CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

I would like to hear about your insights on what it's like being a Canadian eBay seller. Please post your thoughts here, what works, what doesn't, ideas for improvements to the site or for new features, etc. Please keep the topic on selling.


 


Note: This is not a thread like our weekly Board Hour. I'll try to stay active on here as much as possible but please keep any questions or site issues (including any comments on what is not working with GSP! ;-)) for our weekly discussions. What I'm hoping to do here is get a sense of your business insights and perhaps even find an idea or two we can look into implementing.


 


Looking forward to read you!

Message 1 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Been selling auto parts since 2007 on Ebay.

 

I list solely on Ebay.com as that's where 66% of my buyers are.  Therefore I cannot use shipping calculators or print shipping.  Everything I do is manual and flat rate.

 

I've shipped to 65 Countries.  I don't see how FVF effect what you sell worldwide as a seller.  FVF is based on cheapest domestic rate, and in my case what I charge to the US.

 

I have no real complaints.

Logo photo Logo.gif
Roblin's Garage - Classic Auto Salvage
Demorestville, ON / Scarborough, ON
Message 21 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Hi, I have been selling on and off since 2003.  I did well until 2008 and then I stopped for a few years because it just wasn't worth it.  I am just a small time seller.   Started up again last year, selling CD's.

 

As a seller this is what I need:  

 

Completed Listings - Need to be able to search for SOLD listings and also completed listings should go back at least 6 weeks.

 

--- As part of researching what to sell and for what amount, I need to see completed listings especially what sold.  I use ebay.com for this, as they have a selection for sold listings.    The completed search needs to list all items sold and unsold in the last 2 months or 6 weeks.  I don't know how far they go back as it seems different every time I search.  

 

Searches - Need to stabilize the searches, everytime, it is different


-- Every time I am on my computer, or laptop, I come out with a different number of items using the same search criteria in the same day.  That drives me crazy, it must drive the buyers crazy too.  It's almost like each time ebay will only chose who's items they want me to see.  Sometime I can find my listings sometimes I can't.  

 

DSR's - I don't  like them (especially around shipping)


--I send out the same day or next day, do not charge a handling fee.  I have no control over when the post office delivers it.  Maybe the questions should be:

1.  What the item as described in the description?  I got a lower DSR and a comment because a buyer didn't read the description.  

1:  Did they seller communicate with you after the purchase?

2:  Did the seller mail the item as stated in the description?

3.  Was the shipping and handling fees reasonable.  (Note:  the seller pays fees and taxes on the shipping amount) 


Feedback - 50% of buyers do not give feedback, even though they received item and are happy


--What's up with that.  I ask the buyers to let me know when they get the item.  They email me, say they received the item, are happy, but no feedback.  I check and they don't give anyone feedback or very few.   

 

Maybe we could beside our user id have how many we have bought and how many we have sold and then how many feedback we have.    

For Example; lida1111 (Sold: 409 - Bought: 244)  Feedback: 492

 

 

Promotional listings - As a small time seller, I love them


-- I love the fact that once or twice a month you have a promotion on listings.  Sometimes I'm invited, sometimes, I'm not.  Thank you for inviting me.    I never want to go back to the way it was in 2003.

 

 

I would rather have less fees listing and a greater percentage when and if the item sells.  

Message 22 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Hi! I have a suggestion, this has hit me twice in the last couple weeks...

 

Provide ability for buyers to identify the languages they speak.

 

Usually if the buyer is from Russia, and I can tell that they are using an online translator, I reply in english and Russian.

 

The problem I have been having is with USA customers who clearly aren't english speaking and are using the translation program. Unless I can tell what nationality they are via their name (batting 0% on that one so far) I can only send them english which poses dangers based on whatever translation program they are using (some are very bad).

 

One of the ebay competitors has the languages spoken identified for buyers and I find it very helpful.

 

This is for sure a non trivial thing to do but it would sure be helpful as even our north american customers aren't necessarily english speaking....and one never knows what languages our international buyers speak.

