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ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > Importing & Weak U.S. Dollar (17 replies)
Importing & Weak U.S. Dollar by Ace952 on 19 January 2011 - 22:52 |
How has the economic troubles across the worlld affected you if you are looking at importing dogs? As we all know the U.S. dollar isn't very strong which means that it costs a lot more to get the import dog that you want. Has this changed the way you look at dogs to purchase? Are people not importing dogs as much anymore? Are sellers in other countries having to sell dogs at a cheaper price or willing to negotiate prices with the economy that way it is? This has been going on for awhile and there is no end in sight right now..... How has this affected you? Are dogs that you considered purchasing before now out of your price range? Breeders willing to work out a more affordable price? |
Ace952 by Jeff Oehlsen on 19 January 2011 - 23:08 |
| You buy a dog, you send the money and it is no longer the correct amount. They do not understand why it is some odd number like 111.38 short. They do not think about the dollar and the euro getting traded and fluctuating all day. That is what I have the biggest gripe about. Wire the money to their bank account, or flat out tell them that the dollar vs euro is at ________ amount and this is what I am sending you. Apparently the idea of money being traded does not translate very well. If you can get someone that speaks english well, you are WAY ahead of the game. : ) |
by Jenni78 on 19 January 2011 - 23:16 |
| I didn't have problems like Jeff is describing, but I ended up paying way more than I had bargained/budgeted for. I paid half, then months and months later, when it was time to fly her home, I had to pay the other half...well, the Euro was at $1.57. OUCH. Do the math. I ended up paying over 1/3 more than I said I would when I decided to import. But, the quality of the dog hadn't changed, and it wasn't like I found something better and cheaper here, so I sucked it up and sent the money. Hey, it wasn't the Germans' fault that our dollar isn't worth a damn. Why should they take less money for a dog they had plenty of offers on locally just to send it over here? It had been a little higher, and they did allow me to send it when it went down and they shipped her before they received the money, but I had very good contacts. I'm sure that is not a popular means of helping the buyer out, LOL. It did help though. She was bred and we didn't want to wait too long to ship her, but even with wiring, the money takes several days to a week and a half, IME, to be accessible to the seller. |
Jenni78 by Jacko on 19 January 2011 - 23:58 |
just send it in euros, simple, it may effect some future training plans, we will have to wait and see. |
Jacko by Jenni78 on 20 January 2011 - 00:17 |
| Jacko, HUH? |
by darylehret on 20 January 2011 - 01:20 |
| With my last import, the breeder was gracious enough to hold off for payment until two weeks before the ship date. While the dollar was gaining value, the longer I held, the more I saved. Actually, the money was working for me in a trading account and was doing nicely in the stock market (company that produced Modern Warfare, WarCraft, and Guitar Hero video games). Then, my sudden relocation from the Denver area to Montana caused a 50% increase in airfreight, and an overnight layover that would otherwise not have been necessary. And kennel cough affected half my dogs, probably from Detroit. If you wanted to, you could always trade currency in advance, when the dollar is doing better, to lock in savings if you know you plan to import but just don't know what or when. |
darylehret by frankm205 on 20 January 2011 - 02:41 |
| It is making me look in the States more for dogs. |
by catman on 20 January 2011 - 02:45 |
| weak us dollar help me a lot since my canadian dollar went up :P :P :P SUITS ME Perfectly |
by sable59 on 20 January 2011 - 03:04 |
| FRANK,ONE OF THE SMARTEST SENTENCE I HAVE READ TONIGHT!!! really, the best , if you buy over there,is to make the deal solid at point of buying.if you are buying a dog and leaving for training,pay for the dog and pay for the training and shipping when all is finished. there is good dogs here in U.S. |
by Vom Brunhaus on 20 January 2011 - 10:33 |
| very little advertising for sales coming from the Germans on PDB its all Serbia Montegnero, European Union, and Czech. |
Vom Brunhaus by Ace952 on 20 January 2011 - 17:00 |
LMAO!!!! Franklin... I was wondering that. Wondering if people stopped looking overseas and starting looking more here in the states. Sable...Are you saying that some breeders are willing to add more training b/c of the weak dollar as a way to make the sale? |
by wrestleman on 20 January 2011 - 17:23 |
