eBay

ypdc_dennis · ‎06-13-2017

Some International numbers

All for a package going to Germany, 21x16x2 cm, 400g

From worst to best choice

(Rank 5) Over the counter:

Light Packet - $24.57

Small Packet (air) - $19.75

Tracked packet - $52.66

(Rank 4) through the eBay link (currently handled by paypal):

Light Packet - $24.57

Small Packet (air) - $19.75

Tracked packet - $43.76

(Rank 2,3) through paypal directly or via Canada Post's EST

Light Packet - not available

Small Packet (air) - $19.46

Tracked packet - $40.07

These are the tier 1 rates for a Solutions for Small Business member

(Rank 1) Canada Post's Snap Ship

Light Packet - not available

Small Packet (air) - $16.54 (19.46 with 15% discount)

Tracked packet - $34.06 (40.07 with 15% discount)

The 15% discount will end July 31.

International Shipping conclusions:

If you can get it to work, Snap Ship is the winner until the end of July.

eBay.CA really needs to renegotiate the discounts for Canada Post International shipping.

-..-

momcqueen · ‎06-14-2017

@ypdc_dennis wrote:

....If you can get it to work, Snap Ship is the winner until the end of July.

eBay.CA really needs to renegotiate the discounts for Canada Post International shipping.

-..-

I know, right? I've thought this for years. Ebay Sellers must, as a group, represent a fairly decent percentage of Canada Post sales. My suspicion is that there is a not-small cut being taken from every label purchased for 'administering' the program. And who gets that? Pitney Bowes? Paypal?

ypdc_dennis · ‎06-14-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
@ypdc_dennis wrote:
....If you can get it to work, Snap Ship is the winner until the end of July.
eBay.CA really needs to renegotiate the discounts for Canada Post International shipping.
I know, right? I've thought this for years. Ebay Sellers must, as a group, represent a fairly decent percentage of Canada Post sales. My suspicion is that there is a not-small cut being taken from every label purchased for 'administering' the program. And who gets that? Pitney Bowes? Paypal?

Canada Post made the tier 1 discounts bigger for Solutions for Small Business around the end of January. Until that time the eBay discounts were as good or better than the tier 1 discounts.

A case of pay attention, or you'll fall behind.

-..-

hlmacdon · ‎06-14-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
@ypdc_dennis wrote:

....If you can get it to work, Snap Ship is the winner until the end of July.

eBay.CA really needs to renegotiate the discounts for Canada Post International shipping.

-..-
I know, right? I've thought this for years. Ebay Sellers must, as a group, represent a fairly decent percentage of Canada Post sales. My suspicion is that there is a not-small cut being taken from every label purchased for 'administering' the program. And who gets that? Pitney Bowes? Paypal?

Presumably they are making margin on their rates depending on the current split with paypal/pitney. Contract rates for any volume partner are usually far more generous than the small business rates. Pitney charges for any program they administer, and they are basically providing the same service that Shippo will be moving forward. Papyal is a clueless middleman in the current process, judging by how completely inept their handling of this transition has been. Moving to a single partner solution like Shippo makes more sense as that would increase shipping margins, although that may not manifest in lower rates. Don't expect any dramatic differences in international costs moving forward as the export side continues to be run to subsidize the import side.

ypdc_dennis · ‎06-15-2017

Now a look at some USA numbers

Tested for a package going to USA (Ontario to Illinois), 29x23x2 cm, 900g

SfSB = Solutions for Small Business (free membership from Canada Post). Tier 1 is the discount available for those that spend $1-2500 in shipping/year. SfSB has 4 tiers of discounts.

* Small Packet (air):

Over-the-counter: $16.82

Canada Post SfSB tier 1: $16.60

eBay link: $16.82

PayPal direct: $16.60

Snap Ship: $14.11 (16.60 with 15% discount)

Snap Ship wins until July 31, after that paypal has a tiny price advantage over ebay.

* Tracked packet:

Over-the-counter: $21.25

Canada Post SfSB tier 1: $19.96

eBay link: $18.01

PayPal direct: $19.96

Snap Ship: $16.97 (19.96 with 15% discount)

Snap Ship wins until July 31, after that ebay discounts win.