Message 23 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Not following the question. I don't think there is anything special about being a seller on any particular venue. All have the pluses and minuses.

 

First off, I am not a Canadian eBay seller. I am a self employed retailer who uses eBay to sell his wares. Admittedly, if there was no eBay, I would have nowhere to sell. I am 95% export and to about 50 countries and counting.

 

35 years of retail gives me a unique perspective. I separate business from personal. Most of the self flagellation that others engage in is because they have taken something as personal. Lends to the thought that eBay is not for everyone.

 

What works? For me, everything works. My end results are fully dependent on my efforts. Well, I think FB is a crock of hooie. 100% FB is a lie. Real world retail FB is in the 60's. FB should be done away with and a simple count of sales would be better.

 

DSR and negs rate against reported FB. That is wrong. They should be rated against all sales. Someone does not leave FB or DSR after 60 days, it should revert to a pos and straight 5s.

 

That, or de-emphasize the whole rating system as it is hyper dependent on recent crackpots. I got down graded because of two lying hotheads, but, it is all valid because it is their "opinion". I do not get a rebuttal opinion, just a spanking.

 

However, I do not take it personal and end up on Seller Central on dot com crying my eyes out. Life has more meaning than that.

 

The recent addition of "sold" listings is a marvelous feature for researching what I can sell.

 

GSP is a hands down fail. I can now order from the USA and pay duty, taxes, extra handling fees that were never applied, at any level, by anyone, before. How about including reps from other countries when the snot nose pukes in San Jose are making decisions for the whole world.

 

Better still, ask the people whose throats you are ramming this stuff down. "Take yer medicine it is good for you!"  "But, but, but, it is arsenic."

 

I give Tracked Packet a fail as it caused my Expedited costs to go up and I derive no benefit from TP. TP is a retail product for the general population. I do not like it.

 

I make this work for me. I retired from my gov't job and do this. It pays the bills. "If I can do this anyone can?" Not a chance. I have a business degree, retail mgmt, and somehwat niche products. I have a direct local competitor. I have sold in 12 hours what they sell in 15 days. They get the same product at the same place and try to copy my listings. Fail.

 

eBay is not for everyone. Self employed is not for everyone.

Message 24 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

I've been on ebay since 2000.  over 2000 transaction.  It's gone so downhill in the past 3 years that I just stopped using it.  At one point, I was a ebay Silver Power User.  Now I sell using other option unless I'm really desperate.

The final value fee on shipping was the last straw for me.   

 

How can I get charged a fee when I charge actual shipping costs???  That's just plain stupid.

Message 25 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

DSR and negs rate against reported FB. That is wrong. They should be rated against all sales. Someone does not leave FB or DSR after 60 days, it should revert to a pos and straight 5s.

 

inuk, DSR's are rated against all sales, not just those with feedback.

Message 26 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

"How can I get charged a fee when I charge actual shipping costs???  That's just plain stupid."

 

FVF are calculated on the total value of the transaction (except for taxes if applicable).

 

In the old days, eBay would charge a higher FVF on the purchase price and no FVF on the shipping and handling.  That was changed a few years ago when FVF for fixed price listings were lowered and charged on the total.  This policy matches what competitors such as Amazon had been doing for years. 

 

When the change took place, many sellers experienced lower fees overall - more so if they already offered "free shipping" (shipping included in selling price) or very low shipping costs relative to value of item ($200 item with $15 shipping for example).

 

The new policy also resulted in fairer shipping charges in many instances when sellers previously overcharged on shipping to avoid paying FVF. (for example $1 item with $50 shipping charge)

Message 27 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

lamolo
Community Member

As I stated on a previous threed, I simply not buy from GSP sellers, and I hope others buyers will do as I.

Message 28 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

I've been selling for a little over a year and have now tried opening a store with eBay to see if this works for us or not. I'm still on the fence about that; we're giving the store the summer to see if it turns around/improves...

