To sell more internationally beyond the US, is it better to list on ebay.com or stick to ebay.ca?
Summary: lawrence_laptops seeks advice on whether to list items on ebay.ca or ebay.com to increase visibility to international buyers beyond the US. pjcdn2005 replies that both platforms can reach international buyers if the correct shipping options are set up, but ecommerce listings' global exposure might not depend solely on the site origin. Conversion fees might apply when listing in different currencies. femmefan1946 suggests considering shipping strategy as key, noting that ebay.ca allows for calculated shipping, which may be beneficial, while ebay.com requires flat rates. lawrence_laptops responds that they have already figured out shipping and finds it consistent enough for light items to use flat rates on ebay.com effectively.
If you are a Canadian seller looking to increase your international visibility to countries beyond the US, is it better to post your items to ebay.ca or to ebay.com? Of course .com is better for US buyers but I'm more interested in appealing to buyers worldwide. Does the .com site get more international traffic or anything like that?
Some items have a lot of competition in the US but are easy to ship abroad. And it seems many US sellers don't bother to set up international shipping, or only use the slow and costly International Shipping Program. There are faster and cheaper options available to compete abroad.
femmefan1946
·2 years agoThere is a more important question.
How are you going to charge for shipping?
If you list on dotCA, you can use Calculated Shipping and the buyer will get the exact cost for delivery to his doorstep.
If you list on dotCOM, you will have to use Flat Rate Shipping from an International Location, which means you have to work out how much it will cost to the most likely destinations and then advertise that amount.
Shipping is the hardest part of selling by mail order. And online is still mail order.
https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/tools/find-a-rate.page
https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440
Those links will give you something to play with. If necessary use a US zipcode near you for comps. I'm in BC and use 90210 regularly.
You can set several International Destinations, each with different Flat Rates.
You can set Free Shipping to the USA easily, and Free Shipping to Canada by giving the Flat Rate as $0.00.
Never offer Free Shipping to overseas customers.
Never ship Surface.
lawrence_laptops
OP2 years agoGot shipping figured out already, most of my stuff weighs <250g so the postage rates are fairly consistent to europe. In fact, it seems Canada Post's tracked packet option is exactly the same flat price for the major economies there (UK, France, Germany, etc.). So for light items I can use the flat rate shipping on .com and not have too many issues.
pjcdn2005
·2 years agoIt's less likely that international buyers ever sign into .ca but as long as your item is set up with US shipping and shipping to the buyers country, they will see your listing on either site.
If you are asking if a listing originating on.com will be more likely to show on an international site, i don't know the answer. My guess would be that listings with eBay international shipping (which is for US sellers) "might" be more likely to shown on another site. But the way I understand it, where your items shows depends on numerous factors and I suspect that where the item is listed isn't an important factor.
Keep in mind that if you list on .com and your payouts are in $C you will be paying extra in conversion fees.