* Expedited USA

Over-the-counter: $22.58

Canada Post SfSB tier 1: $20.99

eBay link: $19.17

PayPal direct: $20.99

Snap Ship: $17.84 (20.99 with 15% discount)

Snap Ship wins until July 31, after that ebay discounts win.

USA Shipping conclusions:

If you can get it to work, Canada Post's Snap Ship is the winner until the end of July.

eBay.CA discounts for Canada Post USA shipping are best for tracked shipping.

-..-

rose-dee · ‎06-15-2017

Thanks for doing all this work and compiling the numbers. I'll bookmark this thread.

I received an email the other day from Paypal about their new shipping set-up, and integration with SFSB discounts. You have to be signed up with SFSB of course, and enter your SFSB information into the Paypal site -- this is what those pop-up prompts were apparently about that appeared a couple of weeks ago.

Paypal is touting up to 36% savings on domestic shipments, and up to 47% on international. Of course there is small print (see below). No doubt the 36% and 47% figures apply to the highest user tier only.

As an aside, I thought the eBay reps said that Paypal was "getting out of the shipping label business". All of these recent shipping updates on Paypal's site seem to belie that statement.

The following was also included in the email notice I got from Paypal. This might make a difference, at least temporarily, for many of us shipping domestically:

"Plus for a limited time, save an additional 15% on Expedited Parcel when shipping anywhere in Canada; offer ends July 31, 2017."

Here's the small print on the regular Paypal discounts:

"Parcel savings of up to 36% on domestic shipments and up to 47% on international shipments are provided by Canada Post Solutions for Small Business™ and are based on your parcel savings level. The assignment of a price rate "Saving Level", if you are eligible for one, will be made to your customer account. Your Solutions for Small Business customer number will allow you to create your Canada Post online profile, which will provide you with access to My Dashboard, including your personalized savings levels. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that you use your customer number each time you purchase shipping and mailing products. Canada Post may, in its sole discretion, perform periodic reviews of your purchases and may contact you to inform you of any variation to your savings level and any options available to you."

Canada Post Solutions for Small Business terms and conditions

hlmacdon · ‎06-15-2017

@rose-dee wrote:

As an aside, I thought the eBay reps said that Paypal was "getting out of the shipping label business". All of these recent shipping updates on Paypal's site seem to belie that statement.

In one sense they are. Paypal has no Canada Post contract agreement and is just acting as a pass through with PB handling the api integration. Ebay would have have been a dedicated account paypal had to service, whereas now everything is managed by PB with some minor dev work on the paypal side to implement whatever changes are necessary as the API gets updated. Unless they are getting some ad-hoc marketing funds from Canada Post, they aren't really profiting from offering the service. It is likely being maintained as a value add/retention for their existing small business customer base.

momcqueen · ‎06-15-2017

PayPal and Pitney Bowes lost my loyalty when they failed to update Tracked Packet destination services for 12+ months and counting.

ypdc_dennis · ‎06-15-2017

@hlmacdon wrote:
they aren't really profiting from offering the service. It is likely being maintained as a value add/retention for their existing small business customer base.

But they probably are.

PayPal handles the money and Canada Post will get charged seller fees for the transaction (just like Canada Post's Snap Ship is charged fees by the credit card companies).

-..-

ypdc_dennis · ‎06-15-2017

Now a look at the Canadian side

Tested for a package going Cambridge, Ontario to North Vancouver, BC

25x20x2 cm, 450g

* Lettermail (stamp rate) Only good for items up to 500g and up to 2cm thick

Over-the-counter: $5.71 (includes 13% sales tax)

Discounted stamps (bought online or estate or auction or in bulk from a dealer):

This week I managed to win some eBay auctions and got a 40% face value discount (better than usual, since not as many bidders were competing) -- with those stamps I'd be paying $3.05 // my usual purchase luck would give a cost of around $4.15

Not for everyone (thank goodness ), you need to be good at math and willing to give a licking...

In this case discounted stamps for the win.

