eBay

block36 · ‎07-24-2015

I have just listed two postcards for AUCTION and have assigned starting prices as $8.99 and $9.99 thinking it will be my default setting in US dollars.

Then I checked my items and noticed that starting prices are shown as Cdn dollars...

Attended both items trying to correct and did not get the option to switch - only Canadian dollars

Did anybody else experience such a restriction today or earlier?

rose-dee · ‎08-04-2015

@cumos55 wrote:
A main advantage to listing in Canadian dollars on eBay.ca is the fact that once a price is set...the price in US dollars will vary in relation to the exchange rate.

When listing in US dollars, the US prices had to be adjusted down , and by doing so the resultant Canadian price was the same today as it was two years ago...

This could also work the other way around, depending upon where the seller's main market is and where their competitors are -- U.S. or Canada. Listing in $US permits a seller who sells primarily to the $US to set a price and leave it -- not have to be concerned about fluctuations in $Cdn.

A price can be set in $US and not changed for months or even a year or two, with the result that the price becomes more and more attractive to U.S. buyers as time goes on (assuming the buying power of the $US dollar decreases slightly over time and/or competitors in the U.S. raise their prices).

hedge88 · ‎08-04-2015

I'm not happy to find that it has been defaulting to Canadian dollars, so I had to end a bunch of items, because the Canadian price of shipping will not cover costs. So stupid. And I found half my listings were in Canadian and half in the US dollars.

cumos55 · ‎08-04-2015

I sell books...

Two years ... 2013... US buyers were 20 % of sales.

So far in 2015, US buyers are 38 % of sale.

The increase in sale in 2015 compared to 2013... is partly the adjustment to the change in postage in 2013, and the exchange rate in 2015.

I have to adjust both the price and the shipping cost when I use US dollars.... as the listing currency.

If I list in Canadian dollars.... my price will remain the same no matter what happens to the exchange rate.... while the associated US prices will change as the exchange rate changes...

Total sales will be based on the sales in Canadian dollars.... to both Canadian and US buyers...

Today... Very Few Canadian sellers of books list in Canadian dollars...

And if I cannot listing with US as currency on eBay.ca I cannot transfer to eBay.com... because of the... very.... low shipping cap on .com

cumos55 · ‎08-04-2015

After Pierrelebel's response in reply 39 .... I looked at his listings.

Both CDN$ and US $ are used.as currencies .....

CDN $ with listings of Canadian stamps

US$ with listings of stamps for all other countries...

a very logical approach...

rose-dee · ‎08-05-2015

@cumos55 wrote:
After Pierrelebel's response in reply 39 .... I looked at his listings.
Both CDN$ and US $ are used.as currencies .....
CDN $ with listings of Canadian stamps
US$ with listings of stamps for all other countries...
a very logical approach...

Yes, I agree this is completely logical for sellers who have items that appeal to a specific nationality (or who have a traditional split market between U.S. and Canada). However this is an instance where a method that works for one seller might be disastrous for another.

In my own situation, for example:

- The vast majority of my buyers (well over 90%) will be in the U.S. This has been consistent throughout the years I've been on eBay, despite listing in $Cdn for a couple of years at the beginning, and despite currently offering truly free domestic shipping on many items. I've never been able to raise the percentage of Canadian buyers. Many reasons account for this, but primarily I think there is simply a larger and more interested market in the U.S. Also, I rarely have anything that would specifically appeal to Canadians.

- Almost all my competitors are in the U.S., and they all list in $US. The very few who are elsewhere (U.K./Europe) list in $US. I know their prices well.

- If I were obligated by eBay to list in $Cdn, the prices in $US being displayed to .com buyers would be constantly fluctuating as the $Cdn fluctuated. At times -- such as the current situation -- this might be an advantage, but at other times it could be a serious disadvantage.

Not only would my buyers in the U.S. be seeing different (converted) prices, sometimes from one day to the next (which I think could be very confusing and disorienting), but I would have to be continually checking and adjusting my $Cdn prices -- including shipping -- in order to keep on top of my U.S. competitors. And of course the buyers who will be interested in my items will be comparing them to those U.S. competitors and looking at buying in a currency ($Cdn) they are not comfortable with. It has been a real benefit to be able to list in $US.

