Getting the best Currency Exchange rates

[clairely]

I was recommended to www.best-spot-rates.com by my sister and it saved us over 3200euros on our new property as with one simple form filled in they checked all the main currency exchange services and high street banks to get us the best rates.

one worth sharing we thought!

[Mik from LA]

I tried your link - filled in the information as requested - and all I got was an advert from HiFX 

[Ian]

The forum gets spammed from time to time Mik. The moderators usually clean it up fairly quickly ... sometimes inadvertently taking other genuine posts out during the nettoyage.

[Mik from LA]

Thanks Ian. I went elswhere on this occasion but will try the site again next time

[Ian]

This site has nothing to do with me - and I certainly do not recommend it nor use it myself. I think the webmaster just posted up on the forum with a hope of getting some business via an affiliate scheme - not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that ... but it goes against these forum guidelines I believe.

[AnOther]

[quote user="clairely"]

I was recommended to www.best-spot-rates.com by my sister and it saved us over 3200euros on our new property as with one simple form filled in they checked all the main currency exchange services and high street banks to get us the best rates.

one worth sharing we thought!

[/quote]Any saving is good of course but without prying saying 3200Eur without reference to the whole sum is not particularly indicative of the saving made.

For instance its 2% on a purchase of 160,000Eur but only 0.32% on 1,000,000Eur. In the former it's a no brainer but in the latter I think would be personally phoning the dealers and playing them off against each other for the best rate and lowest fees and not relying simply on web base quotes.

Not a situation I'm likely to be finding myself in though sadly !

[osie]

I quite agree... have several different brokers, play them against each other.

Also, watch the charts until choosing a good time to buy and above all try not to get into a situation where you need the money before the chart is at it optimum.

osie

[allanb]

ErnieY recommends: "phoning the dealers and playing them off against each other for the best rate and lowest fees..."

There's a practical problem with this. If you call a dealer and get a rate, it's a rate offered at that moment. If you ask him to hold while you call a couple of other dealers, then by the time you get back to him the offer may no longer be good - or, if it is, it may be that the market has moved the other way, and it's no longer the best rate at that moment.

If you want to get a dealer's best rate you have to be prepared to say yes or no immediately. Haggling back and forth is not likely to show a profit unless you are talking about really large money - much more than the typical house purchase.

I don't think there's an easy answer to this one. The sad fact is that a corporate treasurer with fifty million to trade can get close to the best rate in the market; you and I can't.

As for Osie's advice - if I was clever enough to know when "the chart is at its optimum" I would already be stinking rich.

[osie]

Hi Allanb

I have to disagree.

You can see the live rates, you can see it going up and down by the minute, you can pre-agree on a figure of live rate minus a certain value.

Go with the dealer who offers the best (rate - n) and then wait till the chart looks good.

The trick being not needing the money urgently.

I dont confess to knowing what the rate will be months ahead, but you can watch it going up and down and at least you are in control of when to buy.

I would suggest chatting with a few dealers.. get to know the lingo, their tricks, tacktics etc and buy with knowledge.

Thanks

Osie

[allanb]

Osie: I think that to convince me you would have to explain what you mean by "the chart looks good".

I'm also curious about the "tricks" and "tactics" your dealers use. What are these?

[osie]

Hi Allanb

If you get the intray for the interbanking exchange rate... I think the yahoo one would be okay. cant remember what I've used in the past

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=GBP&to=EUR&amt=1&t=1d

see what the current exchange rate is and compare it to the one your broker quotes you over the phone.... The broker will quote something between 0.5 or higher, more than the interbanking rate.  Now you know the difference.

Let the broker know that you monitoring it live and get his confidence, phone a few times, have a chat... make them laugh.

In tricks I mean the business part... how much his profit is... they might add you to a deal they are already doing and so get a good rate as you ride the back of another one of their clients, they may reduce the interbanking difference if the price seems to be rising.  They may tell you that it looks a damn good rate...

Think of a market-seller selling bananas... he knows the entire history of the bananas... if he does not sell then they go bad.

I am no dealer.. just someone who is willing to put in the effort and play the game.

What I can tell you is that I used a bank(probably any bank) in the past which was a big mistake... Money exchange companies are much better value.

btw: I am buying a fire extinguisher at the moment and the situation is very similar... several options, quotes, various risks.

Thanks

osie

[allanb]

Yes, if you're talking about shopping around to get the best possible spread (i.e. a small one), I can see what you mean. My only comment is that the time and cost of your phone calls needs to be kept in proportion to the amount you're buying or selling!

I thought you were suggesting that future rate movements can be detected by monitoring charts. I remain highly doubtful about that idea, in fact I totally disbelieve it.