eBay

jt-libra · ‎04-19-2017

Forgive me .... I know this topic has been raised many times but I don't find the Search option on the Boards very helpful and I was looking for one particular thread.

I've given the .ca/CAD a six-month trial and it just isn't working on my media account. For the last quarter of 2016, my sales were 40% lower than the same period the previous two years. For the first quarter of this year, my sales were 50% lower than the previous two years when I listed primarily in USD. And it doesn't have anything to do with the exchange rate because our dollar was even lower this time last year. And .... about 80% of my sales are those listed on .com in USD. I have quite a few Canadian buyers but even they are purchasing from .com.

Currently, I have about 60 listings on .com and 200 on .ca, with another 200 approximately to list. So now begins the arduous journey of moving all these listings to .com. I recall, as many of you do, how long it took to convert our USD listings to CAD and, to do it again, makes me wearing just thinking about it. The migration tool was available to move USD listings from .ca to .com, although I read that a lot of people were less than pleased with its functionality. But it doesn't work for moving CAD listings. Did anyone along the way find a shortcut or an organized way to move CAD listings to .com?

Thanks in advance.

pocomocomputing · ‎04-19-2017

What is your media eBay ID? I ask because perhaps members can review some of the listings to make sure they are working properly and shipping is set up correctly for visibility to buyers outside Canada.

Most likely the listings are set up correctly but I thought I would suggest that before you make the conversion and all the work involved.

Also since you are planning to move many listings, you should make sure they are free of active content and are mobile friendly for the changes coming in June. Best to migrate once and avoid any more changes.

jt-libra · ‎04-19-2017

@pocomocomputing wrote:
What is your media eBay ID? I ask because perhaps members can review some of the listings to make sure they are working properly and shipping is set up correctly for visibility to buyers outside Canada.

Most likely the listings are set up correctly but I thought I would suggest that before you make the conversion and all the work involved.

Also since you are planning to move many listings, you should make sure they are free of active content and are mobile friendly for the changes coming in June. Best to migrate once and avoid any more changes.

Thanks poco, but I'm very confident that my listings are set up correctly (there are a couple of reasons I don't broadcast that ID, which I don't want to get into here). I've been selling on that particular ID for 7 years and these last six months have been the worst even with 50% more inventory than I used to have. The only reason I converted everything on .ca was because I wanted to avoid opening a store, which for media on .ca is not cost beneficial unless you have hundreds of listings -- something else I won't elaborate on here. So to move to .com, I will have to open a store.

As far as active content is concerned, I'm surprised that eBay is adding it to some of my listings automatically. If I understand it correctly, a video of a movie trailer would be active content, no? Yet, with some of my movies, it's added with the other catalogue information. So hopefully they cut that out in June. I'm not really clear on what I have to do to make my listings mobile friendly, but I'll review that info before I migrate.

Thanks for your response.

silverpinups · ‎04-19-2017

Unfortunately this was never a popular topic on these boards since eBay was planning to retire USD listings on eBay.ca in June/16.

When eBay.ca removed my USD Listings back on Jan.16-19/17 I just focused on manually listing them one at a time (I had over 600 of them).

I started immediately after they were ended and I spent a hard 6 weeks to relist them on .COM. I considered the migration tool as well as other bulk listing tools but due to listing glitches with some of those programs I decided to relist them one at a time.

What I found to my surprised is a re-newed interest and sales in some of my older listings that had been previously listed for many years.

If I would have relisted them in bulk, basically in-one shot, I would not have had the buyer interest that I did by listing them one at a time.

So 200 shouldn't take you that long to relist, you just have to mentally prepare for it and just do it!

jt-libra · ‎04-19-2017

@silverpinups wrote:
Unfortunately this was never a popular topic on these boards since eBay was planning to retire USD listings on eBay.ca in June/16.

When eBay.ca removed my USD Listings back on Jan.16-19/17 I just focused on manually listing them one at a time (I had over 600 of them).

I started immediately after they were ended and I spent a hard 6 weeks to relist them on .COM. I considered the migration tool as well as other bulk listing tools but due to listing glitches with some of those programs I decided to relist them one at a time.

What I found to my surprised is a re-newed interest and sales in some of my older listings that had been previously listed for many years.

