MirkoBoeddecker We have a new payment method in our online shop: Sofortüberweisung. It offers a good balance between user-friendliness and fees. When you select Sofortüberweisung, you will be redirected to the provider’s interface at sofoertueberweisung.de, where you can enter your bank details, log in with your PIN and authorise the transfer using a TAN. Your bank details and the amount are automatically transferred from our shop; you do not need to enter anything else. The whole process takes less than a minute and everything is sorted. You will be redirected back to the shop and your order will be confirmed. We can then dispatch the goods immediately, provided they are in stock. From our perspective, this payment method is preferable if we do not have a direct debit authorisation on file. Sofortüberweisung also works in Switzerland and Austria. Sofortüberweisung is free of charge for the user (apart from any account maintenance fees charged by their bank). Kind regards, Mirko
kugelfisch Hi Mirko, I only ever enter my PIN and TAN at my bank – certainly not on any other website. It’s not as if I give my postman a key to my flat so he can pop the parcel straight inside. Have you ever considered accepting credit card payments or PayPal? Best regards, Alex
MirkoBoeddecker Hello Alex, With Sofortüberweisung, you enter your PIN directly via your bank. Your bank’s online banking system is integrated into the process. This payment method is now becoming increasingly widespread, as the processing fee is within reasonable limits (under 1%). We will also accept credit cards in future, but we will have to charge the associated exorbitant 5% processing fee separately. The photography market is so fiercely competitive that we cannot and do not wish to implement a general 5% price increase simply to cover these additional costs. Overall, PayPal and credit cards lead to higher prices for the consumer. I really can’t see the point in that. In most countries around the world, the credit card surcharge is less than 2%. Only in Germany has a stubborn 4% been charged for decades, and consumers dutifully pay it. On top of that comes 1% for the payment gateway (e.g. iPayment) = 5%. That’s more than we earn on many films..... If you don’t like Sofortüberweisung, you can of course still pay by prepayment or direct debit. However, this may not be as quick, and we may not be able to dispatch the order on the same day. Best regards, Mirko
kugelfisch Hi Alex, With Sofortüberweisung, you enter your PIN directly with your bank. Your bank’s online banking system is integrated into the service. ...No, that’s not correct. You have to enter the PIN on sofortueberweisung.de.
VolkerSchulz Anyone who uses online banking with an HBCI card does not have a TAN. As a result, only a limited number of customers can use Sofortüberweisung. All the best! Volker
mdeutgen I share the concerns of the other respondents. Of course, the fees for PayPal and credit cards are outrageously high in Germany, but does that really mean I should sign up to yet another platform and entrust it with my personal details? No, thank you! I’ll continue to pay in advance when placing orders, as I rarely find myself in a situation where I need materials at the last minute. And if it really does come to that, DHL will surely throw a spanner in the works – last time, it took them three days to get a parcel from Berlin to FZ30 in Hanover. The bank transfer from my bank, on the other hand, was credited to Impex overnight, contrary to expectations. It’s a bit of a topsy-turvy world, isn’t it? Regards, Martin
VolkerSchulz I’ve always paid by direct debit up to now. It’s always worked without a hitch with FOTOIMPEX and is definitely the cheapest option. I’ve no desire to pay higher prices just to cover the extra costs incurred by PayPal and the like. And my orders are dispatched immediately after I place them. All the best! Volker