 

What really bugs me as a seller, while listing my items, following policies, correcting any mistakes, offering sales, promotions, etc, taking photos, hunting up items, and redoing this cycle of selling over and over again... I have to worry about feedback.  For most parts, I could care less about feedback, my thinking is treat your customer right, offer up good product, and prompltly ship and deal with any issues... then you are doing what is needed to be a good seller. I know time and again, we've heard that the shipping duration portion of feedback doesn't affect our ratings, yet I feel they do. I bounce between 4.9 and 5.0 for "Items as Described" and "Communications", but the shipping portion ... I'm stuck at 4.8. Then there's those lovely eBay messages about my performance on a Global level.... and the advice to improve includes a wonderful, useless paragraph about offering up shipping rates that are what the post office charges. I do... yet... I'm stuck on 4.8. I strive for and most often succeed at same day and next day shipping. Yet, I'm told to get my item to my client faster... ya right, should I fly it there personally? I cannot control the post office, nor can I control how fast my package is processed sent to one shipping warehouse after the other, through customs if that is the case, and then, control USPS to do their jobs faster... yet I'm stuck on 4.8 with email comments like, strive to get the purchase to my customers faster. It's about this time, that I wish I could read minds then I could package and ship the item before they even bid... but since I can't, I'm stuck at 4.8.  

 

Why can't the feedback portion that addresses shipping pertain to the time period between  when its paid for and when confirmation numbers for shipping labels have been entered, or when tracking is provided. Do not penalize us for shipping costs when I use "calculate shipping costs" or post a rate I got from CP.

 

The other thing that really is bugging me is all the glitches that cause photos to switch listings, change shipping to "book" shipping rates even when you fix it 10 times... and so on...  and then along comes another email from eBay telling me that I can't list duplicates when two book listings seem to share the same photo, nevermind my switching it back over and over and only to find the wrong photo once again, back the next day ... And what do you do when the page tell you after loading all the listing's information, that that  particular service is temporarily unavailable, and sends you back to the summary page. So you wait and then try again, only to meet up with the same message. Then, you discover that all those attempts actually did list, despite the temporary unavailable notation from eBay. And yup, along comes an email saying you can't list duplicates of one item.... YOU THINK!? You would think that was enough but nope, my month evaluation comes along and because I did not follow policy for duplicate listings, I'm penalized BAM! There goes my power seller ranking. These glitches, on top of everything else we have to be careful about are ridiculous, yet, we have to deal with the consequences of whatever they do with a smile.  I recently had to ship out a large marble lot where the shipping was posted at $3.80 and I couldn't change it no matter what I tried, and the buyer naturally paid getting his entire listing for free because the actual shipping I had to fork out of my pocket was $18.49, which ate up all my profits from the listing. All because I could not change it, even right after it listed. Does eBay leave a margin for any of the tiny nuisances we have to deal with, nope. But they're sure to get their emails off to us about how crappy we're doing, and keep us stuck at 4.8.

 

Today is a bad day to be a seller... see what tomorrow brings.

Janet and Paul
Message 29 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

I am a new seller.

 

I sterted selling on eBay in May.

 

everything was went well and as a new seller I sold over 100 items just in June.

 

But I made couple mistakes selling on eBay so I cought on LOW POLICY COMLIENCE. which I did with no purpose.

 

eBay didn`t give me suspension but after that it seems My selling going down especially this month in July.

 

When I called to customer support for the so much limitation listing category, they said I have LOW policy comlience. So I appeal myself that it was a MISTAKE. and they said I will receive a message from eBay in 24-72 hours but it has been more than a week, I have not received anything about it.

 

It means my appeal didn`t work? And my selling going down because the LOW POLICY COMLIENCE?

Message 30 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

I think this thread should always be visible at the top of the page. Is it possible to do that, just like the old forums used to be able to do?

Message 31 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

You can keep the topic visible for yourself by using the Topic option "Float this topic to the top".

Message 32 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Hello,

 

     When editing an item listed, under the "International shipping" and the "Additional ship to locations-buyers contact for costs", it always resets itself when editing the listing. Everytime I edit a listing I have to re-check the countries each time which is annoying and a bit time consuming. If there is a fix to this, it would be much appreciated, and save time for us sellers.