If I'm forced to list exclusively in $Cdn, I will have a difficult decision to make -- the lesser of two evils. List on .ca in $Cdn and risk turning off my U.S. customers, or list on .com in $US and risk defects as a result of the inevitable lack of clarity with respect to shipping.

It will not be a happy day for me if this is foisted on us...

pierrelebel · ‎08-05-2015

" List on .ca in $Cdn and risk turning off my U.S. customers,"

I frankly think that many sellers are mistaken when they are "afraid" of annoying American buyers when listing in Cdn$. That has not been my experience over the years both on and off eBay.

"...sometimes from one day to the next (which I think could be very confusing and disorienting), ..."

No. I could write a few paragraphs on that but, no, simply no.

pierrelebel · ‎08-05-2015

"...a very logical approach..."

This approach was needed to maximize the 'free" insertions given by eBay to store owners. Splitting my inventory between .com and .ca allows me to list 500 listings every month without paying insertion fees with a basic store:

150 fixed price on .com with a basic store

100 auctions on .com (collectibles) with a basic store

150 fixed price on .ca with a basic store

100 auctions on .ca (collectibles) with a basic store

Now, I could have used US$ for listings on .ca but decided to list in Cdn$. It works just fine. No complaints whatsoever from American buyers. Buyers are not as stupid as some here seem to think.

Also my listings on .ca are in fact on .cafr so I get free searchable subtitles. And yes, that works for me. And it could also work for most sellers if they only took the time to properly try it and evaluate the results.

Another option of course is to sell on eBay.com in US$ exclusively and that will work too for most Canadian sellers who do not need to use calculated shipping.

rose-dee · ‎08-05-2015

pierrelebel wrote:

I frankly think that many sellers are mistaken when they are "afraid" of annoying American buyers when listing in Cdn$. That has not been my experience over the years both on and off eBay.

Nonetheless, in my situation, my almost exclusively U.S. buyers will be looking at my prices in comparison with my (almost exclusively) U.S. competitors. Being able to maintain a stable price point has been an advantage to me.

For example, an item I first listed 2 years ago at $15.95 US is still listed at $15.95 U.S. today. This has had several benefits:

1) I have not had to keep a watch on all such items to alter the pricing (which would have been necessary if they had been listed in $Cdn, especially if the Canadian dollar were to rise again). This represents a lot of work and time saved; and

2) While my price has stayed at $15.95 US, some of my U.S. competitors have been raising their prices. My price looks good in comparison, in fact better as time goes on, with no effort on my part whatsoever. My buyers are seeing the same price every time they visit my store, in their familiar $US currency, with no conversion annotations to make it look like a foreign seller's item;

3) In connection with the above, when the $Cdn slumps, I gain because I sell in $US and buy most of my day-to-day supplies using $Cdn. Yes, I realize I pay the currency conversion fee to do so, but I also make purchases directly in $US from my Paypal account, which means that my costs are unaffected as the $Cdn falls. Having to list in $Cdn would ruin this strategy for me.

4) Lastly, within a month of switching from listing in $Cdn to listing in $US, my sales increased significantly. Granted, this was about 4 years ago, but it told me that for my particular situation, listing in $US was the right thing to do.

Perhaps what it really boils down to is that I simply don't swallow eBay's "new" pronouncement that listing in $Cdn is likely to be more beneficial. I believe there are other motives behind these remarks that have nothing to do with making Canadian sellers more profitable as a whole. I suspect eBay only repudiated their statement about listing in $US resulting in 15% better sales because they needed another narrative. If the new "advice"

"...sometimes from one day to the next (which I think could be very confusing and disorienting), ..."

No. I could write a few paragraphs on that but, no, simply no.

Are you saying that listings in $Cdn on .ca will not have fluctuating equivalents displayed in $US on .com? That hasn't been my experience.

I can't see how, to an American buyer, having the $US equivalents changing from one day or week to the next, would not be confusing. How could a buyer possibly compare last week's price to this week's price in US currency, unless they happened to have written down the converted $US amount (or unless they do a lot of shopping from Canadians and understand the relative currency values)?

