Canadian Pricing ON eBay.ca

[master-of-the-auction]

I see that there have been other complaints similar to mine on this site so I know others have experienced the same eBay.ca disappointment as me (I expected charges to my Canadian credit or debit card to be applied in C$ and refunds to be applied in $C).  eBay Corporate doesn't seem to understand that consumers are punished severely by the card issuers when charges are applied to the Canadian card in $US, converted at punishing rates and that conversion fees are sometimes charged as well.  If a refund is required, the amount refunded in $C is NEVER close to the amount originally charged as the conversion rates are the credit card company's currency 'buy' rate which is always much less than the currency 'sell' rate used at the time of purchase.

Consumers expect that items listed on the eBay.ca site to be listed and billed in $C and refunds applied in $C without the need for currency conversion (unless the item was found on eBay.com or a foreign eBay site).  eBay Corporate needs to understand that their Canadian customers (and I suspect other non-US customers) need to be protected from the predatory practices of the credit/debit card issuers.  If they value their Canadian customers, they should offer firm pricing in $C, bill to the customers' credit/debit cards in $C and issue refunds or credits in $C that make the customer 'whole' after the transaction has been completed.  American customers have this privilege and it is only fair that it be extended to non-American customers as well.

[ypdc_dennis]

Items that are listed on ebay.CA are all in Canadian $

Items that are viewed on ebay.CA can be listings from anywhere in the world -- any payments are based on the currency of where the listing has been made -- not where the seller or buyer is located.

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I keep several currency balances with paypal.  My US$ purchases use my US$ balance (and any refund would also be in US$) -- no exchange involved.

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[femmefan1946]

You can set up your Paypal account to have a Canadian balance and a US balance.

Unless you buy a lot on a European site or on the UK site, it makes little sense to also have a euro or sterling balance, but it is certainly possible.

However, unless you have a bank account in the country that uses that currency, you will be paying exchange (including service charges) when you move that money to Canada and into your Canadian dollar bank account.

And no, a US dollar bank account in a Canadian bank doesn't help. US law requires the funds to be changed from US dollars into loonies before they cross the border and then your bank changes  the loonies back into Canadian dollars and charges more exchange and service charges.

You may be able to set up a US dollar account in a US bank with Canadian ties. We use RBCBank (which is tied to the Royal) and I understand TDNorth is a subsidiary of some sort of TDCanadaTrust. Enquire at the commercial desk for an officer who handles commercial accounts. There are fees.

[femmefan1946]

Oh and the rate you see published on sites like xe.com is the mid-market rate used by international banks for their multimillion dollar transactions.

That rate changes minute by minute, if not more often.

What your bank uses is a retail rate, and unless something catastrophic is happening, that is only changed once a day.

There is a buying and a selling rate.

And not all banks have exactly the same rates. Nor do credit unions or foreign exchange shops.

[master-of-the-auction]

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@ypdc_dennis wrote:

Items that are listed on ebay.CA are all in Canadian $

Items that are viewed on ebay.CA can be listings from anywhere in the world -- any payments are based on the currency of where the listing has been made -- not where the seller or buyer is located.

...

I keep several currency balances with paypal.  My US$ purchases use my US$ balance (and any refund would also be in US$) -- no exchange involved.

-..-

Fine if you buy and sell on eBay frequently.  Doesn't meet the needs of a once-a-year buyer like me

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[master-of-the-auction]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

You can set up your Paypal account to have a Canadian balance and a US balance.

Unless you buy a lot on a European site or on the UK site, it makes little sense to also have a euro or sterling balance, but it is certainly possible.

However, unless you have a bank account in the country that uses that currency, you will be paying exchange (including service charges) when you move that money to Canada and into your Canadian dollar bank account.

And no, a US dollar bank account in a Canadian bank doesn't help. US law requires the funds to be changed from US dollars into loonies before they cross the border and then your bank changes  the loonies back into Canadian dollars and charges more exchange and service charges.

You may be able to set up a US dollar account in a US bank with Canadian ties. We use RBCBank (which is tied to the Royal) and I understand TDNorth is a subsidiary of some sort of TDCanadaTrust. Enquire at the commercial desk for an officer who handles commercial accounts. There are fees.

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If I was a frequent eBay buyer, your solutions would make perfect sense.  I accept that currency conversion charges should be expected when buying from ebay.com or some other foreign site.  For a once-a-year buyer like me, it would be nice to buy from a Canadian site displaying $C and be able to have the stated amount billed to a Canadian credit card without additional fees.

[marnotom!]

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@master-of-the-auction wrote:

If I was a frequent eBay buyer, your solutions would make perfect sense.  I accept that currency conversion charges should be expected when buying from ebay.com or some other foreign site.  For a once-a-year buyer like me, it would be nice to buy from a Canadian site displaying $C and be able to have the stated amount billed to a Canadian credit card without additional fees.

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In fairness, the converted amounts are stated on listing pages as "approximate".  I don't know of any credit card issuer, retail bank, credit union, or retail currency exchange bureau that charges the mid-market rates (the amount between a currency's market "buy" and "sell" rates) quoted by eBay and sites such as xe.com.