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I feel like I'm working for Davivienda....

As I mentioned before, I just published my first motorcycle magazine in Colombia. All is going well, except that people who want to get an issue of the magazine mailed to them asked about payment. I said that's easy, just deposit $10,000 pesos into my Davivienda account and we'll ship the magazine to you. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, guess what? For every $10,000 deposit I get, Davivienda gets $7,500 pesos. What a ripoff. Their explaination was "It's because it's an out of town transaccion.''
There has to be an easyer way where I don't feel like I'm working for Davivienda. And I guess PAYPAL is non-existent in Colombia.
Any ideas?

By mrgizmo on Oct 23, 2009, 10:37 in Friendly Talkzone.

pedro (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 23, 2009, 10:46:

If the buyer has Davivienda too, get them to do a transfer from their account to yours -- usually free on both sides.

Or give them the option of say, Davivienda or BanColombia (piggyback on a friend / family member's account) and if they don't personally have an account at one of those two, they get a friend to transfer the money.

Beyond that, I don't have anything good to suggest. Servientrega has a kind of virtual money order service that would probably cost less than 7,500 for such a small transaction amount. I don't remember how much it should cost, maybe 4,000?

"this may seem a strange post but it is not...when in colombia men need to be aware that colombia women may try to be seductive and entice a travelling gringo to have sex with them..to be forewarned is to be forearmed..." -- pow wow

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stocktrader says on Oct 23, 2009, 10:57:

ask the other banks how much they charge. if you're a good enough client of Davivienda talk to a branch manager and explain to him/her the situation and that you'll have to close the account. It worked for me when I had to bring US dollars (less than 5000 so they wanted to rip me of on the xchange rate).

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mrgizmo says on Oct 23, 2009, 11:05:

Excellent ideas, thank you both. $7,500 doesn't sound like much of a fee but if that same fee is applied to hundreds of deposits, it adds up.

Behind every successful man, there's a nagging woman

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makopp5 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 23, 2009, 11:12:

you can open an account at Fondo La Nacion, there you don`t have to pay consignacion nacional. We do this for our sales outside Medellin and Bogota.

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webmanco says on Oct 23, 2009, 11:14:

It is not only Davivienda, all of the bank do charge for other cities deposits. Best thing to do is pass the cost to the buyer.

Or send a few mags to different cities and the buyer do a pick up.

No hay extremo cierto o verdadero, porque los extremos opacan, enruedan, (lavan cerebros) verdades. Yotas

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alezzz says on Oct 23, 2009, 11:17:

Citibank does not charge you for out of town transactions.

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mrgizmo says on Oct 23, 2009, 11:27:

Great possibilities, thank you.

Behind every successful man, there's a nagging woman

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mrgizmo says on Oct 23, 2009, 11:39:

What requirements are there to open a Citibank account? Is it complicated?

Behind every successful man, there's a nagging woman

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theflatline says on Oct 23, 2009, 11:41:

Another way Colombia screws itself out of creating commerce. Killing the golden goose over and over.

Legaleez for Complete Morons - A book for gringos in Colombia for who think they understand the nature of the law in a country where they cannot speak the language.

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bogodaysleeper512 says on Oct 23, 2009, 12:20:

How does anyone expect commerce to flourish here if they are taking more than 50%?! I can't stand Colombian banks...incredible.

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magiver says on Oct 23, 2009, 12:39:

paypal does exist in colombia... you can use mercadopago.com as well. They will take a commission, but it wont be THAT high.
Other that that your best solution is servientrega

My English is bad because its not my native language. Whats your excuse?

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vicshere says on Oct 23, 2009, 14:48:

why not get yourself a vias/mastercard account and let your customers charge it

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Monita Linda says on Oct 24, 2009, 16:53:

For citybank you need to have an income above a million IIRC

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