In any event, as I said above, having those currency conversions displayed in listings (and searches) says "foreign" seller to a U.S. buyer. Perhaps your buyers, being collectors, are more persistent in getting the item they want regardless of initial appearances, but mine aren't. I get one chance to make a first impression (in search and click-through), and it had better look consistent with my U.S. competitors' listings.

pierrelebel · ‎08-05-2015

'For example, an item I first listed 2 years ago at $15.95 US is still listed at $15.95 U.S. today. This has had several benefits:"

I do not disagree. As Raphael advised a while back, in many instances it will make sense for Canadian sellers to list on eBay.com

"Are you saying that listings in $Cdn on .ca will not have fluctuating equivalents displayed in $US on .com? "

No. I am saying that those small daily fluctuations are largely irrelevant to most buyers, not even worth thinking about.

rose-dee · ‎08-05-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:

Now, I could have used US$ for listings on .ca but decided to list in Cdn$. It works just fine. No complaints whatsoever from American buyers. Buyers are not as stupid as some here seem to think.

I'm afraid I have to take issue with this statement. Bear in mind to whom you are selling and why. Collectors, especially of stamps, will be used to looking worldwide to find that special piece for their collection -- I know I did when I collected (in a different category). I didn't give a hoot where the seller was or what currency the item was listed in -- if it was something I wanted or needed to complete my collection, I'd buy it.

I certainly don't consider my buyers stupid, if that's what you were implying. However, they are making purchases on quite a different basis from a collector -- mine are making a far more discretionary decision, or one might even say an impulse purchase. As I said above, if I don't capture my U.S. buyers' imagination and interest with a familiar currency immediately, they won't come through the door. And, unlike many of your own buyers who may be dealing with sellers around the world, in my main category (sewing patterns) most of the buyers are American and most of the sellers are American. They are not used to variations on the theme.

Also my listings on .ca are in fact on .cafr so I get free searchable subtitles. And yes, that works for me. And it could also work for most sellers if they only took the time to properly try it and evaluate the results.

I agree, and I've been using .cafr for some time for the same reason. However, I don't think it could work for "most sellers". You do really need to have at least some working facility in French to avoid making errors, although the SYI form is essentially identical. It's not that easy for people who aren't comfortably bilingual to switch

Another option of course is to sell on eBay.com in US$ exclusively and that will work too for most Canadian sellers who do not need to use calculated shipping.

Yes, this option is available, but the lack of calculated shipping is not the biggest problem. Doing this does involve a number of issues with respect to flat rate shipping for Canadian sellers.

For example, the variety of Canada Post services available to a Canadian seller on .ca will not be available. This may not be a big problem if the seller is primarily shipping with letter mail using postage stamps, but it's a huge problem if you use Light/Small Packet USA, Expedited USA or Xpresspost USA labels through Paypal. The significant discounts on the latter two services would not be available either.

In addition, purchasers in the U.S. will not see the usual follow-through that they get either on eBay or from Canada Post if a seller is listing on .ca. Nor will buyers necessarily even realize that the item is coming from Canada -- as you know, the designations for "domestic" and "international" are generic and reversed when a non-U.S. seller is listing on eBay.com.

Lastly, and perhaps not least, I believe sellers listing on .com would be subject to the "Hassle Free Returns" programme and other specifically .com policies. If sellers already dislike the MBG programme, this would be worse since it would cause complications in providing return shipping labels.

For the above reasons (and many more), I don't list on .com and am not looking forward to being obligated to make a choice between listing on .ca and risking loss of sales or listing on .com and risking defects.

rose-dee · ‎08-05-2015

@pierrelebel wrote:

"Are you saying that listings in $Cdn on .ca will not have fluctuating equivalents displayed in $US on .com? "

No. I am saying that those small daily fluctuations are largely irrelevant to most buyers, not even worth thinking about.

I still must respectfully disagree with this opinion, especially the reference to "most buyers". I don't think most American buyers are in the habit of buying offshore, unless they are collectors looking worldwide for those particular items to add to their collection. Then it makes sense to believe that seeing fluctuations in pricing is largely irrelevant.

For all of the reasons I mentioned above, my buyers will always be primarily U.S. discretionary purchasers who are used to buying from other Americans. Seeing anything different or "unusual" in searches or listings may be just that little factor that will put them off and encourage them to go on to the next familiar-looking (U.S.) listing.

pierrelebel · ‎08-05-2015

"I still must respectfully disagree with this opinion,"

I know... I am getting used to it.

cumos55 · ‎08-05-2015

All of my listings on eBay.com , in Bright Red, right under my price in US dollars, state

Located in Canada

Everyone on eBay.com can see I am a Canadian seller... when they view my listing.

