Selling L$ for US$?

Hiya. I've built up a nice chunk of change in funnymoney here in SL, and I'm thinking of cashing some of it out into my Paypal account, but something's mystifying me and the help/FAQs are of, well, no help...

Why is it that buying L$1000 is approx US$4.06, but selling L$1000 gives me estimated proceeds of US$3.50? I know they said there'd be a 3.5% off the top transaction fee, but that's a heck of a lot more than that! Is this normal? Why can't I sell for the same price I'm buying for?

I know it can be confusing at first (I know it was for me) but for buying and selling it is 99% of the time two different transaction rates you are working with.

First off there are 2 ways to sell on the Lindex. There is the Limit Sell and the Market Sell. The Market sell will get you a rate of about 1USD/L$276, where the Limit Sells are going for about 1USD/L$266. The biggest difference between the 2 is how long it will take you to get your money into you SL account. The market sell will get you your cash now, where depending on the market, a limit sell can take anywhere from hours to a few days.

Also remember that there is a flat .30 fee for every buy you make and a 3.5% fee for all sales. This may be why you are getting the different rates. It see the "advanced" view of the market, goto https://secondlife.com/account/currency_settings.php and select "advanced"

PS The "estimated proceeds" includes the 3.5% fee.

Remember to place a limit sell order. Look at the Sell L$ page to see what the best rate is. Now it's 266L/$1. Multiply that by 1.035 (to take LL's commission into account) and you are getting a rate of 275.31L/$1. Don't forget PayPal fees!

I think that LL uses mass payments so the only fee is a $1 charge for LL to process it. I have never been changed when I have taken money out of SL, but that may have changed since it has been a while.

I meant fees on PayPal's end. Yes, LL only charges $1 to withdraw to PayPal. But if you transfer it on from PayPal, you're looking at another 3% hit. Ouch!

You could also sell on the slexchange.com where they charge a commision only when you buy Lindens at their current market price

(ie; when you don't enter a limit order)