First let me apologize if this topic has been covered. Here is what happened to me (I am posting on European forum because people here seem pretty experienced):<BR>I was in Brazil and was purchasing some loose stones at a very reputible jeweler (H Stern). They told me that they had to charge me in US dollars. I argued that I am in Brazil and they can charge me in Reales on my cc and my bank would give me a better rate. The sales lady kept arguing. Finally I was just wanting to get the purchase over with and get out of there so I let them charge me in US dollars. After I left I felt I could have handled it much better.<BR>I am still pretty new about traveling and have tried to read up on what could happen. Unfortunately I did not have any travel tips on this particular issue.<BR>I can understand that they want the stability of the US dollar but if I was Brazilian they would not demand to charge my cc in USD. Please help me so that I do not make same mistakes again.<BR>Thank you!<BR>

You can make your own determination of value, either in U.S. dollars or otherwise. If you don't like the way a place does business, then don't do business with them. They'll get the message loud and clear. If the price in Reais came to a conversion rate that was very close to the day's interbank rate, I'm not sure that I understand the issue. If it didn't, then I'm not sure why you bought the items. There is no inherent benefit to paying in foreign currency if the exchange rate is correct.

Thanks for responding None but I guess I am trying to apply US standards abroad. In the US shops do not charge a cc in foreign currencies. We charge in our local currency. Lesson Number 1 that I learned: Never assume anything!<BR>Next time I will just say thanks but no thanks and just leave.

Jill, H. Stern certainly is a very well-known international business. Loose stones can come close to being a commodity and the Brazilian Real has declined in value by perhaps a third over a relatively short period of time. The value of the stones, however, did not necessarily decline and regardless, it would not be in relationship to the local currency. It therefore appears that Stern chooses to maintain a pricing system in a hard currency like U.S. dollars, rather than altering prices constantly as the local currency rises and falls.<BR><BR>The same might be true of something like gold, when it is trading as a commodity. It would be unrealistic to expect gold to be much cheaper in various countries, if we're talking strictly about weight. (Finished jewelry reflects a lot of value-added in the pricing, so it's different.) <BR><BR>In short, I'm not entirely convinced that they were pulling a fast one on you in that situation. I'm guessing that if a local person was purchasing the same items in local currency, those prices were likely inflating over the period of time that the local currency was falling. If you did this purchase recently and the exchange was in the neighborhood of 3-1, you probably didn't do too badly.

Thanks Jim unfortunately the Real was 2 to 1 when I went. I wish I was there now! Thank you for your response.

This is rather interesting has anyone else had this experience while traveling?

Could it also be possible that H. Stern, international as they are, simply have their merchant account (or one of their merchant accounts) in the US and not in Brazil? Meaning that the base currency for the transaction is in USD. Would be understandable on their part.

I encountered several merchants in Ireland who charged my purchases in dollars, but at the same time deducted the VAT. Even if the exchange rate was not so favorable, it was a convenience not to have to deal with the tax-back system. If they had not provided the hassle-free VAT refund, I might have insisted that the transactions be done in punts--they were Irish companies, not international businesses with branches around the world.<BR>There will always be some additional cost involved in making purchases in foreign contries, so if that money goes to the merchant instead of to Visa, my greedy Visa issuer, or the VAT refund processing service, it doesn't matter much to me (as long as the merchant's exchange rate does not exceed the official exchange rate by more than about 5%).