If I was listing in CDN $... then US buyer can see the US price in brackets.... and adjust accordingly...

Perhaps.

With me... Once I set the price in Canadian dollars it will be that price without any concerns with respect to exchange rates...

Sales, in 2015 so far, are 62 % to Canadian buyers and 38 % to US buyers..

and... finally because I sell books... I cannot move to eBay.com because of the shipping cap for books on eBay.com.

cumos55 · ‎08-05-2015

If I had to change 3500 listings from US$ to CDN $....

Right now.... There is no easy way to do so....

There is no one switch .... no one option... that would allow me to change all listings at once ... no Bulk Edit

to change all listings from US $ to CDN$.

------------------------------------------------------------

I have looked into options....

The change cannot be done on eBay.

I can import all listings to Turbolister (TL) . This was was done a few months ago and not all listings were imported to TL..

Everything can be adjusted on TL ... but that would take many days... perhaps weeks.

--------------------------------------------------------------

To do this live on eBay I would need...

(1) a quick and easy way to go from US$ to CDN$... live on eBay.... eBay has to add this as an edit option on eBay.... preferably for all listings for any one seller....

(2) Three hours to adjust prices... Bulk Edit live on eBay...

(3) Another three hours to adjust postage.... Bulk Edit live on eBay

and if eBay wants all listings on eBay.ca to be in Canadian currency....then the change can be unidirectional ... a one way trip

pierrelebel · ‎08-05-2015

Hi Cumos55. From Raphael, today:

"As for your questions around eBay Canada providing tools to assist sellers through a migration like this, again it's way early to know for sure but this is something we've done in the past. If you remember, we did provide customized tools for sellers to identify & update their listings that fell out of compliance when we changed the requirements around Returns. I think that was in 2012. While I can't tell you exactly what we would do at this time, it's certainly something we would contemplate. If you or anyone else have any specifics to call out for this eventual tool, feel free to share your thoughts with me, via email or right here on the forum."

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-05-2015

As I said above, if I don't capture my U.S. buyers' imagination and interest with a familiar currency immediately, they won't come through the door. And, unlike many of your own buyers who may be dealing with sellers around the world, in my main category (sewing patterns) most of the buyers are American and most of the sellers are American. They are not used to variations on the theme.

If I may ask, how do you know that to be true? Are you assuming that because your sales went up 4 years ago when you switched to U.S. $ or have you actually asked your buyers and done some tests to see if your theory is true? There have been times many of us...including you.....were positive than something was true and were later shown that it wasn't true so unless you have black and white proof of this, then it seems that you just guessing at this point. Perhaps you are right but saying that you are right and proving that you are right because of factual proof are two different things.

For example, the variety of Canada Post services available to a Canadian seller on .ca will not be available. This may not be a big problem if the seller is primarily shipping with letter mail using postage stamps, but it's a huge problem if you use Light/Small Packet USA, Expedited USA or Xpresspost USA labels through Paypal.

Why is a problem?? I certainly haven't noticed it being a problem. The listing may not tell my American buyer which CP service is being used item but I can guarantee that very few of them have a clue what the different services mean anyway. As far as getting a discount, do you think that all of us who list on .com do not get shipping discounts? Do you really think that I would be listing there if that were the case?

In addition, purchasers in the U.S. will not see the usual follow-through that they get either on eBay or from Canada Post if a seller is listing on .ca. Nor will buyers necessarily even realize that the item is coming from Canada -- as you know, the designations for "domestic" and "international" are generic and reversed when a non-U.S. seller is listing on eBay.com.

I'm pretty sure that the located in Canada as well as the "standard shipping from outside of the U.S." will tell buyers that my items were coming from Canada. Getting Canada Post updates has nothing to do with where you list. If you use CP labels, the same info is sent out regardless where the listing originated.

Lastly, and perhaps not least, I believe sellers listing on .com would be subject to the "Hassle Free Returns" programme and other specifically .com policies. If sellers already dislike the MBG programme, this would be worse since it would cause complications in providing return shipping labels.

