How do I minimize the hit when trying to put euros into my US checking account?

I’m a little confused.. is this ‘hit’ coming in the form of the exchange rate.. a wire transfer fee.. i’m not really sure what in particular you are referring to.

you can’t really but you should use cooks they have the lowest fees.

Don’t accept checks in foreign currency?

You do need more explanation here. Where is the $300 being charged? Is it because the exchange rate used was unfavorable, because of money-changing fees or some other reason?

My best idea would be for the payer to do the conversion himself and to pay you in $USD.

You might consider cashing out at a bank that specializes in foreign currency exhanges, and then deposit the resulting US funds. The exchange rate would be better and probably no fee.

Definitely look around for the best Euro to US$ conversion rate you can find, then deposit the US currency you receive. Banks tend not to give great rates and their fees can be terrible. Depending on where you get it, you shouldn’t be looking at more than a 3%, rather than the 7–8% exchange it seems like you’re getting.