On 4/9/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Karoly Negyesi</b> <<a href="mailto:karoly@negyesi.net">karoly@negyesi.net</a>> wrote:<div><span class="gmail_quote"></span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
> That may be correct....for the United States. Cheques are *very*<br>> uncommon in Europe, and electronic transfers / wire transfers are<br>> commonplace.<br><br>My Hungarian bank once explained that if I get a cheque drawn on a US
<br>bank, then they will send it by post to said bank which will do a wire<br>transfer! Really. No kidding. Of course this costs me lots o' money AND<br>time. Really. I pay a ton of money to be served slowly.</blockquote>
<div><br>In Canada, US clients can send you US cheques, and they are deposited<br>in your account easily (at the ATM), and adjusted for currency exchange.<br><br>No hassle, no fuss, and 10% - 12% exchange rate benefit.<br>
</div><br>Of course, you have to be careful with first time clients, ...etc.<br><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Seriously, I have thought more than once that I will simply ask gold
<br>bullion coins to be shipped via UPS or similar as payment. However, there<br>is some loss between the buy and the sell price -- it's about 2%, and of<br>course the shipping costs can be pretty high if shipping to big distances
<br>despite the weight is next to nothing (1 ounce of gold is 28 grams and it<br>worths 672USD). But, unlike the banks, couriers will strive hard to get<br>the thing to you, a simple typo will not stop the process for six weeks
<br>and introduce a 100 EUR loss and it's *trackable*.</blockquote><div><br>Virtually all couriers forbid shipping of cash explicitly. I am pretty sure gold falls<br>under the regulated stuff, since government does not want to make life easier for
<br>money laundering, organized crime, ..etc.<br><br>So, don't try that.<br></div></div>-- <br><a href="http://2bits.com">2bits.com</a><br><a href="http://2bits.com">http://2bits.com</a><br>Drupal development, customization and consulting.