| There is as good if not better working line pups being produced here from German and Belgium prove lines and if you look around and don't fall for some off the wall high priced pup you can get a great working prospect at a super good price from titled parents. The airfare alone from Europe is more than the pups worth. If we quit buying I promise all prices would come down. Its simple economics if something is being produced and no one is willing to pay the high inflated price for the goods then the price eventually falls, same would happen with airfares for shipping. |
by duke1965 on 20 January 2011 - 18:15 |
| sable , do you really think that, in general , american breeders can compete with european breeders not to talk bad about US breeders , but let me give you a few starters in europa , within driving range are the best dogs , the best breeders and the best trainingfacilities , USA is handicapped on all that by its size , in USA alot of breeders buy a (titled) male , and breed it to anything on four legs they have in europe you wont find breeders like that and sable , you have a bitch your not 100% sure about , I saw on another forum , will you breed her or find her a home , even if you loose money there just some things to think about |
by Silbersee on 20 January 2011 - 21:07 |
| I am not Jacko, but my guess is what he meant is just pay in Euros!!!! What you do is you go to a big bank chain (like City Bank, or Bank of America etc. - not wanting to advertise anybody's business) and you ask to purchase a foreign currency bank check (in this case Euros). You will pay the bank their daily exchange rate, pay their fee for it and in return have a check in the requested Euro amount. Simple! You then send the check with certified/insured mail to the European seller. It is bomb and fool proof! No surprises! You know what you spent and the additional fees and the European seller gets the money he requested! |
Silbersee by hodie on 20 January 2011 - 21:23 |
| Agree with Silbersee. I always paid in Euros and I always also paid a few more Euros than was the deal agreed upon. FYI - The exchange rate is about 1.34 Euros today to 1 US dollar. That is much, much better than it was just a few months ago. For interesting information, check out this link: http://www.exchange-rates.org/history/USD/EUR/G/180 |
by Silbersee on 21 January 2011 - 03:42 |
| Yes Hodie, the exchange rate has been very volatile during the past 6 or more months, to say the least. The sad thing is that U.S. banks always give you about 5 cents less on the dollar than German banks. Last week, I transferred Euros over from Germany to the U.S. (in form of a Dollar transfer, not Euros) and the exchange rate my German bank used was 1.33 . Bank of America had a rate of 1.28 the same day. Needless to say, it is much cheaper and smarter to ask the European banks to pay out in Dollars than the U.S. banks to exchange Euros to Dollars. For a mere $ 7 to $ 12 in bank fees, you can save hundreds with a better exchange rate. Even though I am very conservative, I have friends here and in Europe, who like to speculate on that. It is called currency trading, sometimes just as popular as stock trading! But if you apply that to dog importing, it would mean that you need the seller in Europe to agree to be paid in Dollar with a U.S. certified bank check. He would then ask the European bank to exchange it to their (better) rate. And that costs lots of money in fees and waiting time until the check clears. A breeder friend of mine in Germany did it once and swore never again (btw, the check bounced as well but it took 4 weeks for him to realize it - nasty nasty people on both sides of the ocean). So, the only way for a foreigner to purchase a dog should be to pay in Euros. I am surprised it is not more common here in the U.S. . That way people know exactly how much they have to pay for the dog the day they purchase the check. What is so difficult about it? The Chinese do it all the time, lol. |
by Jenni78 on 21 January 2011 - 21:16 |
| I am totally lost. Who the hell would pay the Germans in anything but Euros? How does this have anything to do with the weak dollar or the rest of Jacko's post? Of course you pay them in Euros...so what's the confusion about? |
by Jeff Oehlsen on 21 January 2011 - 21:20 |
| Quote: That way people know exactly how much they have to pay for the dog the day they purchase the check. What is so difficult about it? The Chinese do it all the time, lol. I had trouble finding a bank that would give me a check in euros. They would sell me euros, but they could not give me a check. I had about half of what little hair I had left at the time pulled out of my head, so I just said thanks and hung up. Good grief it was annoying. |
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