eBay

musicyouneed · ‎04-25-2016

I list on both .com and .ca and have sold a total of 32.

On .com I have about 400 or so listed, Christmas, Classical and Compilations and I have sold 13 so far for the month of April. 11 of those were to US buyers, 1 was international and 1 to Canada. Now I don't expect too many sales on .com as 200 or so are Christmas music so only selling 11 of that is not bad.

Now on .ca Cdn $, I have about 700 listed and sold 18 so far for the month of April. Of those 13 were to Canada, 4 were to the US and 1 was international.

Now my prices are pretty standard across both .com and .ca, in fact I lowered my prices on .ca when I used the Cdn $.

But what is particularly noticeable is that on .com most of my sales are to US buyers which holds to the same percentage I have noticed over the last 14 years. Very few sales are to Canada or international. On average sales on .com are 70-80% US buyers and the rest is Canada and to international.

Now I changed all the listings into the Cdn $ on .ca. I reduced all the prices and cost of shipping so that it would be even more attractive to the US buyer. But they are few and far between, what it has done is increase the Cdn buyer because of course the lower prices. What's missing is the US buyers.

Now my overall sales are down about 40% for the month and I think that it is a direct result of listing in Cdn $.

Now of course, I have to play the ebay game and I will continue to list on both but slowly as time allows will move the majority of listings over to .com.

I am just wondering what affect does it have on ebay.ca when we list on .com and not .ca? What is the reason for the change? If I make a sale on .com, does .ca get all the FVF or do they share it with .com?

lukey9 · ‎04-25-2016

I tried 10 BIN last week in Canadian funds and only had 1 sale and that was to the US. I dropped the prices back in Canadian to see if that would help but no luck at all. I am going to start my summer selling mode early this year and the few items I list will be on E-Bay.com & hopefully it will pick up in sales later in the year.

pierrelebel · ‎04-25-2016

" If I make a sale on .com, does .ca get all the FVF or do they share it with .com? "

Management at eBay-Canada has stated that all sales by Canadians are "credited" to eBay-Canada, regardless of the site used to list the item - eBay.ca eBay.com eBay.uk or any other international eBay site. From that perspective it does not matter to eBay-Canada and its staff where (site) Canadian sellers list and sell.

All that is largely irrelevant since all profits made by eBay on all international sites end up with eBay Inc, a California based public companies with a majority of shareholders living in the USA.

pierrelebel · ‎04-25-2016

"Now my overall sales are down about 40% for the month and I think that it is a direct result of listing in Cdn $. "

My own sales April over March are down about 65% with the same number of listings. April has been a very bad month as far as my sales on eBay are concerned.

My split between listings in Cdn$ on eBay.ca and US$ on eBay.com has not changed. So that is not the reason for the drop in sales I have experienced. I have long ago given up trying to explain monthly increase of decrease in sales. The same was true before the Internet and eBay. Some months sales were strong, others they were weak.

With hundreds of thousands of Canadian sellers on eBay, tens of thousands will experience a drop in sale in any given month. Different sellers may have different interpretations to explain their drop in sales.

We have seen posts by other Canadian posters now listing in Cdn$ and experiencing an increase in sales. They may feel the increase was caused by the change of currency.

Frankly I do not think it makes much of a difference either way.

jersey..authentix · ‎04-25-2016

Pierre wrote:

We have seen posts by other Canadian posters now listing in Cdn$ and experiencing an increase in sales. They may feel the increase was caused by the change of currency.

Frankly I do not think it makes much of a difference either way.

Your right, its really hard to say. Personally I think there is a difference. This is a debate that will most likely go on for a while.

What isn't debatable is, again Ebay is uprooting sellers to have to again adjust their selling practices. Should we list in CDN or USD . Should stay with .CA or move to .com. Will we lose sales or gain sales, and on and on.

Too many of us have enough to do , never mind having to jump through hoops every-time Ebay says this will be better for Canadian sellers. Is there nothing better that you can do.

My rant for the day.

dosagushi · ‎04-25-2016

My sales took a huge nosedive for certain after switching to Cdn$ currency.

HUGE nosedive. Hopefully it picks up again soonish...

Really curious what the reasoning was behind the forced currency conversion. I must have missed it somewhere....

It will be interesting to see how many Canadians phase out their stores because of the switch..

recped · ‎04-25-2016

musicyouneed wrote:Now my prices are pretty standard across both .com and .ca, in fact I lowered my prices on .ca when I used the Cdn $.

I notice you made this comment in one of your other threads. When I saw it I checked a couple fo your listing comparing them with older/ended US Dollar listings.

I don't know what exchange rate you used when you made the transition but the two items I checked had actually gone UP in US Dollars not down. The difference was not very much but still the price went up.

Example: A listing you used to have a US$9.99 price is now $10 and change. I think you made the change just before the week in early April where the Canadian dollar went up by almost 10% (from 71 cents to 78 cents) in the space of just a week.

This is actually the single biggest problem with the currency change. When price points are critical as in you want the item to be under US$10 it doesn't take much of a change in fx for the item to become more than US$10.

