, to get scenery items for your trains) with your wife and the sales people know your name but not her's.

 

No, you know when you're obsessed when you start calling out the names of famous trains while making love. Then you're in some trouble.

 

Stupid Hikari.

[Sushi Train]

You go to a Craft Store (Michaels, to get scenery items for your trains) with your wife and the sales people know your name but not her's.

 

No, you know when you're obsessed when you start calling out the names of famous trains while making love. Then you're in some trouble.

 

Stupid Hikari.

 

:-[

[SubwayHypes]

Subway - You have to post photos when they come in.  ;)

 

 

HAHAHA LUCKY DAY!!!

 

so i ordered two 221 sets, i was under the impression one of the sets was only a 4 car train, so my bid was only 80 dollars.

 

Low and behold, when i open my train packages, BOTH ARE 6 CAR SETS!! WOOHOO!!

 

So now i have 3 (6) car 221 sets, part of me feels stupid because i paid 170 for one six car set off Hit-Japan, however it evens out because i just got a very nice 6 car set for only 80 bucks!

 

i am the series 221 mastah!!

[NGT6 1315]

You know you're obsessed with trains when people you know turn to you for travel planning and ticketing advice rather than the official railway ticket offices .

 

Or, worse - when they appear to believe you are in a position to forward complaints about delays or such stuff to the proper desks. Believe me, I speak from painful memory here ...