* Regular Parcel:

No reason to use that I can think of, when you can just use industrial-strength regular parcel -- Expedited.

Okay, one reason -- when you're at the counter and have forgotten your Solutions for Small Business (Venture One) card -- since the card is needed for an over-the-counter purchase of Expedited.

* Expedited Parcel:

Over-the-counter (with card): $15.56

Canada Post SfSB tier 1: $14.29

eBay link: $12.89

PayPal direct: $12.15 (14.29 with special 15% discount until July 31)

Snap Ship: $12.15 (14.29 with 15% discount)

PayPal wins until July 31, after that ebay discounts win.

* Expresspost

Over-the-counter: $17.37

Canada Post SfSB tier 1: $16.15

eBay link: $16.01

PayPal direct: $16.15

Snap Ship: $13.72 (16.15 with 15% discount)

Snap Ship wins until July 31, after that ebay discounts win.

Canada Shipping conclusions:

For light, thin parcels it's oversize lettermail for the win.

For heavier, thicker stuff use Expedited parcel via paypal until July 31, then via the eBay link.

...

With every possibility of more adjustments when Shippo gets the processing job for eBay at the end of summer.

-..-

baylou · ‎06-16-2017

Why do you say "until the end of July " ? What happens then?

Also, l haven't done much selling for a few years but am thinking about getting into it. Shipping is the bit that concerns me. Tips appreciated. Is there some good guide info on eBay.ca or elsewhere for Canadian sellers?

baylou · ‎06-16-2017

I'm thinking about getting back into selling. Haven't much for years, just been a buyer. Thinking now about selling my vintage jewelry collection on eBay. I don't have a regular, registered business or anything, just a regular jane wanting to sell some stuff on eBay Canada and am trying to figure out how to make it worthwhile-- ie not have all my time and profit eaten up in shipping costs. I had a look at Canada Post online, don't find it very clear. Can someone like me (not a registered business with a business tax number etc) use Snap Ship or other Canada Post services? Have you insight or experience, please reply! And other shipping tips appreciated. Thanks ypdc_dennis for posting your info.

momcqueen · ‎06-16-2017

Rest assured, a majority of eBay Canada sellers are casual sellers like you. PayPal shipping and Snap Ship are for you. Sign up for a Solutions For Small Business account at Canada Post. It's free.

ypdc_dennis · ‎06-16-2017

@baylou wrote:
Why do you say "until the end of July " ? What happens then?

Also, l haven't done much selling for a few years but am thinking about getting into it. Shipping is the bit that concerns me. Tips appreciated. Is there some good guide info on eBay.ca or elsewhere for Canadian sellers?

Because the temporary extra 15% discount goes away at the end of July.

rose-dee · ‎06-17-2017

@baylou wrote:
I don't have a regular, registered business or anything, just a regular jane wanting to sell some stuff on eBay Canada and am trying to figure out how to make it worthwhile-- ie not have all my time and profit eaten up in shipping costs.

Unfortunately, the whole shipping issue aside, very soon things are not going to be quite as simple as they used to be for "casual" sellers on eBay. Starting July 1st this year, eBay is going to be collecting HST/GST on fees charged to all Canadian sellers. This will mean both listing and final value fees, as well as store subscription fees.

So depending on what Province you're living in, this will increase your costs by up to 15%, and is something to keep in mind unless you're planning to become a GST-registrant (in which case you'll have to charge GST/HST on every sale to Canadian buyers).

One thing I'd mention if you're returning to eBay after not selling for some time, is that shipping is now directly tied to seller status, through eBay's on-time delivery policy. EBay has set expected delivery times (not always accurate or fair) to which sellers have to adhere to avoid defects, unless they use tracking and obtain an acceptance scan. Buyer feedback and sales volume determine the actual effect on a seller. There are a number of complexities.

