Discrepancies between eBay dot ca and eBay dot com

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Here is a partial quick list off the top of my head and/or pointed out by others = Mentioned repeatedly. If I have missed any please feel free to add. Only way we have a chance of getting the playing field leveled.

Shortcomings for eBay Canada:

1. No access to offering coupons
2. Unable to use proceeds for eBay purchases.
3. Watcher numbers do not display when using dot ca
4. No option with on ca to choose length of time for offers. COM is 24 or 48 hours from what has been shared.
5. Available Condition options/Categories routinely vary between the 2 sites. In theory they should mirror eachother. Re: Categories - Duplicates, different titles, empty folders, missing names...
6. Missing store size options
7. Shipping labels on CA is not as fully loaded when compared to dot com
8. Shipping labels was not released fully functioning. Known reported issues still apply
9. eBay seller postage calculator is still not fully functional for CP available services.
10. No user groups on ca. For many that would be a helpful addition. Different markets different rules. 
11. No side access to delivery options. Missing Deals and Savings feature on dot ca
12. Delivery estimates for CP services do not match as per CP. As a side CP no longer provides an estimate for small packet air services.  USA and Intl. both show up with a similar time frame as tracked. UK shows 7 to 15 days for small packet from Calgary. Same window to USA. 1 day less for Intl tracked. Actual timeframe would depend on where seller is located - where buyer is located and where item would get cleared for customs and time to process. 
13. Not the same options for payments. ((Missing Discover)

On USA side from quick testing was able to find 1 minor difference.

1. US buyers are unable to search by location. To choose from Canada as an example. We are able to choose Canada, North America & Worldwide

Note: Your personal requirements (wants or needs) and observations for missing features may vary. 

[flipistics]

The shipping calculator doesn't include UPS either for Canada.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@flipistics wrote:

The shipping calculator doesn't include UPS either for Canada.

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It was never fully tested before being rolled out. There were a bunch of easy to find glitches.

[brettjet38]

What would be way more interesting is the number of years each one of these issues has gone unresolved, that is a DATA set I would love to see...

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@brettjet38 wrote:

What would be way more interesting is the number of years each one of these issues has gone unresolved, that is a DATA set I would love to see...

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@brettjet38 

Something we will never see unless an eBay user was willing to do all the legwork and research.

The longest unresolved one that I know of (believe goes back as far as the dinosaurs) eBay will not you use a shipping service (error message) if your package weights are beyond CP limits. If you are under system will let you add the service but the buyer will not see at time of purchase but does see when they are invoiced. There are probabyl other doozies but that 1 has caused sellers hair pulling for years. 

-Lotz

PS. Would you be under the impression that eBay has a department that keeps track of stuff they are not about to fix? Ever?

[intimewithmusic]

Hi @lotzofuniquegoodies 

You missed some biggies incl  multiples discounts, applying sales directly in the Listings page etc...

But you missed the biggest of the biggest...     Selling to Germany  via eBay International Shipping

Germany is included in the list of 200 countries covered by the new Ebay International shipping Program. correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like Germany is now open to eBAy US sellers along with many other places sellers exclude like Mexico. From the US 200 countries are now without risk it seems.

You can find it here;

 https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-shippi...

I'm currently trying to explain to a customer in Germany why I can't sell a catalog to him. 

Here's a reminder of what we were sent in July 2022

"Staff seller_news_team

‎06-22-2022 09:49 AM
We wanted to remind you that there are important upcoming changes to how you sell goods to German buyers on eBay.

The 2019 Packaging Act (VerpackG) requires business sellers to license the packaging for their products and register with the LUCID database when they sell items to customers in Germany.

From July 1, 2022, we are legally obliged to ensure that our sellers are complying with these regulations. To be compliant, there are four steps you must complete:

Register online with the LUCID database and obtain a unique identification number.
Create an account with a dual system. We recommend our licensing partner, Lizenzero, which offers a straightforward way to license your packaging digitally.
Add your LUCID number to your business profile on My eBay
Visit the Lizenzero site for additional details, as they are our official licensing partner.

As always, thanks for selling on eBay,

Your eBay International Shipping Team "

[kawartha-ephemera]

Agreed, EIS provides huge benefits for U.S. sellers, most importantly zero responsibility for foreign returns, and German package recycling compliance. I believe France and Italy have also launched new regulations regarding packaging, I assume EIS handles compliance there as well.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@kawartha-ephemera wrote:
Agreed, EIS provides huge benefits for U.S. sellers, most importantly zero responsibility for foreign returns, and German package recycling compliance. I believe France and Italy have also launched new regulations regarding packaging, I assume EIS handles compliance there as well.

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@kawartha-ephemera 

@intimewithmusic 

Would you use it if it was offered and caused higher shipping costs to buyers, slower delivery time and risk of items not getting past the border...on occasion? I would be nervous of "exceptions".