Even if I were automatically opted into hassle free return program (and I don't think I will be) it wouldn't affect me so I'm not sure why you are worried about it.

Once you're opted in to eBay hassle-free returns, there are additional requirements for a sale to be eligible. Hassle-free returns can be used when:

Both the buyer's address and your primary return address are in the US.

If you don't have a US return address, you can still opt in to eBay hassle-free returns, but your buyer won't be able to print a return shipping label on eBay.com.

If a buyer tries to return an ineligible item using eBay hassle-free returns, we ask the buyer to contact you directly.

I

rose-dee · ‎08-05-2015

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

If I may ask, how do you know that to be true? Are you assuming that because your sales went up 4 years ago when you switched to U.S. $ or have you actually asked your buyers and done some tests to see if your theory is true? There have been times many of us...including you.....were positive than something was true and were later shown that it wasn't true so unless you have black and white proof of this, then it seems that you just guessing at this point. Perhaps you are right but saying that you are right and proving that you are right because of factual proof are two different things.

Well, the only test I could logically do would be to list in $Cdn to see if I would lose money, and I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot to prove something that already makes good sense, whether I have "scientific" data to back it up or not. I don't need to ask my buyers. They are almost all Americans, why wouldn't they feel comfortable buying in $US dollars??

When my buyers look at my listings, those listings appear just like all my other U.S. competitors' listings in searches -- prices in $US up front, with no currency annotations beside them. That's the advantage I want to keep.

Since over the years less than 10% of my buyers have been Canadian (and since we know what our money is worth in relation to the US dollar at any given time), listing in $Cdn would have no reasonable purpose other than accommodating eBay itself. As I've said previously, I don't believe their sudden switch to promoting listing in $Cdn doesn't have motives they aren't sharing with us. And listing in $US suits me just fine.

For example, the variety of Canada Post services available to a Canadian seller on .ca will not be available. This may not be a big problem if the seller is primarily shipping with letter mail using postage stamps, but it's a huge problem if you use Light/Small Packet USA, Expedited USA or Xpresspost USA labels through Paypal.

Why is a problem?? I certainly haven't noticed it being a problem. The listing may not tell my American buyer which CP service is being used item but I can guarantee that very few of them have a clue what the different services mean anyway. As far as getting a discount, do you think that all of us who list on .com do not get shipping discounts?   Do you really think that I would be listing there if that were the case?

I think you've misunderstood my point. It had nothing to do with discounts, but rather with the connectivity of information between eBay and Canada Post.

In addition, purchasers in the U.S. will not see the usual follow-through that they get either on eBay or from Canada Post if a seller is listing on .ca. Nor will buyers necessarily even realize that the item is coming from Canada -- as you know, the designations for "domestic" and "international" are generic and reversed when a non-U.S. seller is listing on eBay.com.

I'm pretty sure that the located in Canada as well as the "standard shipping from outside of the U.S." will tell buyers that my items were coming from Canada. Getting Canada Post updates has nothing to do with where you list. If you use CP labels, the same info is sent out regardless where the listing originated.

Again, I think you've misunderstood. I don't want my buyers to see the generic "standard shipping from outside of the U.S." description, I want them to see the service they're actually getting (because I frequently upgrade my buyers at no cost to them, and I let them know this). They may not know exactly what the difference is between "Small Packet" and "Expedited" for example, but they can see that it's been changed from the listing, as promised.

Lastly, and perhaps not least, I believe sellers listing on .com would be subject to the "Hassle Free Returns" programme and other specifically .com policies. If sellers already dislike the MBG programme, this would be worse since it would cause complications in providing return shipping labels.

Even if I were automatically opted into hassle free return program (and I don't think I will be) it wouldn't affect me so I'm not sure why you are worried about it.

Once you're opted in to eBay hassle-free returns, there are additional requirements for a sale to be eligible. Hassle-free returns can be used when:

Both the buyer's address and your primary return address are in the US.
If you don't have a US return address, you can still opt in to eBay hassle-free returns, but your buyer won't be able to print a return shipping label on eBay.com.
If a buyer tries to return an ineligible item using eBay hassle-free returns, we ask the buyer to contact you directly.

