eBay

tip-top.deal · ‎12-27-2011

For the past years I'm listing my items on eBay.com with the help of the program from Auctiva. Lately I was advised that my listings, designated for sale in Canada and/or International, won't appear any more with ebay.ca unless they included Canadian shipping rates!

The way I see it - I would have to specify usage of the International shipping calculator; together with the weight, size and handling fee etc.

My questions:

1) What kind of shipping option does this calculator use? Because of my Canada Post VentureOne membership I usually ship by Expedited parcel mail.

2) What option does it use for International parcels? For small items (up-to 2kg) I use always air mail. Larger ones are too expensive - so forget it!

3) If I specify Wordwide shipping - for what countries will the calculator work?

4) How accurate is this shipping calculator?

reallynicestamps · ‎12-27-2011

I think you misunderstand.

If you intend to keep listing on eBaydotCOM, you will have to provide shipping rates TO CANADA.(not Canada Post shipping rates)

Since you cannot use Canada Post on dotCOM, you will be providing Flat Rates.

Just as you do now.

When you set up your International Shipping, which I presume you are doing with Flat Rate already, just click Custom Destinations.

You will see Canada there. Set up your Flat Rate to Canada.

Click on Custom Destinations again and set up your other International Destinations. (BTW, unless you are doing this you are missing the Australian and UK markets.) Do NOT include Canada here.

The other box for International shipping should be set to "Ships Worldwide". If you put specific countries in there, particularly Canada, this instruction will override your earlier instruction.

You can Block the countries you don't want to ship to through your Seller Preferences.

4)The shipping calculator (which again you can't use unless you are shipping from the USA) is as accurate as the information you give it. One tip, for Canada Post use metric measures. CP went metric in 1974. If you use Imperial measures, you will get approximations and there will be problems.

USPS uses Imperial measures.

If you are using Expedited, print your labels through Paypal. You will get a 20 to 25% discount from PO counter prices.

2)I use Small Packet Surface USA a lot, but I sell books and readers tend to be honest (and oddly, most of them seem to read the descriptions!). For overseas I use Small Packet International Air mostly.

As you know, SP includes an automatic $100 in insurance. I use this in case of disputes (which are few-- as mentioned readers tend to read). I do use Expedited with Delivery Confirmation on another ID which sells high value specialized literature.

1)The only shipping service that the Calculator does not handle is LetterMail/LetterPost. It does handle Light Packet.

I have never used anything but the SYI form provided by eBay. You may want to do a few listings with SYI to help you understand what is going on. Then switch back to Auctiva.

reallynicestamps · ‎12-27-2011

Ummm - Canada Post has an actual service called Expedited Parcel. I may have been confusing it with a USPS service or with some terms used by Auctiva or eBay.

It is reasonably fast, insured up to $100 and Delivery Confirmed.

But as I mentioned, I mostly use LetterPost and Small Packet Surface, neither of which is DC. This also reflects the value of my books.

I also notice that I was posting under the ID that sells the high-priced literature. It is another ID that sells cheap vintage paperbacks.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-28-2011

If you are listing on .com you cannot use the shipping calculator if you are shipping from Canada. In order to be seen on .ca you either have to list with a flat shipping rate or list on .ca and use the shipping calculator.

In my opinion, because you do have a variety of heavy items you would really be better off listing on .ca. Then, you could use the shipping calculator for Canada and the U.S. I honestly think that buyers are more likely to look at your listing if you have the correct shipping listed as soon as they look at it rather than making them figure out the chart and shipping info that you have put in your listing.

On another note..you mention that you often use expedited because you have a venture one card. If you use paypal shipping and use expedited parcel for Canada or the U.S. you will get approximately 20% the counter price.

tip-top.deal · ‎12-29-2011

When you set up your International Shipping, which I presume you are doing with Flat Rate already, just click Custom Destinations.

You will see Canada there. Set up your Flat Rate to Canada.

Click on Custom Destinations again and set up your other International Destinations. (BTW, unless you are doing this you are missing the Australian and UK markets.) Do NOT include Canada here.

As proposed I managed to set-up separate flat shipping rates for US, Canada, the UK and Australia. I only selected small items, that are covered by small parcel rates basically wordwide EXCEPT Canada. That's where the problem lies of not having published any shipping rates up-to now. If I have to list now a flat Canadian rate, just to make the listings visible in Canada, they are so wrong for many locations. Expedited shipping rate to Ontario is about identical to the UK rate, whereas the rate to BC is more than all the way to Australia!! If, on the other hand, I publish the Ontario cost as a flat rate, I'll lose money for most other Canadian destinations! If I stay with the BC rate, I probably get lots of complaints for overcharging or possibly even neg. feedback and/or buyers shy-away from my listings all-together. You lost me with your last sentence: Do NOT include Canada here.

I presently have the same problem with larger items, exceeding the small parcel flat rate, going to the US. I had to publish the highest flat rate, in order to cover the (7 diff.) rates for all the different US states. I found it necessary to add a table to my description to show the applicable lower rates. This however is NOT possible again for Canada where the rates are different for almost every postal code!

Now - if I consider listing with ebay.ca in order to use the shipping calculator and reflect more reasonable Canadian shipping rates, the following:

Are my listings getting the same visibility to US buyers as they get right now when listed with ebay.com? because 90% of all my present sales go to US destinations.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-29-2011

Are my listings getting the same visibility to US buyers as they get right now when listed with ebay.com? because 90% of all my present sales go to US destinations.

Yes.