If I would have relisted them in bulk, basically in-one shot, I would not have had the buyer interest that I did by listing them one at a time.

So 200 shouldn't take you that long to relist, you just have to mentally prepare for it and just do it!

That is something I had hoped would happen. Good to know!

If it was the middle of January, I probably wouldn't be so stressed out about this. But it's Spring -- and there's dust, and dirt and windows to clean, and winter coats to put away and sandals to find and taxes to complete -- and bathing suits to try on (yikes!) But, like you say, if I mentally prepare myself and migrate, say, 20 each day, together with a few new ones, it'll get done.

momcqueen · ‎04-19-2017

Brand new listings certainly create more interest than relisted ones. Or GTC ones. those go stale fast yet we're all told out BINS should be GTC and not 30-day. I can only think thats to benefit ebay servers, and not our sales.

Anonymous · ‎04-19-2017

I noticed more and more sellers are moving their listings from ca to com lately. I pity them because when on com, they are not getting free listings promotions lately. I have my listings on both ca and com to take advantage of both and also to get the free listings promos on ca. If you are willing not to get any free listings promos on com, then good luck.

jt-libra · ‎04-19-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
I noticed more and more sellers are moving their listings from ca to com lately. I pity them because when on com, they are not getting free listings promotions lately. I have my listings on both ca and com to take advantage of both and also to get the free listings promos on ca. If you are willing not to get any free listings promos on com, then good luck.

I've thought about that for sure. But I've been invited to very few promotions in recent months and, given the big decline in sales over the last six months, I feel it's worth it to me to pay more for listings if my sales increase.

007steveb16 · ‎04-20-2017

I've down do my last 50 of 900 listing that I decided in Jan to move from .ca to .com

It's been quite a task as I work full-time and have 4 kids 😉

The .ca in only Canadian $$$ change from last year has been a complete bust for me. I tried and I believed them when they said things wouldn't change....

jt-libra · ‎04-20-2017

@007steveb16 wrote:
I've down do my last 50 of 900 listing that I decided in Jan to move from .ca to .com

It's been quite a task as I work full-time and have 4 kids 😉

The .ca in only Canadian $$$ change from last year has been a complete bust for me. I tried and I believed them when they said things wouldn't change....

Good for you! With 4 kids taking up so much of your time, you've done very well. I didn't want to resist this change without trying it, but six months was enough of a trial period to see that it wasn't working. I look forward to increased sales in exchange for my hard work.

Good luck to you!

realjazz-123 · ‎04-20-2017

I would like to ask a simple, perhaps naive, question. Is being able to list in US dollars the big advantage of moving from .ca to .com? I would assume a listing can be seen equally by potential buyers on both sites, with country of seller noted on all sites. Am I missing some other benefit which might increase lagging sales for some of us still using .ca? Thanks for any opinions.

jt-libra · ‎04-20-2017

@realjazz-123 wrote:
I would like to ask a simple, perhaps naive, question. Is being able to list in US dollars the big advantage of moving from .ca to .com? I would assume a listing can be seen equally by potential buyers on both sites, with country of seller noted on all sites. Am I missing some other benefit which might increase lagging sales for some of us still using .ca? Thanks for any opinions.

It is for me ... and I suspect for most Canadian sellers. Since it became mandatory to list in CAD on .ca, a lot of sellers noticed that their sales had dropped dramatically, myself included. I can't speak for all Canadian sellers, naturally, but many sellers had a larger U.S. clientele than Canadian and those were the sales that decreased. Others are doing very well listing in CAD.

It's true that items which have been listed on .ca in CAD will be visible to American buyers, with the converted amount shown underneath the Canadian price. Some buyers will be attracted to the lower cost shown in their dollar, but I think most just can't be bothered. I don't know whether they think that it will be too troublesome or complex to purchase in a different currency .... they just have so many other listings to choose from. When I look for an item and I see a number of listings which have originated in Australia, for example, I can easily see what it will cost in CAD but I usually move past them, thinking I can get it more quickly from, first, a Canadian seller, or from an American seller. And, as I indicated, the majority of my Canadian buyers are logging into .com and buying items which I've listed in USD.

This is strictly my viewpoint and, no doubt, a lot of sellers will disagree with me. But a 50% drop in sales for me is reason enough for me to move my listings.

momcqueen · ‎04-20-2017

Again, I find myself compelled to speak my piece.