 

    Another issue I have is the DSR's on communication between seller and buyer. It's supposed to be set up as buyer needs to communicate with seller to be able to leave DSR ratings, but it doesn't seem to happen this way, as many buyers are able to leave low DSR for communication, even though communication through the ebay system has been made between the seller and buyer, not working properly at all. I have communicated with many buyers through the ebay system through questions, and it shows as if I never communicated with the buyer at all. Both before and after a purchase this has happened.

 

    Also, When sending an invoice to buyers, it shouldn't only be a one time thing. I used to be able from the drop down menu under sold items on the right side menu be able to send an invoice more than one time. Now it's like a route I have to take to get there, which took time to figure out in the first place, if people even figure it out. There should always be an option to send an invoice easily on the drop down menu on the sold page, next to each item like it used to be. Whether sending one or more times, the option needs to be there for convenience to the sellers.

 

Message 33 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

I meant to say about the DSR on communication, that buyers are able to leave me a rating on communication, even though the buyer hasn't emailed me through the ebay system. Isn't it supposed to be set up so that the buyer has to communicate with the seller in order to leave that DSR? It doesn't make sense otherwise.

 

Also, it would be nice if the ebay and paypal exchange rates were the same. When I purchase an item, on ebay it tells me the price in USD and in Canadian dollars, when I go to pay through paypal, the price/exchange rate is always much higher. Shouldn't they be the same, one company right? I hope this doesn't mean when a US buyer pays me in Canadian dollars, I'm losing money on the paypal exchange rate.

Message 34 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Thanks poco! I just did it for myself 😉 However, I still maintain that it should always appear as the first message for any seller to see. Otherwise, a seller who never came here before will never know this topic exists...

Message 35 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

melissa - There are a few requirements for that automatic communication star. You might be following all of them now but figured I would post them in case someone else was interested.

 

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/selling-practices.html

To give you credit for transactions where a buyer doesn't need to contact you, you'll automatically receive a 5-star communication detailed seller rating if:
*You specify either same business day or 1 business day handling and upload tracking information within 1 business day.
*There are no buyer- or seller-initiated communications in eBay Messages
*There are no requests for contact information between you and the buyer.

 

You mentioned that you often had to input your shipping information after an ediit...I haven't ever had that problem so I wondering if it happened when you were bulk editing. I know that if I look at shipping then, it doesn't always show up during the editing process but it is always there when the edit is finished.

Message 36 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Well, here goes!  Thank you for asking us Raphael – hopefully this will be more useful than the surveys.

 

As a Canadian seller, I have to say that eBay has become more complex and difficult, requiring more time, effort and – sorry to say – caution and worry, for a lower bottom line, than it did even 3 years ago.

 

The "not fun anymore" comments ring true for me. I have the same impression, and have tried to analyze why that is.  The following is partly theorizing, partly experience on my part, but purely my opinion:

 

(1)    Far too many changes to rules, limitations, restrictions and policies in too short a period of time, i.e. a glut of over-refinement:

 

For the most part I understand the rationale behind these changes, but so many alterations have occurred in the past year or two that a seller now needs to spend a significant amount of time simply keeping up with and understanding the finer points of policy. It's become a part-time job in itself.

 

I used to read through the seller updates (which were generally concise and understandable), highlight the salient points and put the printout away in a file.  Since last year I've had to compile a 3 inch thick binder full of policy material, specific issues, information gleaned from other sellers, etc., to which I constantly need to refer, and to which I'm still adding.  

 

It seems policy changes are coming from everywhere and all around the calendar now, which is both disconcerting and time-consuming for sellers. This is especially true for Canadians who must keep on top of policy and rules in order to have any chance at competing.

