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Comment on Yen weakens past ¥160 per dollar, eroding intervention gainsparent

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If I was in that situation and I’d help my friend not try to make a buck off them when they are down.

Between electronic transfer and just settle the debt later, isn’t really an excuse…

Please explain how the situation I described is me "trying to make a buck". You're saying he regretted the terms he presented, and is forever resentful that I didn't drag him to a bank to look up the exchange rate at the time?

The economic term is "price gauging".

You charged a $15usd (~15%) fee when your friend was desperate and willing, when the standard fee for such transactions is at best 0% and worst 5%.

It very much depends on the people and the relationship. Through many years, I've swung a few hundred$+ in either direction with a bunch of people, thousands with a couple.

I much prefer zero stress - if money is tight, we just don't do expensive stuff, or steal the bill before they have a chance to pay. Mostly that means we stay cheap until we can safely cover multiple people if needed (running your safety-buffer low enough that you can't do that is a terrible idea anyway).

The economic term is "price gauging".

OP increased the cost of forex from 0-5% to 15% when his "friend" was desperate.

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