Why the EU and Canada can't replace the U.S.
Why Canada and Europe cannot replace the U.S.
While Europe may represent a large part of Ebay foreign sales, shipping there is prohibitively costly for North Americans. The Canadian market is a joke. 10% of the U.S. population, but only 1/50th of the U.S. Ebay spend level. Why? Discretionary income on average is FAR lower per capita in Canada than in the U.S. That is not going to change and may be now getting much worse.
9 comments
reallynicestamps
·1 week agoI've been selling by mail order since 1979-80, starting with woodstoves. The brand we sold primarily was a mail order item in the USA, but a B&M item in Canada, because Canada traditionally does not buy from catalogues the way Americans do. It's just a cultural thing.
flipistics
·1 week agoEveryone knows we can't completely replace the USA in trade. We also can't force them to accept a fair trade deal (or apparently honor the one currently in place), and it's crystal clear they don't currently want one. What we can do is try to reduce the damage by expanding trade to other places - and we need to because a new President is not going to restore things to the way they were. Abolishing the de minimis had bipartisan support. Even a complete elimination of the added tariffs is still going to mean restrictions or effective bans on many categories of items which previously skated through via the de minimis, along with likely retaining the added processing fees or courier fees. Obviously tariff removal will help, but things are never going to fully return to the way they were.
For whatever it's worth, when I compare my numbers this year to my numbers in 2024 (prior to the trade nonsense and the Canada Post strike), my sales are actually up. USA sales are down about half, but they're being more than made up for by increased sales to Canada and Europe. I realize that may not be the case for everyone though.
sapphyres-designer-jewellery
·1 week agoI got an eBay message about new product identifiers for Europe... I have 11,000 listings I will need to update.
C.
flipistics
·1 week ago@sapphyres-designer-jewellery Yeah, I saw that too. This would actually be a good topic for a new post. It's unclear what happens for things where those numbers aren't available. For example, MPN isn't available for books, and many books from the 70s and earlier don't have ISBNs. How do we deal with that? For categories where they are present, what happens if the UPC or ISBN is present but MPN isn't filled in? Will eBay automatically fill the MPN out with the UPC/ISBN? So many questions.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 week ago@sapphyres-designer-jewellery
Could you post the message about this product identifier thing please? Nada so far in my mailbox.
Thanks. Also curious to know if eBay will have any ideas when the info is unknown or for mixed lots? To date those factors still have not been addressed for Coo.
flipistics
·1 week ago@lotzofuniquegoodies
Starting November 1, 2026, new Product Identifier information will be required for items shipped to buyers in the EU.
You are receiving this email as you have previously sold an item into the European Union (EU).
We wish to keep you updated on upcoming changes introduced by the EU Commission for all imports into the EU. Effective November 1, 2026, Product Identifier (PID) information will be required for all items shipped from outside the EU to buyers in the EU.
The required Product Identifiers are:
Merchant Product Identifier (M-PID): This is your eBay Listing ID, which is available for all your listings under the “About this item” section.
Non-Standardized Manufacturer Product Identifier (NS-PID): This is a product code assigned to the item by the manufacturer, producer, or supplier, such as a manufacturer part number (MPN), or any code used to specifically identify the product you are shipping. For example, for a Google Pixel phone, the MPN could be GA09765-US-PREM. If you do not know the NS-PID, we recommend searching for it online. We understand that not all product categories will have a separate NS-PID. We will continue to provide guidance as it becomes available.
Standardized Product Identifier (S-PID): This refers to a globally recognized identifier, such as a GTIN, EAN, UPC, ISBN, or another standardized product identifier, that can be used to identify the exact product being shipped. For example, for a Google Pixel phone, the UPC could be 026591442234. Where an S-PID exists, it can also be used as the NS-PID.
What you need to do
Please keep your listings updated and provide any manufacturer/standardized Product IDs where available. PIDs are acceptable for EU imports on a voluntary basis as of today, with no penalty for shipping without them before the deadline. That means you can enter and test your product data today, catch gaps in your catalog, and fix them before the deadline.
Why this matters
It is important that you provide the required PIDs so your inventory remains eligible to EU buyers if you use eBay International Shipping (eIS). If you self-ship or use SpeedPak, failure to provide the required PID information to your carrier may result in potential delivery disruption, increased processing time, or other customs clearance delays.
We will continue to provide updated guidance as it becomes available. For more information, visit the EU Customs Page.
Thank you for being part of the eBay community.
We’d appreciate hearing from you. Please take a few moments to share your feedback by completing this short survey.
Sincerely,
The eBay Team
shallow_karl
OP1 week agoYou can ship a 40lb piece of equipment to the U.S. for $100. Now try convincing a European to spend,$300 for the same thing. Or, see how many Canadians,will spend,the,$1000 the item costs, vs. an American.
marnotom!
·1 week agoA couple of things to keep in mind, Karl:
The first is that if you rank the top countries by disposable income, the US may be at the top and Canada may be at the bottom, but all the countries in between are in Europe.
However, while European countries may have higher disposable incomes than Canada, goods and services tend to be more expensive in Europe than in Canada. At current exchange rates, a stamp for a domestic letter costs almost twice as much in the UK compared to Canada, for example, and a twelve-pack of Coke is about 30% more in France. And the cans are smaller, too!
So that $300 shipping charge from Canada to Europe may not be too much more than what it would cost to have the same item shipped within the EU, and what a Canadian seller is selling the item for may be less than what a seller in the EU would be asking for a similar item if they were able to obtain it.
Also consider that if the volume of goods traded between the EU and Canada increases, shipping costs may come down a bit as a result.
reallynicestamps
·1 week agoThe de minimus is more important than tariffs. The rise from $200 to $800 was a huge boost for non-US selling into the States, at least person to person.
Wholesale was an entirely different thing.