which currency is better to use for selling

[rickycautin04]

I was wondering in which currency it is best to sell? Do I save more money on fees in one of them? I'm kind of confused about this...thanks

[femmefan1946]

The concensus is that everyone in the world understands US dollars and Americans (the world's biggest economy and consistently our biggest market) only understand US dollars.

I have used Canadian dollars to sell items I was only allowed to sell in Canada and items that would basically only sell to Canadians.

Sometimes, in terms of using USdollars, you will win on foreign exchange and sometimes you will lose. Be careful only to transfer money to your bank account when you have $150 or more to deposit.  Otherwise you will have a fee.

While there is no exchange when you sell in loonies and deposit to a Canadian currency bank account, this is easily offset by those increased sales (see first sentence of this post.)

If you are a full-time business, you might consider opening a US bank account in a US bank through either Canada Trust (TDNorth) or Royal Bank (Centaura) . The brackets are the names of their fully owned subsidiaries. Be prepared to jump through hoops for Homeland Security and pay steep commercial banking fees. Don't bother if this is a hobby for you.

[surplusdealdude]

I agree about using US$.  It's really the only game in town.

If you live close enough to the US border, going over and physically opening a US bank account in a US bank is pretty easy if you have a passport.  Then you can avoid the steep banking fees.

[rose-dee]

I'd agree with the comments above, with the possible exception that if you are selling items that you know will be going mainly to a Canadian market, you might want to list in $Cdn to avoid currency fluctuations and exchange charges.  I'm not sure what those items would be, but you might just be in a niche that gets 90% Canadian buyers (I'm not).  However if most of your customers are Canadian and the dollar slips below $0.80 US, if you're listing in $US you may find your Canadian sales slump and you'd have to re-evaluate your listing strategy.   

As 'femmefan' noted, everyone in the world (and especially Canadians) understand U.S. dollars, and most Canucks know more or less what the exchange rate is at any given time.  Also don't forget that eBay's system converts listings to suit the viewer's site - i.e. if you're looking at American listings on eBay.ca, you'll see the $Cdn equivalent shown on the listing anyway.

If you list in U.S. dollars, as long as the Canadian dollar remains below par you'll be in a better position to offset some of your other costs (like shipping and currency exchange charges/losses through Paypal, etc.). 

I used to list in $Cdn years ago when our dollar was at ca. $0.75 US, and it gave my US buyers a boost to see their money go 25% further, but I switched to $US only listings about 3 years ago.  EBay says this will increase sales, if you believe such claims. 

Personally, if I were just starting out and didn't yet know whether most of my buyers would be US or Canadian, I'd list in $US. 

[pierrelebel]

"which currency is better to use for selling"

Generally I suggest using US$ if you sell to a worldwide customer base.  However, in your case, based on what you are currently selling and checking who your customers are, I would recommend you list in Canadian dollars.

Yes, you save some money on fees as you would not have to pay PayPal's 2.5% conversion fee when converting US$ into Cdn$.

Your customers seem to be Canadian collectors who will prefer to buy in Canadian dollars as they also save the conversion fees and some American dealers purchasing your items for resale in their domestic market who will buy in any currency as long as their purchase price allow them to make a profit.

Good Luck.

[rickycautin04]

Thanks for your recommendations....It probably makes more dense to list in CAN dollars..I don't want to pay that conversion fee of 2.5 when converting to Cd money...There's enough little fees to pay...Thanks to all the posters comments...

[cumos55]

It has been listings  in US dollars right from the beginning a bit over 10 years ago.

The US dollar is universally understood.....  and I do have many important buyers in the US and in Europe.... 

Some buyers have asked to be billed in Canadian dollars....My conversion is done using Currency Converter at

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

and I give these people a link to this location.   There is no question with respect to to the conversion.

The Canadian dollar is changing right now... and I have been using this currency calculator  to determine the  value for insurance in Canadian dollars with Canada Post....  May not seem much at $20... but it is significant at $100 and more...

Local pickups... currently I use equality between the US and Canadian dollars....  and gain on the amount that Paypal did not take for a US to Canadian conversion.

I do not have to think twice about which currency to use...  US dollars it has been and will continue to be....

Years ago I listed a book at $750 US....  and it sold...

It was listed when there was parity between the US and Canadian dollars...

However it sold at the end of the 2008 mortgage mess in the US  and the exchange rate was $1.25 Canadian  to $1.00 US..

That $750 US listing became about $935 Canadian...