 

2)    Narrowing of communication between seller and buyer. Changes over the past year have led to much more difficulty in (or, to be more precise, discouragement of) seller and buyer talking directly to each other.  I was thoroughly dismayed when the "no communication" DSR policy was announced, as effectively it was a reward for less communication.  A number of other policy changes since that time (and proposed for the next few months) will further separate buyer from seller.  No doubt these changes were made to appeal to the big sellers who would rather not be hampered by too much direct dealing with buyers.

 

I used to love a quick chat with a buyer over a sale, but now I hesitate, for fear of those DSRs. Buyers used to communicate more readily and frequently, too. Now I rarely have one who does contact me.  This is a big change for the worse.

 

3)    Big box, mega-brand or dime-store style sellers that have flooded this site with “stuff” that you could find in any department or dollar store:  This is a real concern, particularly if you're a smaller Canadian seller.  The whole face of eBay has changed, and some categories are so overwhelmed with similar listings (not strictly duplicate) that it's hard to get decent visibility.  I sometimes wonder if there is even a place on eBay for a "boutique" Canadian seller over the next couple of years. I can't speak for others, but I see this concern expressed a lot lately.  EBay seems to want “mall shoppers” and deliberately attracting that sort of seller and buyer.  Perhaps some concessions by eBay for the little guy are now in order (FB/DSRs might be a good place to start – see #5 below), before too many of us give up in exasperation and exhaustion, and either fail entirely or go elsewhere. 

 

4)    FVFs:  I really don't have an issue with FVFs generally, as they still beat the overhead of a brick-and-mortar store.  But the shipping FVFs – well, they could go and I wouldn’t weep.

 

5)    DSRs and FB:  The emphasis on using buyer polling (DSRs) is a draconian and irrational way to punish sellers (through loss of status, limits, higher fees, etc.).  Buyers either don’t get, or don’t care about, the crucial effect of DSRs on sellers – to most it’s a trivial opinion poll or a free-for-all rant forum. 

 

This has created an atmosphere of vague fear and anger that I see on the discussion boards because sellers perceive that much of the result is based on the inexperience or arbitrary whims of buyers and/or eBay’s poor design of the system.  

 

The FB/DSR area has become a major sore point, as I'm sure you know.  Personally I think the whole concept is critically flawed and needs re-thinking.  Canadian sellers have enough not going for them in the marketplace without the added potential risk of being slapped down by one uninformed or carelessly left set of DSRs.  I now live in fear of that one bad but undeserved rating that cannot or will not be removed by eBay.  Of special concern to Canadians of course are the shipping DSRs. 

 

Five big criticisms I have about DSRs: 

 

(a)  A buyer should not be permitted leave DSRs (and FB) if buyer and seller have mutually agreed to cancel a transaction;

 

(b) Multiple DSRs/FB should not be permitted on a combined purchase.  Rate the transaction as a whole – it only counts for one “point” anyway.

 

(c)  The “Shipping Time” DSR should either be dropped entirely or worded to reflect that the rating is based on the time the seller took to send off the item, not the time door-to-door.  Honestly, how many times do we have to say this, and why hasn’t it gotten through to San Jose?  Surely it affects US sellers almost as seriously.

 

(d)   The “Shipping Cost” DSR should be eliminated – it is meaningless in the majority of cases and completely illogical and unfair, as the buyer has already agreed to a shipping cost as part of his “contract” of purchase (presumably – we can only hope - after checking competitors’ listings and reading the listing description!).  Essentially eBay is permitting buyer remorse to be taken out on the seller through this DSR. 

 

Surely eBay has other ways of compiling and displaying stats on whether a particular seller’s shipping costs are reasonable in comparison to other sellers – otherwise, what’s the point of making it necessary to have shipping information in a listing? 

 

Despite discounting most shipping prices in my listings (or charging the exact shipping cost – never a handling fee), I still can’t make that magic 5.0.  This foolish DSR has been compounded by eBay encouraging buyer expectations of free shipping everywhere.  This is a hard pill for Canadian sellers to swallow.

 

(e)  FB and DSRs aren’t rationally linked: a buyer should not be able to leave positive FB and less than 4 star DSRs – it’s illogical to permit this. 

