UKForex, pounds to euros.

[Medskipper]

Thanks for all those who commented on my last post about exchanging pounds to Euros.
After doing quite a bit of research I have to say they do look ok, their rates seem to be very competitive, however I chickened out! I did the deal through Barclays Bank as I have an account with them.
I really pushed them on the exchange rate quoting UKForex rates and they came within .003. Of matching the price so I used my bank! I did have to ask their dealing room twice for a better price! You just can't give up on the first price they quote you!
I couldn't risk losing so much money using an exchange house that I didn't know, but I don't think UKFforex are a risk!

for all those looking to buy euros at the moment the exchange rate is the best it's been for a long time!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I did the deal through Barclays Bank as I have an account with them.

We have our business accounts with Barclays for years but never bought foreign currency because they were so uncompetitive but they've really sharpened up their act recently and they are now usually within a whisker of the specialist forex dealers. Yes you have to get through to the dealing room and then give them a minimum price you're willing to deal at

 

[jrudge]

We use Money Corp for the same reason ... HSBC are *******. The automated rates they give on HSBCNet are criminal. Interesting Barclays are getting better.

 

[jfm]

You have to get through to the dealing room level and have a relationship guy who cares about your business and barks an order saying "don't hit this guy with a large spread". Coutts/RBS always beat the specialist dealers in my experience over the years, though only by a tiny margin.

It's a bit craxp that OP has split this discussion into two threads. Lawd knows why...

 

[MapisM]

for all those looking to buy euros at the moment the exchange rate is the best it's been for a long time!

Define "best" - and "long time" as well.
If you are implying that it won't be "better" (whatever that means) in the future, I'm afraid you must know what will happen tomorrow, rather than what happened yesterday...

 

[rafiki_]

Define "best" - and "long time" as well.
If you are implying that it won't be "better" (whatever that means) in the future, I'm afraid you must know what will happen tomorrow, rather than what happened yesterday...

MM, I guess it depends on which side of the Channel (or la Manche) you are on, and whether you are buying or selling at the time. Bad time to be selling British stuff to the Eu today, good time to be buying a boat in Eu with £

 

[MapisM]

MM, I guess it depends....

My point exactly.

 

[jfm]

Well no. Medskipper was clear that he was referring to BUYING euros not selling them, and for that transaction it doesn't matter which side of the channel you live. You could live on the moon. Ok if you want to be pedantic (surely not! ) he didn't say selling GBP so he could have meant selling swissies or yen but I think it is fair to guess he meant buying euros using GBP

 

[rafiki_]

Well no. Medskipper was clear that he was referring to BUYING euros not selling them, and for that transaction it doesn't matter which side of the channel you live. You could live on the moon. Ok if you want to be pedantic (surely not! ) he didn't say selling GBP so he could have meant selling swissies or yen but I think it is fair to guess he meant buying euros using GBP

Yes, you are right, but MM and I were doing a bit of Eu joshing, in a whimsical manner. Well I was anyway

 

[gjgm]

Yes you have to get through to the dealing room and then give them a minimum price you're willing to deal at

Well, that is a different request Mike. You will only get your order filled if the exchange rate moves into (a mutual) court. If it goes the other way..tutty bye !
Interbank, the price is quoted to the 4th decimal place. Even on a million, you are down to pretty small differences, and you will be on the junior's assistant's desk in the dealing room if that's the piddly size you want to do Don't forget, it is almost arbitrary when you decide to call..5 mins earlier or later will probably have a bigger price difference than the difference in prices you get quoted.
Alternatively, chuck in the job and become a forex day trader with one of those flash trading sites, though maybe you want to know that many of them depend on an 80pct churn rate of punters to keep the business model going.
A mug's game if ever there was one.

 

[MapisM]

Well no. Medskipper was clear that he was referring to BUYING euros not selling them...

So what? The last sentence on his OP still depends on the future, rather than on the past.
Aside from agreeing with rafiki, of course.

 

[Medskipper]

Well no. Medskipper was clear that he was referring to BUYING euros not selling them, and for that transaction it doesn't matter which side of the channel you live. You could live on the moon. Ok if you want to be pedantic (surely not! ) he didn't say selling GBP so he could have meant selling swissies or yen but I think it is fair to guess he meant buying euros using GBP

Thanks JFM, your are quite right! I'm talking about selling GBP and buying Euros.
Look I do know that five years or so ago we were getting 1.4. To the pound, but I also know it wasn't so long ago we had parity! So I'm happy with the 1.23. I got for my GBP. I could have got a little more but I felt it was a bit risky, probably not but I'm not wealthy so did not want to risk it!

thanks for all those who helped me decide?

 

[jfm]

So what? The last sentence on his OP still depends on the future, rather than on the past.
Aside from agreeing with rafiki, of course.

Yup, ref your last sentence. But the principal point of your post (as confirmed by you in #7) was that medskipper hadn't spotted that "best" is a relative term and depends on whether you're a euro buyer or a euro seller, or a uk versus an EU citizen. I was correcting you and defending medskipper on that. Sure, run for cover by pointing out that one of your sentences was correct- I wouldn't expect anything less!

And I rafiki was joshing. But as it was based on the mistaken premise of an alleged medskipper mistake, I joshingly defended medskipper. No need for any knicker rotation

 

[MapisM]

the principal point of your post (as confirmed by you in #7) was that medskipper hadn't spotted that "best" is a relative term and depends on whether you're a euro buyer or a euro seller, or a uk versus an EU citizen.
I was correcting you and defending medskipper on that. Sure, run for cover by pointing out that one of your sentences was correct- I wouldn't expect anything less!

LOL, yeah, but!
If you re-read my post #5, my principal point was not exactly the one rafiki made - though I'm guilty as charged for having generically seconded that "it depends".
Anyway, even if I don't think we are helping the OP in splitting hairs further, all I wanted to point out is that no matter how "good" this moment can appear for doing whatever transaction he has in mind, tomorrow is another day, which could always prove that such assumption was wrong (or right, obviously).

More to the point, if I should give any practical suggestion, rather than focusing on what is the better salesman (which is what all of them are, at the end of the day - bar none) to deal with for such transaction, I'd follow a different train of thoughts:
1) leaving speculations aside, if the OP is interested to purchase Euros, it means that he's purchasing something from someone who sells in Euros;
2) therefore, he's the one with cash in his hands, and the other guy is the one who is willing to sell;
3) in such situation, since as we all know cash is king, I would rather tell the seller: look, you're asking 100 gazillions Eur, and I am willing to pay that price. But what I've got is actually 80 gazillions Pounds. Deal?

Of course, I know nothing about the transaction we are talking about, but my guess is that 99.9% of the sellers who are selling anything would accept to take charge of the exchange hassle, rather than loosing a 100 gazillions (or whatever) sale....
You folks north of the Channel shouldn't be so shy of offering GBP for purchasing something, I understand it's a minor currency these days, but still a decent one.
I for one would rather be paid in GBP than in CFA Francs, fwiw.....