Sending money back to Canada

What's the best way to wire money back to Canada? Simply waltz into the local branch of your bank? Or are there some private services that offer a better deal?

I send money monthly by cheque. There have not been any fees levied on either end of the transaction. The funds are held for a month in the Canadian account.

I use Western Union - it's a bit pricey, but the money is instantly accessable. If you don't want to go down that route, then try your bank. They too, charge a fee, but they can wire it directly into a Canadian account, and it only takes a few days.

When I used to regularly wire money home (chipping away at a credit line I'd had with the Royal when I moved), I used to do it via my local bank. Since then an idea occurred to me that it should be possible to manage transactions like this via PayPal: set up two PayPal accounts - one with your Canadian Bank and another with your UK/US/Australian/<fill-in-the-blank> bank, then simply pay yourself. I never had the chance to try this, so it's all speculative. If anyone does try it, please let me know how it went!

Did the PayPal thing and it was great and cheaper than what it was costing at the bank. Puts the money directly into your bank account in Canda. Takes a few days though.

What kind of cut do PayPal take? 1 or 2%

I think it depends on the amount being transferred. Like up to 3% I think. Plus they give a terrible exchange rate. I found it's not worth it for larger transactions.

Ya, now that you mention it, PayPal do give you a crap exchange rate. I did a comparison. Well now we are back to finding a better way. My bank charges 10 pounds to put money into my Canadian Bank...pretty pricey.
So if anyone knows the best way...please let me know

I sent a bunch of post dated cheques to a canadian account. Every month on the 18th, money is put right in there withouth me doing anything else.

Thanks for that. I contacted my bank RBC in Canada about sending cheques to be deposited into my account. They said there would be a up to a 25 day hold on the cheques before they would be put into my account. Is this what you are finding? How much percent do you lose on exchange? Or do you get the proper exchange rate?

Thanks for your help!!