SimMarket.com over charging?

[Guest Keyno-onyeK]

HiIve been buying from them for a couple of years. I also check my checking account online. And i buy using $USD.So, Tongass Fjords is $44.57, which reflects what i paid for at their site. But my checking account shows i was charged $44.67. Strange. Also strange is how i get billed. For example Tongass Fjords, the first activity was $43.37 and then a day or two i see $1.30.The example above is for every transaction that i have done with SimMarket. 10,12,15 cents overcharged. Never undercharged. Rates change the day it comes out? same day i buy it? And always up?Something dont seem right. If the rate changed in a matter of seconds, why does the,what they charged me and what i was billed, different?thanks for reading

[tf51d 284]

They may charge a service charge for that type of transaction. More over using your checking account should be the very last resort to pay for merchandise. Two reasons! First, unlike Credit cards you have no recourse should something go wrong with the transaction (Edit: That goes for debit cards also!). Second and most important reason, is this is how identity theft occurs! Once someone has your bank routing number, and checking account number they can write drafts against your account. Some banks check to make sure these are legitimate, but others do not. If you don't notice it witch I believe in the US is 40 days under the new law past last year, the bank is under no obligation to replace the missing money! People has lost thousands of dollars this way. That's why I very rarely write checks out anymore, as the banking industry has absolutely no safegaurds in place to insure the information on a check isn't abused. (routing # and Checking Account #).

[Damian Clark 948]

Hi,I think it is indeed currency conversion rate changes. The Simmarket system is based in EUR pricing. The pricing you see for other currencies is updated at a fixed interval (probably daily). This does not necessarily reflect the exact conversion rate at the time the CC transaction processes. Lately EUR values compared to USD have been increasing steadily, so it makes sense. I believe they mentioned this somewhere on the site, but perhaps it needs to be more visible. Regardless, when buying from them I would use the EUR value and your own conversion (xe.com is a good site) to come up with the final cost.Best,

[Guest]

Simmarket charges in Euros, the dollar price is indicative only.If the Euro goes up between the last time the price was updated (which is not in real time) and the time your card is debited (which depends on your creditcard company) you can observe this.If OTOH the Euro goes down you can seem to win a few cents.

[duckbilled 310]

I agree, it probably has to do with the conversion rate at the time the transaction is processed.I also agree that you should not use a checking account for online transactions. If your credit card number gets stolen, you are only responsible for the first $50 in fraudulent charges. With a checking account or most debit cards, there is no limit.If you don't have a credit card, I think you can purchase pre-paid credit cards. That would be a better way to go.

[RFields5421 1]

In almost 40 years of traveling to other countries and making charges with credit cards - I've almost never seen a charge to actually show up as the amount originally quoted in dollars.Most of that was before the internet - and since the internet it continues.Some companies (banks) charge you the exact rate at the minute they process the order - not common in the past but becoming more common. Some companies charge you the highest rate of the past business day. Still others use a day trade closing figure.I'd be more likely to believe the bank is keeping the extra cents than the merchant.

[victorwest2 0]

>Hi>Ive been buying from them for a couple of years. I also check>my checking account online. And i buy using $USD.>>So, Tongass Fjords is $44.57, which reflects what i paid for>at their site. But my checking account shows i was charged>$44.67. Strange. Also strange is how i get billed. For example>Tongass Fjords, the first activity was $43.37 and then a day>or two i see $1.30.>>The example above is for every transaction that i have done>with SimMarket. 10,12,15 cents overcharged. Never>undercharged. Rates change the day it comes out? same day i>buy it? And always up?>>Something dont seem right. If the rate changed in a matter of>seconds, why does the,what they charged me and what i was>billed, different?>>thanks for readingAnd what did Simmarket have to say to your query before you voiced your concern here?

[aerdt 0]

10c overcharge? I am more upset over a $9.95 "processing fee", like eCost.Of course, it has do to with currency fluctuations. Depending on their current processing merchant the price will automatically adjust to the current exchange rate.Pat

[Guest Keyno-onyeK]

Thanks for the replies.Well i use my BofA Debit/Visa card for purchases on the net.Ive looked around they're site, didn't see contact info. I'll look again.I understand the currency rate change. So, if i bought the product, lets say 1yr after it was added to SimMarket, i could see a major change in price? You know i dont see prices changing at SimMarket.What bothers me, is what they say they charged me, and what was REALLY charged, and its not the same.SimMarket is the only site that does this wacky way of doing business.(that i know of)and i buy alot of products on the net. Buying a product, and then days later get another charge added to my product, doesn't make me happy.byeKeyno

[aerdt 0]

Agreed. If it says upon checkout that your total is USD29.23, then your card should be charged USD29.23. If it says EUR29.23, then you just don't know and have to live with the current exchange rate or any exchange rate that is being used by the merchant. That area is kinda fuzzy.Pat