Actually, with this reply I think you've proven my point. As I said, more complications, more rules to review and comprehend, more policies to grasp, even if they may not apply. I was obviously mistaken about the HFR programme automatically applying to Canadians listing on .com, but do I really want to have to spend time delving into the peculiarities of eBay.com policy to find out? And probably spending even more time on the U.S. boards trying to understand the implications? I'm happy on .ca if they'll let me continue to list in $US.

This, by the way (listing in $US on .ca), always made good sense to me, since we Canadians do have a very large dependence on the U.S. market. The rather specious rationale that obligating $Cdn listing on .ca would make new programming function more smoothly is -- sorry -- hogwash in my opinion. They've been making new programming function for years with both currencies.

I expect the real reason is that changing to $Cdn is a cost-saving measure, likely driven by griping shareholders. Why not simply force everybody to list in $US on .ca -- that would at least make some reasonable sense.

rose-dee · ‎08-05-2015

pierre lebel wrote:

"I still must respectfully disagree with this opinion,"

I know... I am getting used to it.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you saying you never disagree with anyone on these boards, ergo you're not used to a friendly debate? Or are you just not accustomed to (displeased with) having others disagree with you? Or that you particularly don't like me disagreeing? Hmmm...

You could at least have stuck a happy face at the end of that somewhat obliquely denigrating comment.

I wouldn't have minded a substantive response to my reply, actually. I enjoy a good debate!

pierrelebel · ‎08-05-2015

"Are you saying..."

No. I am saying exactly what I wrote. No more, no less.

We live in a free society and everyone here is always welcome to agree or disagree with the opinion of another poster. My comment to you simply indicates that I have come to expect your disagreement with my opinions when it comes to selling on eBay.

I generally offer suggestions allowing most sellers to solve challenges and problems faced daily by Canadian sellers. Everyone is allowed to use the information or ignore it.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-05-2015

Well, the only test I could logically do would be to list in $Cdn to see if I would lose money, and I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot to prove something that already makes good sense, whether I have "scientific" data to back it up or not.

Just because something makes good sense to you doesn't mean that everyone (including your customers) are seeing things the same way. If it works for you..fine...but don't assume that another way will not work as well. Sometimes I hate change too but it is often much less worse than we perceive it to be.

They are almost all Americans, why wouldn't they feel comfortable buying in $US dollars??

The are paying in U.S. $ regardless of which currency the listing is in. My point is that you seem to assume they would be uncomfortable with paying for a listing that wasn't originally in U.S. $ but you don't actually know if they care. I don't think that they do care. Perhaps I'm the one who is wrong but at this point, there is no way of knowing that for sure.

I think you've misunderstood my point. It had nothing to do with discounts, but rather with the connectivity of information between eBay and Canada Post.

What connectivity problem are you referring to? If you enter a CP tracking number the buyer can track their package for items listed on .com or .ca. If they receive any updates from Canada Post that is because Paypal has set things up that way...it has nothing to do with where the listing was done.

And......If it nothing to do with discounts, why did you write the following?

"but it's a huge problem if you use Light/Small Packet USA, Expedited USA or Xpresspost USA labels through Paypal. The significant discounts on the latter two services would not be available either."

Actually, with this reply I think you've proven my point. As I said, more complications, more rules to review and comprehend, more policies to grasp, even if they may not apply.

lol

You said that it would cause complications in printing return shipping labels. Since that is not possible that means there would be no complication in that regard. As far as having to learn more about the program, you mentioned numerous times about wanting your customers to perceive you as being just like your U.S. competitors and since some of them may offer hfr, I would have thought that you would want to understand how the program works. It honestly is not that complicated.

Why not simply force everybody to list in $US on .ca -- that would at least make some reasonable sense.

You're kidding right? You want to be forced to use another countries currency on a Canadian site? I think that many people would be offended by that.

As I said earlier, I would prefer that the currency options are left to the choice of the seller and at this point we don't know what is going to happen. I realize that many of your points for not wanting to list in Cdn $ and for not listing on .com make perfect sense to you but perhaps you attribute more importance to them than any of your buyers do. I'm not suggesting that you need to change anything if you feel everything is working for you. But the fact is that you may eventually have to make some changes and imo you don't have enough info to 'know' whether or not the changes will be negative or positive.