-Lotz

[intimewithmusic]

@lotzofuniquegoodies  @kawartha-ephemera 

"Would you use it" {EIS} ?

There never will be an "it". 

EIS carves a path created by eBay USA and Europe via a single Chicago hub. There won't be a system for eBay Canada. There is no hub. We have thousands of points of origin distributed over 3.9 million square miles instead. 

To compound the Canadian seller's problem eBay Canada will lose more Canadian sellers seeking the Euro market if they can move their Canadian widgets through the US via EIS to Europe. 

Why is this issue different than the others on Lotz's list? 

It doesn't effect many Canadian sellers significantly. Most Canadian sellers sell in the domestic or the domestic/USA market due to shipping costs. 

   Excluding these European countries isn't worth setting up the export compliancing.  Does anyone know if eBAy US even has that set up with Germany or is Chicago simply a  "piggybank" hub? By this I mean that if anything goes wrong with a shipment eBay pays for it out of their EIS expense account.

  Those of us who enjoy the Euro market to selling lightweight collectibles probably don't amount to enough to create such a "workaround" for eBay.  Of course the Euro buyers don't know this. My recent lost sale was pretty embarrasing as they don't know why sthey can receive orders from EIS and not from Canada Post. 

  Which reminds me Lotz,  I know it's not a site issue but you might also add the difference in choices for eBay shipping supplies.  

[marnotom!]

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@intimewithmusic wrote:

Does anyone know if eBAy US even has that set up with Germany or is Chicago simply a  "piggybank" hub? By this I mean that if anything goes wrong with a shipment eBay pays for it out of their EIS expense account.

I can't give you a definite answer for that question, but for what it's worth, @intimewithmusic, there's an eIS information page on the German eBay site that's very similar to the one on the Canadian site.

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@intimewithmusic wrote:

EIS carves a path created by eBay USA and Europe via a single Chicago hub. There won't be a system for eBay Canada. There is no hub. We have thousands of points of origin distributed over 3.9 million square miles instead. 

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I'm not quite following you here.  There were no GSP or eIS hubs until they were set-up, either.  Having said that, I think if eBay Canada were to have an eIS-type system, it would look quite different than the one in the United States.  We'd end up with the eBay International Shipping version of  Target Canada.  That just seems to be the way things go when many US initiatives get adapted for the Canadian market. 

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@intimewithmusic wrote:

Does anyone know if eBAy US even has that set up with Germany or is Chicago simply a  "piggybank" hub? By this I mean that if anything goes wrong with a shipment eBay pays for it out of their EIS expense account.

I can't give you a definite answer for that question, but for what it's worth, @intimewithmusic, there's an eIS information page on the German eBay site that's very similar to the one on the Canadian site.

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@intimewithmusic wrote:

EIS carves a path created by eBay USA and Europe via a single Chicago hub. There won't be a system for eBay Canada. There is no hub. We have thousands of points of origin distributed over 3.9 million square miles instead. 

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I'm not quite following you here.  There were no GSP or eIS hubs until they were set-up, either.  Having said that, I think if eBay Canada were to have an eIS-type system, it would look quite different than the one in the United States.  We'd end up with the eBay International Shipping version of  Target Canada.  That just seems to be the way things go when many US initiatives get adapted for the Canadian market. 

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@intimewithmusic 

@marnotom! 

Re: eIS link on German page

🤣🤣🤣

For 💩 and giggles I checked a few 500 to 1000 gram US listings using eIS from USA to France. The 4 I checked none had Germany included in the dropdown. Not factoring in tax & duties the shipments to France were about .75 cents more for shipping.

For any Canadians that are still purchasing from the USA on a regular basis and goods are shipped avoiding eIS, how often do you get charged tax and processing when the goods arrive or do they just show up in your mailbox (majority) of time, with no tax owing?

-Lotz

[marnotom!]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

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Re: eIS link on German page

🤣🤣🤣

For 💩 and giggles I checked a few 500 to 1000 gram US listings using eIS from USA to France. The 4 I checked none had Germany included in the dropdown. Not factoring in tax & duties the shipments to France were about .75 cents more for shipping.

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More than what?  I don't know what you're comparing here. @lotzofuniquegoodies.

Because I read, I followed the asterisk down to its footnoted point.  The claim about "generally. . .lower shipping costs" is elaborated on.  This is the eBay.ca version:

Compared to the non-negotiated cost of shipping with many other international carriers; eBay has negotiated competitive shipping costs for eBay International Shipping. Total international shipping cost is subject to change and depends on the destination country, weight, and dimensions of an item.

When you did your comparison for items being shipped to France, did you subtract the sellers' shipping fees to the eIS hub?  And are you comparing the eIS charges to USPS counter rates or to something else?

[intimewithmusic]

Clarification: This has quickly gotten complicated. 

