Exchange Rates

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Dave Dillehay

Dave Dillehay

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Messages
2,642
Reaction score
3,241
Location
Cozumel
If you watch the street signs of Money Exchanges you will see that the rates change everyday, if not every hour. Trying to post exchange rates on a dive ops web site is almost always going to be wrong. It is best to establish that rate at the time of payment. We feel that is the most fair for all.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
 
+1 on XE.com but remember that it gives you an average of buy and sell.

Cheers -
 
I do not list an exchange rate on my website, but I do have a currency calculator on my website. I list prices in both USD and in pesos with the disclaimer that the peso rate will vary based on current exchange rate at time of payment. But i post rates in pesos to give a general reference for those who prefer to pay in pesos. We have a fair amount of regular customers from Mexico City and other parts of Mexico. I use whatever the rate I am getting at my actual bank on the day of payment.

I'll add that the rate has been pretty consistently between 19.0 and 19.5 for a few months, so my MXP rates reflect that.
 
DandyDon:
It seems to give the same rate as Google.
Click to expand...
It doesn't "give" anything. It's just showing the interbank exchange rate, like Google and a thousand other sites.
 
Dave Dillehay:
If you watch the street signs of Money Exchanges you will see that the rates change everyday, if not every hour. Trying to post exchange rates on a dive ops web site is almost always going to be wrong. It is best to establish that rate at the time of payment. We feel that is the most fair for all.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
Click to expand...
Ah ... no.

There are any number of apps that give real time mid-market quotes for the exchange rate for just about any currency. (see qroo.us for an example; if you're on a mobile device it's at the bottom). Incorporating this into a website shouldn't be difficult. If you need to add in some percentage to cover handling costs, that could be incorporated easily as well.

While I can understand the marketing imperative to advertise in the currency used by most of the customers, you don't seem to be addressing the question of whether or not it's legally required to advertise a price in pesos or an exchange rate. Granted, almost all the shops on Cozumel advertise prices in dollars like Aldora, and PROFECO may be reticent to go after a big money-maker in the local economy, but your argument doesn't hold water, so to speak.

If PROFECO ever did decide to go after the dive shops for only advertising in dollars, I doubt that, "IT'S TOO HARD!" is going to be a persuasive argument.
 
So my question is this for @Christi and @Dave Dillehay : What is your cost basis? Is it Dollars or Pesos? Since you are in Mexico, shouldn't it be in Pesos? Then the Dollar amount would be whatever the current exchange rate gives. Or you pick your own exchange rate like the restaurants and taxis do.
It's easer to budget my trips when you put your costs in Dollars, but, again, I think it should be in the national currency. I someone wants to pay in dollars, use the exchange rate.

Personally I do everything in cash so I can go either way. I keep the 1% to 2% foreign transaction fee that many credit cards charge. (Now we'll get all of the Schwab and similar card users chiming in that their card doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee -- Not germane). Bottom line - You're in Mexico - Use Pesos.

Cheers -
 
I prefer to pre-pay a lot of my big ticket items, like dives, hotels, and such. But once I get to Mexico I just use pesos for 90% of my purchases as most of the time it is cheaper.
 
Manatee Diver:
I prefer to pre-pay a lot of my big ticket items, like dives, hotels, and such. But once I get to Mexico I just use pesos for 90% of my purchases as most of the time it is cheaper.
Click to expand...
I book my air, hotel, and dives in USDollars, and I tip boat crews in USDollars, then get Pesos for the rest. Funny, even tho I book my hotel in USD, they bill me in Pesos and I pay that way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom