eBay

mtvkl · ‎02-12-2016

Hi all,

I have been trying for the past week to switch my billing currency from CAD to USD but I get the same error message every time. I have tried on both .com and .ca, using this page: https://arbd.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SBCChooseCurrency

The error I receive is this: "Unfortunately, we were unable to change your billing currency. Please try again later."

I also get this in my browser's address bar: "SBCErrorPage&errorid=final_error&info=BILLING.FATAL.PAYPAL_ERROR-ErrorCode:11453shortMessage:Reference transactions temporarily unavailable.longMessage:Reference transaction feature not currently available; try again later"

Anyone else have this issue? Am I doing something wrong?

musicyouneed · ‎02-12-2016

I think that you have to cancel the listings in Canadian then relist them with sell similar and make sure you specify US dollars.

mr.elmwood · ‎02-12-2016

What Music said. You cannot revise currency. You have to cancel the listings and change them.

.
.
.

mtvkl · ‎02-12-2016

The thing is I haven't even listed anything yet. I'm just sorting everything out so I can begin selling. Do I have to sell something first before I can change the billing currency?

pierrelebel · ‎02-12-2016

Billing currency can only be changed once a year and the change must be done on eBay.ca - since eBay.com only has one currency: US$.

You do not have any listings listed on eBay. Why do you want to change your billing currency?

This "billing currency" only applies to sellers wishing to be billed for their fees in US$ or Cdn$.

Did you have something else in mind?

If you are a buyer, you have no control over the currency of a listing. That is determined by the seller, not the buyer.

PS - As a seller, the "billing currency" has nothing to do with your ability to list in any currency you wish (Cdn$, US$. £, €, etc...)

reallynicestamps · ‎02-12-2016

If you are buying:

Of you are looking at eBaydotCA ll listings will show the approximate cost in Canadian dollars, as well as in the originating currency.

If you are looking at eBaydotCOM listings will show the cost in US dollars only if the seller listed in US dollars.

If you are buying from a Canadian seller, you can ask to be billed in Canadian dollars.

Be aware that the amount you are billed may be higher or lower than the approximation on the listing or the 'exchange rate' you see in the newspaper or xe.com or your bank, because exchange rates change minute by minute.

The seller may or may not agree to bill you in a different currency. His choice, not yours.

However if the listing was made in US dollars you will be billed the exact amount you purchased at in US dollars. If the listing was in pounds sterling you will be billed the exact amount you purchased at in pounds sterling. And so on.

mtvkl · ‎02-12-2016

Well, I would like to begin selling.

I realize that I can change the listing currency to any currency but the issue is that of changing the billing currency.

I live in Canada. I have a US bank account. My PayPal is in USD. I would like to list my items in USD.

When I set up automatic payments for my selling fees, eBay automatically chooses CAD, presumably because my mailing address is in Canada.

I want to pay my selling fees in USD. When I try to switch the billing currency to USD, I get the error.

Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks to all those who have replied.

recped · ‎02-12-2016

Try again and/or try again with a different browser.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

pierrelebel · ‎02-12-2016

" I have a US bank account. My PayPal is in USD"

Do you mean a US dollar denominated account at a Canadian bank? That account cannot be used in conjunction with PayPal.

How do you intend to pay your eBay fees? The answer to that question would determine what currency you should use as a billing currency for eBay. My personal preference has always been to pay eBay fees with a credit card. It is safest and, if you use the right card, you can get AirMiles or whatever reward your bank offers. I have accumulated tens of thousands of AirMiles using my MasterCard to pay my eBay fees over the last eighteen years. And I find it a lot easier for bookkeeping and tax preparation.

In your PayPal account, you can have several currency balances. You may find it convenient when you need Canadian dollars for example.

dgour98 · ‎02-12-2016

"Do you mean a US dollar denominated account at a Canadian bank? That account cannot be used in conjunction with PayPal."

Pierre, is this new? I keep hearing you say that but i "had" a US dollar account in a canadian bank and my Paypal was attached to it. No problems with transfers at all. I say "had" because 3 years ago i closed that account.

femmefan1946 · ‎02-13-2016

I would like to list my items in USD.

As a new seller, the default Sell Your Item form automatically shows Canadian dollars on the eBaydotCA site.

But we Canadian sellers can sell in US dollars.

