I did the money transfer process (not the PayPal) and it worked fine. It was an extra step or so going to my local bank and a little bit of paperwork, but other than that it was very easy and added maybe a single day delay at the most. I did the transfer on a Friday morning and by Monday I had notice that everything was good and the radio was in production. I am sure bank rates will vary, but I saved a bit of $$ by choosing that option. As for shipping, that did take a bit of time, but it was very easy to track every step. The radio was well packed. I have no real basis for comparison on the shipping cost specifically.
73s - Allan - KD4RUF