Some may disagree with that but imo, as long as your listings are set up so that they show shipping in the U.S., you should have the same visibility.

Not only would be showing the correct shipping within Canada, you would also be able to use the calculator for the U.S. or anywhere else.

tip-top.deal · ‎12-29-2011

Not only would be showing the correct shipping within Canada, you would also be able to use the calculator for the U.S. or anywhere else.

Your answers are very helpful to me. I see that you're also using Auctiva to list your items - so I have to familiarize myself with all their shipping tools. Do you know, if there's an easy way to switch listings from .com to .ca? Is there a particular reason why you use US dollar listing prices instead of Can.? One more question on the shipping calculator: does it always use the least expensive rates (surface instead of air mail) or can you set a particular default for diff. weight classes?

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-30-2011

Do you know, if there's an easy way to switch listings from .com to .ca?

No, not really. When you change listings from .com to .ca or vice versa, you have to redo the listing. That is true whether you or doing the listing directly on ebay or through Auctiva. When I do it, I usually just copy and paste most of the information although the shipping has to be done separately of course.

Is there a particular reason why you use US dollar listing prices instead of Can.?

Actually, the majority of my items are listed on .com so I have to use U.S currency. The listings that are more Canadian specific (hockey, football, coins) I list on .ca and list in Cdn$. I started doing that when both countries dollars were on par. I wouldn't really recommend doing it that way though as it can get confusing and if a buyer purchases one item that I have listed on .ca and another one on .com, I have to invoice them separately. If strictly listed on .ca I would still list in U.S. $ because the majority of my buyers are in the U.S. and I think that many of them are more comfortable buying in U.S. dollars rather than a "foreign" currency.

One more question on the shipping calculator: does it always use the least expensive rates (surface instead of air mail) or can you set a particular default for diff. weight classes?

You have to tell the calculator which service you want to use.You can set up more than one shipping option though. When you do that, the calculator defaults to the first option that you input....by that I mean that the buyer will see only that first option unless they go into the listing and into the shipping section.

Make sure that you know the minimum and maximum measurements of the shipping service that you are using. For example if you put in too small or too large measurements for U.S. expedited, the calculator won't warn you. But the customer won't be able to see a rate because the measurements are wrong for that service.

tip-top.deal · ‎12-30-2011

Do you know, if there's an easy way to switch listings from .com to .ca?

No, not really. When you change listings from .com to .ca or vice versa, you have to redo the listing. That is true whether you or doing the listing directly on ebay or through Auctiva. When I do it, I usually just copy and paste most of the information although the shipping has to be done separately of course.

First of all I wanted to thank you very much for all your help and good advise. I tried, tested and posted one item last night. It took some efforts to get it right the first time around, but it's amazing after all this years to see that there's a way of publishing local shipping costs that correspond to the reality. At the same time I'll probably eliminate all, or most, of the buyers questions. I actually found a faster way to transfer the listings to .ca, w/out redoing the entire listing. I used the old Auctiva record, that is stored by date, and just changed the eBay Site to Canada. Naturally I then had to change all the shipping info. at the same time. Just the same, I still have a big job ahead of me to change all my active listings; but with the up-comming postal rate changes (after Jan. 15) it was to be done one way or another.

My best wishes for the New Year!

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-30-2011

I actually found a faster way to transfer the listings to .ca, w/out redoing the entire listing. I used the old Auctiva record, that is stored by date, and just changed the eBay Site to Canada.

That's great that you found a way to do that but now you have to tell me exactly how you do it! lol

If I am in Auctiva and go into a saved listing, it doesn't allow me to change the dropdown box at the top. You must be going into in another way?

Happy New Year to you too! 🙂

tip-top.deal · ‎12-30-2011

That's great that you found a way to do that but now you have to tell me exactly how you do it! lol

If I am in Auctiva and go into a saved listing, it doesn't allow me to change the dropdown box at the top. You must be going into in another way?

You probably use the edit option - it doesn't work there. Use the create similar listing window (under actions header on r/h side). When new window opens-up you'll see at the very top: eBay Site and you can select from: US - Canada - UK - Australia - Germany.... Hope this helps!

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-31-2011

Perfect! Thank you tip top.

your-tape-solution · ‎08-15-2013

Not true.You may use Turbo Lister to change your ebay.ca listings to ebay.com.
Also as far as visibility listing on ebay.com is far better.AMERICANS GENERALLY look down on Canada and you know most do not click on see additional items from international sellers.
The thing that i could use help with is now you have ebay.com ,ebay North America ,ebay us only .What gives ,another way ebay is charging more money is how I see it.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-16-2013

@your-tape-solution wrote:
Not true.You may use Turbo Lister to change your ebay.ca listings to ebay.com.
Also as far as visibility listing on ebay.com is far better.AMERICANS GENERALLY look down on Canada and you know most do not click on see additional items from international sellers.
The thing that i could use help with is now you have ebay.com ,ebay North America ,ebay us only .What gives ,another way ebay is charging more money is how I see it.

I think that some will disagree that visibility is better on .com. If you list on .ca and your listing has shipping prices to the U.S. it shows up in the same section as the U.S. sellers items. There is no need for buyers to click on the international sellers item to see a Canadian listing.

I'm not sure what you mean by your comment about charging more money. Those options or similar ones have been around for a long time.

When signing into .com, the default is the top one..ebay.com which offers the most options...Canadian listings, Chinese, etc.

If a buyer wants to narrow their search and see only North American listings, they can click on that option. These are not different sites, they are just ways of making a search more location specific.