HK Company/HK Company Bank Acct

pphell1 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012, 07:51 AM

Hey guys,

I have a Hong Kong company and a Hong Kong HSBC bank account. I'm going to be starting business soon; I haven't opened my Paypal and have some questions if you could kindly advise me, please!

The main thing I'm looking to do is avoid massive fees. My customers are almost all US/Europe, and, naturally, cannot pay in HKD without converting first.

So, what is my plan of action here to get the lowest fees possible?

1. Should I denominate in HKD or USD (or Euros for that matter)?

1b. If I pick a "main" currency when I sign up, can I switch it later, and what are the implications of picking the currency?

2. Even though I can get a bank account that's denominated in USD in Hong Kong, Paypal has told me countless times that if I withdraw to a US bank *outside the US,* I will have to pay all those nonsense conversion/international/etc fees regardless. Is there a cost-effective way around this?

3. What do "international" sellers -- let's say anywhere not based in a USD/Euro country -- whose primary market is USD/Euro-denominated Paypal customers, do to avoid cross-border fees, international fees, conversion fees, Paypal-can-suck-my-ballpoint-pen fees, etc.?

3b. What are the "bare" fees in my situation (i.e., conversion fees are unavoidable, put perhaps cross-border fee can be avoided by X, Y, or Z)?

3c. If these fees are unavoidable, what is the accepted "etiquette" for conversion fees, making the customer pay the conversion at checkout, eating it yourself somehow?

4. Kinda unrelated, but out of curiosity, do you guys have your customers pay Paypal fees or do you? I'm kinda thinking I will, just cuz no one likes to see a listed price and pay something different,

5. Any other experience you guys have with this currency exchange rate stuff that might help me or anyone who comes across this.

Thank you!

pphell1 · #2 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012, 08:06 AM

6. Should I pick Premier or Business, and how does this factor into everything?

6b. If business, what should I put for the least amount of hassle, verification wise, since someone else is lending me their ID (Corporation/Partnership/Individual etc)?

Think that's it, and sorry for all the Qs folks

pphell1 · #3 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsot

Welcome to the forums. With HSBC, you could prob get a USD account with the HSBC US banking branch as main HQ to avoid international conversion. In Pa yp al, add the correct currency as secondary currencies accepted under Profile, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for the super fast reply! Yeah I mean I could... but then there's the other problem of the US slipping into a fascist police state, so... I'm a US citizen and really, REALLY not trying to deal with taxes or going on their radar at all. In fact, my citizenship process in another country is in the works, and once it goes through, I'll most likely be giving up (read: running away from) my citizenship.

digi · #4 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012, 12:26 PM

4.How do you even manage that? I mean buyer will pay the final price +shipping. You plan to add in invoice? I don't think anyone charges extra for PayPal. Expenses should be considered while listing price. Bestbuy doesn't charge you a rent share separately when you buy a tv,right? :-)

pphell1 · #5 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digi

4.How do you even manage that? I mean buyer will pay the final price +shipping. You plan to add in invoice? I don't think anyone charges extra for PayPal. Expenses should be considered while listing price. Bestbuy doesn't charge you a rent share separately when you buy a tv,right? :-)

Ha, well what I mean is like, there's a 1.49 paypal fee, for example... you can have the buyer pay it, or the seller pay it. And if the seller pays it, they see it at checkout (I assume). Regardless, this isn't the main point of the post... so, help please!! I'm going nuts with this crap. Oh, and digi, it's digital goods :P

pphell1 · #6 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 10:01 AM

Man, this forum is useless. I've been waiting for 2 weeks for an answer... either nobody knows, or nobody is here, but either way....

Thanks to those who responded btw.

rsot · #7 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 02:43 PM

Reason I did not comment much pphell1 is that I lack experience with international operations. I was suggesting that you go to your hsbc bank and get a usd bank with routing number of hsbc in the States because many PP accounts will take US bank for simplistic reasons.

And on this forum, you don't really just sit expecting for answers - you pop on to other threads, you contribute, and try to get some light on your thread without sounding needy...if you catch my drift.

Have to stay active.

BlackieCheung · #8 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 12:04 PM

pphell1, if you are still active in this forum, I can post you answer. My English isn't very well so I need to use sometimes to write. If you're not active, I don't want to waste my time.

cass · #9 (**permalink**) 08-15-2012, 12:16 PM

What about your main problem?

How are you going to get round the listing limits?

pphell1 · #10 (**permalink**) 11-06-2012, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackieCheung

pphell1, if you are still active in this forum, I can post you answer. My English isn't very well so I need to use sometimes to write. If you're not active, I don't want to waste my time.

Hey Blackie, yes I'm still active, though I haven't been on here in the last few months.