There is an Advanced Form, which is about four times as long as the Simplified one that newbies are shown. Usually this is an advantage since it slowly eases the new seller into the process.

Unfortunately, I've been here for so long my SYI is a template and I'm not sure where the Advanced Form is to be found. You could try the dropdown menu under SELL, perhaps????

You will have to switch the currency every dang time. Every. Dang. Time.

If you sell in USD, the money will go to your PP account in USD.

From there you can transfer to a US bank account, to a Canadian bank account in US dollars (but there will be foreign exchange from USD to CDN and back to USD) or to a Canadian bank in CDN.

You can have several accounts attached to your PP account, at several banks and choose where you want to send the money each time.

For example, you have $1000USD and $300CDN in your PP account.

You can put $800USD into your RBCBank account (US bank in USD)

Then put $200USD into your TDCanada Trust account (Canadian bank in USD)

And then $300 CDN into your BMO account (Canadian bank in CDN).

There are fees. You will be told how much these are before you click to complete the transaction.

pierrelebel · ‎02-13-2016

" is this new?"

No. It has been this way since 2001, soon after PayPal allowed Canadians to join their program.

"Your bank account must be denominated in the national currency of your home country for the transfer to be successful."

https://www.paypal.com/selfhelp/article/FAQ533/7

Canadians wishing to withdraw US dollars (without converting to Cdn$) must have a bank account at a bank located in the USA.

Many Canadian sellers have such arrangement if their volume justify it.

pierrelebel · ‎02-13-2016

" I would like to list my items in USD"

Why?

Here is what eBay-Canada recommends for Canadian sellers:

"our analysis found that Canadian business sellers’ aggregate Fixed Price sell-through rates1 and Auction conversion rates2 perform better when their listings are in CAD on eBay.ca. "

http://announcements.ebay.ca/2015/08/27/7703/

Some sellers agree, others do not.

Since you are a new seller and do not yet know the extent of your sales level on eBay, why not follow eBay's suggestion to list in Cdn$?

At the beginning use the KISS system. Do not overthink it.

tobyshitzu · ‎02-13-2016

@dgour98 wrote:

"Do you mean a US dollar denominated account at a Canadian bank? That account cannot be used in conjunction with PayPal."

Pierre, is this new? I keep hearing you say that but i "had" a US dollar account in a canadian bank and my Paypal was attached to it. No problems with transfers at all. I say "had" because 3 years ago i closed that account.

Its worked all along with a US$ account at Canadian RBC only, by using your account number with a different routing number. As of fall 2015 it could still be set up that way. I assume it still can but don't know for sure. Their staff wont know anything about it, but piles of posts to be found with google. US$ can be sent from paypal to the US$ account in Canada, not from the account to paypal. Most people would be better off to just get a CAN$ credit card from chase that doesn't charge an fx premium when buying in US$.

dgour98 · ‎02-13-2016

Thank you Pierre and toby**bleep**zu. It's just weird, because i used to do just that but apparently we can't. And i would transfer money as well no problem.

Like i said earlier i don't know "now" because i closed that account. Or maybe my old account was "grandfathered" at the time.

dgour98 · ‎02-13-2016

LOL! The message board bleeped your name toby. The world is way to politicaly correct nowadays.

mtvkl · ‎02-14-2016

I called eBay and they couldn't figure it out either. Just told me to keep trying. I think I will switch everything over to CAD for the time being. Thanks all for sharing your advice, I really appreciate it!

pierrelebel · ‎02-14-2016

"they couldn't figure it out either."

The problem with eBay's service representatives is that they know very little - if anything - about Canada. They are trained for eBay.com where currency is not an issue.

I suspect the system does not let you "switch" because there is NOTHING to switch from since you do not have any fees charged to your seller account yet.

Once fees have been charged (listing fees or final value fees) then you will know what currency is being used for billing (most likely Cdn$). If you wish to change it to US$ at that time, I am confident the link will work for you.

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/billing-currency.html

Do not sweat the "small stuff"

Good Luck

dipmicro · ‎05-31-2016

I just switched from USD to CAD and also had this same error. Tried several times from two different browsers and was getting same error 11453 like OP: Unfortunately, we were unable to change your billing currency. Please try again later.

The problem seems to be tied to PayPal automatic billing. Once I selected credit card billing, the switch went through fine on first try.