Popularity of eBay in Canada with Buyers
Summary: byto253 expresses concern that eBay is less popular among Canadian buyers compared to the US, attributing this to high shipping costs and the preference for platforms like Amazon and Etsy. They highlight the perception that eBay lacks appeal in Canada and suggest that promotional efforts focusing on Canadian sellers could help improve its reputation. reallynicestamps adds historical context, noting that Canadians have been traditionally less inclined towards mail-order purchasing, in contrast with Americans. easoss shares a different perspective, stating that the success of eBay depends on the type of items sold, with Canadian-related items doing particularly well. They also mention that their experience doesn't align with the idea that Etsy has a significant impact in their circle.
I have felt for a long time that eBay is not nearly as popular with Canadian buyers as it is in the US. My main theory is that high shipping costs from the US and in Canada have soured a lot of folks, unless they are looking for very specific hard to get items. GPS, etc. did not help that. For regular items, Amazon's low cost or free with subscription delivery wins the day.
eBay also does not seem to have the same cachet as Etsy in Canada - I know a lot of people who will buy from Etsy and look down on eBay. It has a poor rep.
The US is a bigger market, so we have had a lot of sales to the US but I think that per capita there is a much higher level of willingness for Americans to buy on eBay. Low cost shipping is a big reason and from time spent in the US I get the sense it is more accepted as a main stream place to go vs. Canadians.
Curious on people's views on this. With the new landscape where Canadian eBay sellers will be pushing for more sales to Canadians, like to see some promo work from eBay. Perhaps promoting the number of Canadian sellers out there for them.
easoss
·11 months agoCompletely depends on what you sell. 2/3 of my sales are in Canada. I have a lot of hockey items and local interest items. Also media like movies, music etc sell better in Canada because shipping is much lower than the international shipping program in the US. I personally don't know anybody whose bought anything on Etsy because the items they offer have no interest in my circle of friends.
reallynicestamps
·11 months agoHistorically, Canadians have been less willing to buy from catalogues than Americans. And EBay is just mail order in a fancy new costume.
Montgomery Ward did not invent the mail order catalogue but they produced their first in 1872. Eatons did not follow until 1884 and even then the booklet was distributed at the big Toronto ON exhibition, not nationally.
https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/eatons/catalogues.aspx
And an opportunity to link to this.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZyDsF-Gp3o