[JSkorna 137]

Hi,The EUR price doesn't change at SimMarket, but when converting to USD, your cost does change on a daily basis. Why always up? Because of the crappy performance of the USD and only one place to blame for that and it isn't SimMarket.(Think of a small to the ground tree)Now, what SimMarket does say your cost will be changes because your B of A waits or uses a different method of conversion and they pass that difference on to you. This is no different than if you use plastic in any country where the currancy is different.Solutions:Don't use your B of A card at SimMarket.Directly wire your money to SimMarket.Buy from a site that quotes in USD.Hope this helps,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Development Team Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterHiFi Beta TeamRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/AirSource Member: http://www.air-source.us/FSEconomy Member:http://dot.kelder.net:8080/fseconomy/

[RFields5421 1]

SimMarket is the only site that does this wacky way of doing business.(that i know of)I've had the same thing from JustFlight, Aerosoft, Lago and several other non-US companies.The key to remember is you are not paying in dollars - you are buying Euros to pay them in Euros. Your bank takes care of the conversion stuff.I'm certain they bill your bank in Euros.

[Guest RonB49]

>(Think of a small to the ground tree)Please don't start that nonsense here Jim. I thought better of you. R-EDIT: to prevent >( from appearing as a sad-faced Emoticon. R-

[ilovetofly 1]

One thing not mentioned here I believe is that banks now charge a fee, especially when using bank cards, for overseas transactions from different forms of currency. This is usually clearly stated if you check with you banks credit card service.On a trip last year to China and Japan, we were charged a service fee of 3% for credit card use. Of course, this should not be the case with a debit card (which I won't use since I accumulate airline miles with my credit card), and the total amount charged was very small. Can't really say in your case what occurred, but I recently purchased Tongass and Misty Fjords and haven't yet checked to see if they appear on the current credit card statement. If it's not excessive I just consider it part of the business.

[Arklight1 140]

With regards to buying online using a check card....I have a Check Card (debit card with the Visa logo) with protection which replaces money that ends up stolen or mishandeled (bank screw-ups, merchent screw-ups, etc..). We also have fraud tracking. The card can be run as a credit or a debit. People can't just take money from you with "no recourse", at least not at any of the major banks that I know of. My bank has even flagged (stop all transactions) my account for fraud because I made too many purchases in one day. lol First off, debit cards today (Visa/Mastercard/etc.. logo) can be run as a debit or a credit. Online orders ALWAYS go in as a credit charge since you are NOT entering in your pin. No Pin Number...NO debit charge. That is why online orders are always run as a credit, always require a Visa/Mastercard/etc.. logo, and almost always require you to enter in your 3 number security code (last 3 digits of the long number on the back). A straight ATM card (the ones that do NOT have a Visa/Mastercard/etc.. logo) will not work online. If you have a card with a Visa/Mastercard/etc.. logo, then you CAN run it as a credit. Straight ATM cards (the ones without the logos) can't be used online (and if you find a site that does.....don't buy anything there. You should NEVER be asked for your pin number). In order to buy online requires a valid expiration date and straight ATM cards don't have those.Second, you don't enter in your actual "checking account number", you enter in your card number, which of course is quite different then your actual number for your account.Third, most (if not all) checking cards can have a max spending limit per day (all of the major banks I have dealt with do) which also helps greatly (and you can often set this amount with your bank by calling their account services dept.).Lastly, indentity theft with an account is quite hard to come by without somebody's social security number and/or actual physical card (if they have your card, then it doesn't matter if you have a check card or a credit card...if the person ringing you up doesn't check for I.D. you can get screwed that way, lol)....which is another reason you can have your picture placed on your credit and/or debit card/s at many banks. Also, if you call for account information you are usually required to state your social securtiy number. No online ordering service should ever ask for your social security number, if it does, stay away from it. When you buys something online, just make sure that the address of the page your are on where you enter in your account information has an HTTPS (notice the "S") at the beginning. The "S" stands for secure.There is a little too much paranoia nowadays regarding online purchasing but not a lot of facts supporting the paranoia. It really isn't that big of a deal as long as you aren't at shady unsecure websites buying things. lolOne last recommendation, I would stay away from Paypal. I know quite a few people who have had issues with them.I'm sure most of the stuff I said is common knowledge, but I figured I'd throw it out there anyways just in case. ;)Hope this helps the original poster out. :)Btw, I noticed too that Sim Market overcharges for their products and also charges you to extend your re-download time (unless you pay for a download extension extension at purchase). If I can find a product elsewhere, like Flight1 for instance, I will automatically go there. I do my best to stay away from Sim Market. Why pay more for the same product, plus, have to pay for a download extension for a product you already paid for? lol