 

For that matter, if a buyer hasn’t left FB on his/her own after 60 days, eBay should automatically give the seller the benefit of the doubt with a generic positive FB message (e.g. “Transaction concluded satisfactorily –  eBay message”) or something similar, and give the seller 5.0 DSRs across the board on the transaction.  This would be a huge boost to smaller sellers with lower annual volumes, especially Canadian sellers who are constantly dealing with shipping issues and low FB response.  After all, with buyers bothering less and less to leave FB, eBay should presume that no FB = satisfied customer.

 

 

6)    Far too many changes to the aesthetics and arrangement of the site in the past few months:  The people in San Jose have been monkeying with just about everything on the site in the past few months!  This has made me wonder whether Canadian sellers are suffering from less exposure as a result.  Glitches and problems are rife – things disappearing and re-appearing or my favourite, especially when I’m in the middle of using it: “feature not currently available”.  I’d guess that many Canadian sellers are pre- or post-retirement folks who are on eBay in order to earn a secondary income.  That age group of sellers needs time to absorb and adjust to change.

 

 

Also, remember (and this may be hard for young executives to comprehend), many buyers - especially the older ones -- need time to adjust to "re-arrangement" of a familiar place.  I fear this may drive away what’s left of our traditional buyers – what I call buyer fatigue.  The younger ones, who are novelty junkies anyway, won’t care because they’re probably mostly looking for brand-name, department store style shopping. 

 

Why can’t all those clever IT people in San Jose focus for a year on making this the best functioning site? 

 

*************

While the needle on the "fun" meter has certainly dropped over the past 3 or 4 years for me as a seller, at the same time there are factors that have made selling from Canada more difficult that no one has control over, such as:

 

1)      Cdn v. U.S. Dollar -- We no longer enjoy the benefits of a much lower Canadian dollar, and this has obvious repercussions for Canadian sellers whose buyers are primarily American.  I listed only in $Cdn when I began selling on eBay a few years ago, and my U.S. buyers were delighted that their money would go ca. 15% further if they purchased from Canada.  When I switched to $US listings, the Canadian dollar was still below US par.  That difference covered a portion of the cost of shipping and allowed me to offer premium shipping services without losing money every time.  Now, although I still list in $US, I've had to become far more strategic about shipping, reducing the actual cost for many buyers, and in the process losing a lot more money.

 

2)    Shipping costs - So much has been written on this that no comment is needed, except to say that as a smaller Canadian seller, the outlook is pretty grim.

 

3)    Mobile phone use - I'm convinced this has had a significant impact on the way people buy on eBay and the way they respond.  FB response has gone way down in the past 6 months - mine used to be around 90-95%, now it's more like 50-60%. This is the only explanation I can think of, but the lack of FB does affect the way I'm perceived as a seller by buyers and gives them less information about what I've sold.

******

So, my general comments on my selling experience on eBay:

 

(a)     I used to have a lot of fun selling on this site, still occasionally do, but it's a lot more work and worry, and less enjoyment, for a lower return, than it used to be; 

 

(b)    As an eBay seller in the GWN, I'm keenly aware of the competition from U.S. sellers in my categories, which means I have to always be flexible, alert to new possibilities, always looking for ways to sell smarter, leave no stone unturned, and be absolutely current on eBay seller policies.  I'm also aware that if I were selling exactly what I do now, but in the U.S., as a U.S. eBay seller, I'd probably be making double or triple what I do now.

 

(c)   The marketing tools available to me as a store owner have been critical and I've appreciated having them as a Canadian seller trying to compete on a world stage.  I try to make the fullest possible use of these tools.

 

(d)   Despite a number of marketing and promotional efforts, I've had difficulty increasing the proportion of my Canadian buyers. It's pretty much remained at ca. 10%.  I've always hoped this is an area (promoting eBay.ca sellers to Canadians) that the eBay.ca head office could focus on.