@lotzofuniquegoodies topic;  Discrepancies between eBay dot ca and eBay dot com

In addition to Lotz' list eBay USA sellers were just granted EXCLUSION from LUCID registration for Germany, France and Italy if using EIS giving them an unfair monopoly.

In Canada the Packaging Act (VerpackG) requires business sellers to license the packaging for their products and register with the LUCID database when they sell items to customers in Germany (and likely France & Italy soon) 

eBay Canada sellers have been excluded from that entire market.

That's huge . 

[kawartha-ephemera]

In 2023, the hosts of the eBay for Business podcast revealed that EIS had registered with LUCID. This meant that EIS (eBay) had registered with LUCID on behalf of the sellers using the service, so they did not have to do it themselves.

Note that this comment was written with the assistance of Office 365 Co-Pilot, The re-write of my original draft only needed a few changes in wording. It was very helpful for making the written word clearer.

[intimewithmusic]

That's interesting. We're probably in the wrong discussion thread. It's a stretch to call this a site issue but as long as we're here...

I've followed that podcast for 10 years. It's unfortunate they only include changes, policies and benefits for eBay dot com sellers.   They never discuss any effects on Canada. I can't remember any interviews between Griff, Brian or Lee with an eBay Canada representative. I suppose this is another "difference" that could be added to Lotz's list. 

They may have an occasional chat with a Canadian seller on the show but it seems to happen by coincidence.  The fact that they sell from Canada typically comes out in the interview.   In most cases they were invited on  to discuss the category they sell in and not about selling in Canada. 

The name of the podcast has changed to "eBay For Sellers". I'm guessing in the episode you're referring to , "EIS users being exempt from LUCID licensing"  (paraphrasing) Griff didn't mention Canada or that EIS created a North American monopoly for the USA. 

"eBay For USA Sellers" would be a more accurate name. That said there's still benefit to listen to the podcast just as there's benefit to watch USA YouTubers.  As older Canadians we're used to deciphering, translating and applying workarounds for our location.

Growing up in the 50s living in Nelson BC we had 3 television channels. All of them from Spokane. I could recite and sing the American National anthem.  Shows such as "Romper Room" and "The Friendly Giant" taught American values .  I  didn't know the words to God Save The Queen or "O'Canada" but could sing The Stars And Stripes. 

I don't think it would be that difficult for eBay to recognize us,  address Lotz's list and get Germany off of our exemptions list but no one seems to notice us. We are like the stage technicians that run around onstage stooped over thinking it will keep 40,000 people from seeing us. We are seen but dismissed.   

eBay dot com promoting EIS ... "With EIS International Selling is now easy and guaranteed*. "

*Canadian sellers excluded

[flipistics]

I don't see why they couldn't offer EIS to Canadians selling on dot ca with us just shipping the items to the USA hub.  The shipping costs are a little bit more for us to get the item there, but at least with the current light packet rate they aren't absurd.

[intimewithmusic]

I was thinking about that too.  Adding another border crossing seems a bit much just to restore the lost market to a small amount of sellers on dot ca. Then there's the carbon footprint...

There was a discussion last year to the essense the majority of sellers in Canada are close to the border and list on dot com so their vote is lost.

If I remember correctly in the podcast previously mentioned Griff and Brian suggested Canadians should list on dot com. I wonder if sellers in Alaska and Hawaii use EIS. Do they ship their stuff to Chicago?

[kawartha-ephemera]

Yes sir, it is 100% dotcom programming aimed at helping their U S. resident sellers. Outsiders that sell on DOTcom are very seldom acknowledged, I think they are being a little disrespectful in that regard.

To be honest the only reason I listen, is to hear answers to seller questions. Every so often something useful is shared. I'll not be surprised if that podcast soon ceases to exist, one guy left ebay a few weeks back.

Back in the days of rooftop antennas we had fuzzy reception of Buffalo news, city fires used to get Marv really excited!

[kawartha-ephemera]

They could greatly improve ebay labels by simply expanding what is already working well. Namely, pass ebay label volume discounts through to Canadian sellers at large. Imagine the impactfullnes of every seller having access to much lower rates, especially domestically. The current Tracked Packet USA promo proves the point. Extend and enhance that concept.

Obviously ebay would have reduced shipping fvf revenue unless GMV increased substantially.

[flipistics]

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@kawartha-ephemera wrote:
They could greatly improve ebay labels by simply expanding what is already working well. Namely, pass ebay label volume discounts through to Canadian sellers at large. Imagine the impactfullnes of every seller having access to much lower rates, especially domestically. The current Tracked Packet USA promo proves the point. Extend and enhance that concept.

Obviously ebay would have reduced shipping fvf revenue unless GMV increased substantially.

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To be fair, they did get everyone Canada Post level 4 AND expedited lite on top of the tracked packet discount.  I doubt it's eBay not wanting to expand it further.