I'd strongly suggest you read through eBay's policy pages regarding on-time delivery, as well as the 2015 Fall Seller Update (this is when it was introduced), and decide on a strategy before you begin selling. Otherwise you could find yourself downgraded by eBay in a relatively short time. Here's the Seller Update archive -- you might actually want to peruse all of 2015, 2016 and what's been published in 2017 so far.

http://pages.ebay.ca/seller-centre/news/seller-updates.html

This is the information on the HST/GST change. You may want to read through the whole Summer Seller Update. http://pages.ebay.ca/seller-centre/news/seller-updates/2017summer/ebay-canada-limited.html

ypdc_dennis · ‎06-17-2017

@rose-dee wrote:
@baylou wrote:
I don't have a regular, registered business or anything, just a regular jane wanting to sell some stuff on eBay Canada and am trying to figure out how to make it worthwhile-- ie not have all my time and profit eaten up in shipping costs.
Unfortunately, the whole shipping issue aside, very soon things are not going to be quite as simple as they used to be for "casual" sellers on eBay. Starting July 1st this year, eBay is going to be collecting HST/GST on fees charged to all Canadian sellers. This will mean both listing and final value fees, as well as store subscription fees.

So depending on what Province you're living in, this will increase your costs by up to 15%, and is something to keep in mind unless you're planning to become a GST-registrant (in which case you'll have to charge GST/HST on every sale to Canadian buyers).

Don't get carried away with the doom and gloom.

That possible extra 15% of the final selling fee is 1.5% of the sale price for a non-store seller in the maritime provinces.

And it's a simple thing for "casual" sellers, the fee is an automatic part of the monthly invoice.

Shipping is still the big elephant in the room for most sellers. Sales tax on fees are the peanuts.

-..-

productaxi · ‎06-19-2017

snap ship wont work for me, im logged in, filling out my canada post profile, its says i already have an account and to phone them, spent 30 minutes on the phone to get my account number, and there is no where to input it to complete my profile. It's broken. waste of time.

Sent from my Ipod Shuffle

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-19-2017

Sign into small business first. You can do that here.... https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/pages/snapship/default.page

Clck on start shipping

Since you already have a small business account number you shouldnt need to fill out the profile.

ypdc_dennis · ‎06-19-2017

@productaxi wrote:
snap ship wont work for me, im logged in, filling out my canada post profile, its says i already have an account and to phone them, spent 30 minutes on the phone to get my account number, and there is no where to input it to complete my profile.

Go the Canada Post website.

Click on the 3 line "box" symbol in the upper right.

Enter your number (or user name) and password to sign into your account.

Click on the 3 line "box" symbol in the upper right.

In the popup click on your number (or user name) which should be displayed since you are now signed in and you get a range of choices: Dashboard, My Profile, My Support, My Orders, Sign Out.

...

As viewed on a desktop computer with Firefox.

-..-

zee-chan · ‎06-19-2017

@ypdc_dennis wrote:
Now a look at some USA numbers
Tested for a package going to USA (Ontario to Illinois), 29x23x2 cm, 900g

SfSB = Solutions for Small Business (free membership from Canada Post). Tier 1 is the discount available for those that spend $1-2500 in shipping/year. SfSB has 4 tiers of discounts.

* Small Packet (air):
Over-the-counter: $16.82
Canada Post SfSB tier 1: $16.60
eBay link: $16.82
PayPal direct: $16.60
Snap Ship: $14.11 (16.60 with 15% discount)

Snap Ship wins until July 31, after that paypal has a tiny price advantage over ebay.

* Tracked packet:
Over-the-counter: $21.25
Canada Post SfSB tier 1: $19.96
eBay link: $18.01
PayPal direct: $19.96
Snap Ship: $16.97 (19.96 with 15% discount)

Snap Ship wins until July 31, after that ebay discounts win.

* Expedited USA
Over-the-counter: $22.58
Canada Post SfSB tier 1: $20.99
eBay link: $19.17
PayPal direct: $20.99
Snap Ship: $17.84 (20.99 with 15% discount)

Snap Ship wins until July 31, after that ebay discounts win.

I just made a Snap Ship account and I'm not seeing that additional 15% discount quoted... do you need to go all the way through to checking out to see that additional 15% discount?

I also have been having trouble printing shipping label from Paypal. Whenever I click calculate total, nothing shows up... anyone with same issue?