 

(e)   From an overall perspective, making a go of it on eBay from Canada has become far more difficult than it was 3 or 4 years ago.  I now wait much longer for each sale, and almost always get less for the same sort of item than I did then.  Yet shipping is costlier than ever, and I also still have to "subsidize" my buyers' shipping more and more to get those DSRs, so am losing money at both ends of the shipping equation.  Leaner, meaner eBay is how I describe it, and although I'd like to use eBay to expand my little enterprise, I do worry that after all the hard work I may ultimately get pushed aside or feel there is no option but to try selling elsewhere.

 

The bottom line: anything  eBay.ca can do to give us Canadian sellers just a little slack, a slight edge, or a bit of a free ticket here and there, despite the juggernaut in San Jose, would make a difference.  I know we’re mere gnats up here in Canada in their eyes, but maybe they could throw us a few scraps from the boardroom table. 

 

Sorry for the long dissertation, but you asked!  Woman Happy

 

Message 37 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

I think the problem is we were all spoiled for so many years. We just listed an item & usually received the BIN price.

 

Remember the days when we could buy an item at Dollarama for a buck, put it on auction & get ten or more.

 

Oh the Good Ole Days.

 

I think we all predicted this year would be choppy.

 

This is the first time i have had to really work the business, especially in my category.

 

Has worked out well so far but keep in mind i am a lightweight.

 

Some of the full time sellers in my category are feeling the pinch as the competition has increased.

Message 38 of 112
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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Well written post rose. I agree with some of your points including your comments about the constant changes on the site. I think that the changes are as confusing to buyers as they are to sellers. A seller's livelihood may depend on understanding the changes so they probably put more effort into it than a buyer.  I am sure that some buyers just get frustrated and leave to go shop at another site.

 

"For that matter, if a buyer hasn’t left FB on his/her own after 60 days, eBay should automatically give the seller the benefit of the doubt with a generic positive FB message (e.g. “Transaction concluded satisfactorily –  eBay message”) or something similar, and give the seller 5.0 DSRs across the board on the transaction.  This would be a huge boost to smaller sellers with lower annual volumes, especially Canadian sellers who are constantly dealing with shipping issues and low FB response.  After all, with buyers bothering less and less to leave FB, eBay should presume that no FB = satisfied customer."

 

There are a couple of reasons why I disagree with the above statement. First...If I am unhappy with a transaction in some way, I am more likely to leave no feedback rather than leave a negative or false positive. I am sure that there are others who do the same and who do not think that no feedback = satisfied customer.

Also, since our DSR's are based on number of transactions, not on number of feedback,  having automatic 5's given is redundant. As far as increasing the actual feedback number....that might benefit new sellers but again.....I don't think that they should get a positive if one hasn't been left.

 

 

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CA Sellers: Please share your insights!

Hi 'pj'- I can understand your reasoning, and you are probably right that it's impossible to say that a customer was happy because no FB was left. 

 

What I was suggesting was that eBay give a nod to sellers by giving them the benefit of the doubt, in the same way they did with the Communications DSRs (i.e. no communication = 5 star communication), a concept I personally have a problem with.  However, if eBay is willing to apply such logic in the case of communications, why not for silent buyers as well? 

 

"Also, since our DSR's are based on number of transactions, not on number of feedback,  having automatic 5's given is redundant." 

 

I've re-read this but I'm afraid I'm not following you.  If for example I have 10 "silent" transactions sitting on my record and eBay were to magnanimously give me the benefit of the doubt that these were satisfied customers, and give me positive FB and 5-star DSRs on each of those 10 transactions, I would think that could improve my DSR rating, particularly if I had less than 5.0 in one of the rating categories. 

 

It would be especially helpful in that pesky "Shipping Cost" category, as I've often seen that once I have a few people who recognize they've received a great shipping rate and have left me top DSRs for it, I've managed to inch up from 4.8 to 4.9.  Do you see what I mean, or am I confused?

 

I'm an artist and linguist, with no claims to proficiency in mathematics or statistics, so maybe I'm missing something critical (or perhaps it's still too early in the day).  Would you expand on this or clarify?

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