Daily Rates, Trophy Fees, and price negotiations

You need to appreciate that (unless it's been changed in the last year or so) Paypal don't allow people in RSA and possibly other African countries to have a merchant account and I think you'l find that means can't accept payment via Paypal.

There are other systems that do allow it. Monster Pay being one.

Originally Posted by lwaters

My outfitter offered me a good deal on the next hunt. Trophy fees and day rates won't be discounted that much but he said he would work with me on the airline flight. Like I try to get the cheapest flight and he will try to work with the dates. Also he said I would not need a deposit and could pay for everything when I got home with a bank wire. I don't know if I could be that trusting myself. I wonder if I could just use his computer and do the bank wire there as I can set up the bank before I get there. Anybody do that?

It is most certainly possible for you to make an arrangement with your bank for you to wire the funds to your Outfitter from his computer in Africa. Many of my clients do just that.

And whilst accommodating and trusting of your Outfitter to suggest that you wire the funds to him when you're back home, there are a few things that he and you should consider... (I think I may have posted on a similar thread before so please excuse me if I am repeating myself)

What if you do not make it back home? Most folks don't even want to think about this but many unforseen circumstances can arise that would prevent a customer from making payment when (if) he gets back home... I won't go into this in any detail but think about it... airplanes fall from the sky, cars crash... too many to mention... A client of a friend of mine hunted 2 lions with him one year and paid for them without any issue after he got back home. The next year he was back to hunt leopard and he left with the promise to pay when he gets back. When the client got home he was served with divorce papers and his (soon to be ex) wife had all his assets frozen. As it turned out; the client's wife had found out about certain "indiscretions" on the client's part while he was away and decided to sue for divorce. That leopard is now in my friend's lodge, he had to pay the landowner for it and didn't make a penny on that hunt - in fact it cost him a whole bunch of money...

PayPal is an option that I offer to my clients but as has been mentioned there can be issues in spite of arrangements having been made beforehand and the biggest problem is that it is extremely difficult to get someone alive to talk to if such issues do arise as it is a virtual payment instrument. There are also fees to consider as others have mentioned. In my business (given profit margins) the 3 - 4% merchant commission that gets levied on transactions is a cost that I have to transfer to my clients should they wish to use this payment method.

Best,

I agree with Chris on this one. I too, offer Paypal as a payment method to my clients. The charges are high, there are no two ways about it, but you do get the security that goes with it, which is exactly why I offer them as a payment option. I have used them to claim money back from someone who chose to run after I purchased goods from them in the US and they sorted out everything and got all of my money back. So, I have seen both sides of Paypal, and I can confirm that they offer a good service. At a slightly high price though, but worth it.