I've listed on eBay.ca in CAD for years. USD holds no interest for me. The 'slump' that everyone speaks of has been felt across most categories on both sites. It's not a CAD THING. My sales to USA Buyers have never been stronger. My sales to Canadians have not kept pace; the postal uncertainty from summer has had lingering long-term negative impact.

To those who are now moving your listings to eBay.com, I wish you success and hope you don't discover the extra work doing so has been for naught. If by chance you experience a sudden surge of sales on eBay.com, I congratulate you, but I would not use that to conclude that USD holds the key to success.

jt-libra · ‎04-20-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
Again, I find myself compelled to speak my piece.

I've listed on eBay.ca in CAD for years. USD holds no interest for me. The 'slump' that everyone speaks of has been felt across most categories on both sites. It's not a CAD THING. My sales to USA Buyers have never been stronger. My sales to Canadians have not kept pace; the postal uncertainty from summer has had lingering long-term negative impact.

To those who are now moving your listings to eBay.com, I wish you success and hope you don't discover the extra work doing so has been for naught. If by chance you experience a sudden surge of sales on eBay.com, I congratulate you, but I would not use that to conclude that USD holds the key to success.

I respect your opinion, mj, and I know you to be a very successful seller. I'm not about to list in USD for the first time in an attempt to try it out. I had always listed in USD on both sites and I was extremely reluctant to switch to CAD. And I was right to be. This is not a "slump" for me. I reviewed my sales for the 4th Q 2014, 2015 and 2016 and saw a 40% drop. The decreased sales were sudden and dramatic after the switch was made. Then for the 1st Q of 2014, 2015 and 2016, the drop has been 50%.

I am very comfortable selling in USD and my Canadian buyers seem to prefer it as well. Unlike you, I have been fortunate in that the postal uncertainties of last summer did not derail my Canadian sales. They're doing as well as they ever have; it's the Americans I've lost.

momcqueen · ‎04-20-2017

I wish you only success on your endeavors on eBay.com.

thestuffofchris · ‎04-20-2017

I think it all really just depends on what you find works for you and your buyers.

I've primarily only ever sold on .CA in CAD, even before it was mandatory, and the vast majority of my buyers have been from Canada. With what I sell and the usual value of those items, it isn't usually worth it for US/International buyers to purchase those items from a Canadian.

I did a one-month test listing in USD a couple years ago (when the option was still available) and while I did end up having a fairly good month sales-wise, it was still mostly to Canadians, meaning it really didn't seem to make a difference.

I decided to stick with.CA and CAD since it works for me and my buyers. For you and your buyers, it may not, and your evidence seems to support that. My advice would be to make the decision that you feel will best suit you and your buyers.

jt-libra · ‎04-20-2017

@thestuffofchris wrote:
I think it all really just depends on what you find works for you and your buyers.

I've primarily only ever sold on .CA in CAD, even before it was mandatory, and the vast majority of my buyers have been from Canada. With what I sell and the usual value of those items, it isn't usually worth it for US/International buyers to purchase those items from a Canadian.

I did a one-month test listing in USD a couple years ago (when the option was still available) and while I did end up having a fairly good month sales-wise, it was still mostly to Canadians, meaning it really didn't seem to make a difference.

I decided to stick with.CA and CAD since it works for me and my buyers. For you and your buyers, it may not, and your evidence seems to support that. My advice would be to make the decision that you feel will best suit you and your buyers.

That's very true. And also -- the type of items you sell. For instance, this Health and Beauty account that I'm posting from is very different than my media account. On this one, I list approximately the same number of items on .ca and .com in both currencies and my sales are very good, relative to the number of listings I have.

realjazz-123 · ‎04-23-2017

Is there a way to tell if a seller based in Canada is using either .ca or .com. Is that information available from looking at a listing or another way?

pierrelebel · ‎04-23-2017

Yes - If the listing is in US$, the seller is listing on eBay.com. If the listing is in Cdn$, the seller is listing on eBay.ca or eBay.cafr

realjazz-123 · ‎04-23-2017

Thank you for this helpful information and for your sharing, caring advice and suggestions over the years. I understand you will retire soon so I wish you all the best in new activities out of eBay.