If it was listed in Canadian dollars  I would not have gotten that boost on the exchange....  Buyer was in Hong Kong ...

The exchange rate could also have gone the other way!

Profit was super  as I bought that book at a garage sale  for $1.00.... one dollar Canadian

I cannot imagine selling in Canadian dollars.....  even though 70 % of sales so far in 2013 are to Canadian buyers.....

I just ... do it...

For income tax purposes I keep a record of all of my US to Canadian conversions....At the end of the Year  I add up my US dollar total  and my Canadian dollar total.... and the two totals for the year become my US to Canadian dollar conversion rate for the year....

This is the conversion rate used to convert my US dollar values to Canadian dollars for that year...   and that includes eBay and Paypal fees.. strictly for a calculation of total for sales and postage fo a year, for all transactions that went through Paypal.

eBay and Paypal fees are in US dollars  and are deducted before US dollars are converted to Canadian dollars and then transferred to my Canadian dollar bank account. 

Things only get critical as one approaches $30,000 in sales plus postage worldwide  in relation to a requirement to collect GST/HST

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Hum. Interesting. I look at Femme's listings and they say "US $14.99". The OP's listing just state the price, no US or CDN. How do the buyers know it is CDN then? Are they supposed to assume? I assume any non-denominated amount is American.

Lose 2,5% on the Paypal fee? The spread between US and Canada is 4%. I am making 1.5%.

[pierrelebel]

"I am making 1.5%."

Maybe, maybe not.  That would assume a Canadian buyer for example would pay the same amount of dollars, regardless of currency.  I do not think so.  Buyers are generally smart than that.

If a Canadian buyer sees US$ 10.00 for example, he knows that will cost him about Cdn$10.65 including the conversion fee (2.5%) and the exchange differential (about 4% today)

If the same item is offered at Cdn$ 10.50, the Canadian buyer knows that price is better than US$ 10.00

Frankly, I think it is wrong to assume Canadian buyers do not understand the difference between US$ and Cdn$ and how that difference affects their out-of-pocket costs.

Looking at the big picture, when sellers sell mostly Canadian stuff to be sold mostly to Canadian buyers, it makes sense to list in Cdn$ regardless of the conversion rate applicable that day, month or year.

[pierrelebel]

To continue on the example above, let us look at it from the Canadian seller's perspective, using today's rates (not counting eBay/PayPal fees as they will offset each other in any case).

Selling at US$ 10.00, the seller gets Cdn$ 10.40 (includes 4% gain on currency) less 2.5% (conversion fee) = Cdn$ 10.14

Selling at Cdn$ 10.50, the seller gets Cdn$ 10.50

The Canadian buyer gets a slightly better deal and the seller gets more money

Win - Win (except for PayPal)

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Pierre, larger volume and dollar sellers see a different picture. Our motivation is different. OP is selling CDN silver coins. In theory, these would be ideal for cDN and USA collectors. My view is that these have a worldwide appeal. You and I would list in USA dollars because we target a wider market.

Mailed off a large car part to Slovenia yesterday. Actually had to look on a map for Slovenia.

By-the-by Pierre, I was in a Facebook conversation the other day. Elaine from Montreal says to say "HI Pierre!". It had to do with a mutual friend from New Orleans.

[pierrelebel]

By the way, my suggestion to use Cdn$ applies specifically to the op based on the items listed and an analysis of his buyers.

Facebook - I registered there years ago and never really understood how it works.  Received hundreds (yes hundreds) of invitations to make "friends" which I have generally declined.  Not enough hours in the day. I take a peak from time to time to find pictures of relatives and friends.  Say Hi to Elaine for me.  She was one of the best posters on the Canadian boards ever.

[pierrelebel]

"You and I would list in USA dollars"

Actually if you check my listings you will find that I switched most listings to Canadian dollars a few years ago.  I keep using US$ for the few listings of interest to an American or worldwide audience.

[tobyshitzu]

"larger volume and dollar sellers see a different picture"

This is a large volume Canadian seller selling worldwide, grossing $miillions

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=surplusbydesign&&_trksid=p2047675.l25...

[melissasminis]

I used to sell in USD for years. I got tired of the Paypal conversion rate when transfering funds to my bank account, so I switched to CDN when the dollar was strong. I know it isn't strong now, but it still beats the Paypal exchange rates. Plus, Canadians appreciate Canadian sellers who use CDN these days. It's kind of weird being Canadian and buying from a Canadian seller in USD.