It looks like the CA$ is now on a slow ride upwards so this is likely to make your US Dollar pricing slowing increase unless you keep adjusting it. Also keep in mind that when listing in CA$ non Canadian buyers are now paying the +/- 2.5% exchange costs. Effectively this means to keep a CA$ listing below a certain US$ price point you really need to take that 2.5% into account when setting the CA$ price.

"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.

musicyouneed · ‎04-25-2016

@recped wrote:
musicyouneed wrote:Now my prices are pretty standard across both .com and .ca, in fact I lowered my prices on .ca when I used the Cdn $.
I notice you made this comment in one of your other threads. When I saw it I checked a couple fo your listing comparing them with older/ended US Dollar listings.

I don't know what exchange rate you used when you made the transition but the two items I checked had actually gone UP in US Dollars not down. The difference was not very much but still the price went up.

Example: A listing you used to have a US$9.99 price is now $10 and change. I think you made the change just before the week in early April where the Canadian dollar went up by almost 10% (from 71 cents to 78 cents) in the space of just a week.

This is actually the single biggest problem with the currency change. When price points are critical as in you want the item to be under US$10 it doesn't take much of a change in fx for the item to become more than US$10.

It looks like the CA$ is now on a slow ride upwards so this is likely to make your US Dollar pricing slowing increase unless you keep adjusting it. Also keep in mind that when listing in CA$ non Canadian buyers are now paying the +/- 2.5% exchange costs. Effectively this means to keep a CA$ listing below a certain US$ price point you really need to take that 2.5% into account when setting the CA$ price.

When I went to go to change from US to Canadian $, I used selling manager, so if it showed $9.99 US, I would change it to $12.00 Cdn. As I have 1100 listings, 700 on .ca even spending 1 minutes on each one, works out to 11.66 hours just to do that one thing.

I am not going to be spending my precious time to keep revising my listings on .ca. I will just move them to .com and leave it at that.

Some of them I put up the price and included free shipping. I only had 13 that were in US$ listed on .ca so it easy to show. They were all Anne Murray CD's.

Anne Murray the Best. Currently $9.00 CDN free shipping (shows $7.12US), was previously listed at $8.47US or $10.71 CDn.

Item number 201567125301 and 191836180615

The point of it all is that I am getting lots of sales from Canada but not very much from the US, which used to be my main buyers. I think that they don't like the fact that it is not in US $, period.

pocomocomputing · ‎04-25-2016

One concern I have with the CAD USD study is how it was done.

If a seller is listing in USD, they seem to get more USA buyers. If a seller lists in CAD, they seem to get more Canadian buyers. I have listed in both currencies on eBay.ca and in USD on eBay.com. I can confirm this to be true based on my own experience.

The ebay study was done a year+ ago and verified apparently. How was it down? Not enough details on the how. Just results without the how to back it up.

One thing I wonder about is the effect of going to CAD on eBay.ca on the total number of listing in CAD.

Let us assume that Canadian buyers seem to prefer buying from Canadian sellers in CAD. This seems to be true based on my experience above and what other sellers seem to have experienced. I am also going to assume that once Canadian sellers list on ebay.ca Canada in CAD, there will be a significant increase in listings in CAD.

A Canadian buyer who preferred to buy in CAD would now have more listing selection in CAD to choose from. There are only so many Canadian buyers so the number of sales would be spread out over more Canadian sellers and actually decrease sales per sellers. The poor sellers who always listed in CAD will see their Canadian sales drop because of the increased competition and the new Canadian sellers who list in CAD will not get the projected increases in overall sales claimed by ebay because their study was based on the old market breakdown of CAD and USD listings.

Couple that with the apparent tendency for USA buyers to not buy in a foreign currency like the CAD, I can see overall sales drop overall for Canadian sellers who list in CAD.

I think the eBay.ca Canada study is flawed because it was tested on a completely different listing breakdown of USD and CAD listings. Once the change is made in June through August, the number of CAD listings will be so large and selection for Canadian buyers significantly larger, that extra sales from Canadian buyers will not make up for the lost USA sales.

jersey..authentix · ‎04-26-2016

"If a seller is listing in USD, they seem to get more USA buyers. If a seller lists in CAD, they seem to get more Canadian buyers. I have listed in both currencies on eBay.ca and in USD on eBay.com. I can confirm this to be true based on my own experience."

DEPENDS

In my case it is 100% true that I do better in USD than CDN. Now I suppose a lot of sellers will simply adjust their selling price to meet the currencies. If an item is selling in USD for say 100.00 you will adjust to 125.00 CDN est.

So here's the thing, what if that item is only worth $100 CDN. Who will buy your overpriced item.

In my instance I sell jerseys. I do sell to the USA for $350 USD. To a americam it is $350.

Now take a CDN buyer. It will cost that CDN $443 to buy the same item.

So I have to ask. Who would you sell to and who do you think will buy the jersey? Also which amount do you prefer?

Now I have heard enough times that " well your search shows up in USD" Its when they open your listing where they see the $443. Yes underneath it does say the USD amount. But why confuse the issue.

And the debate continues.

cumos55 · ‎04-26-2016

I have sold in US dollars from the very first day I started selling on eBay......

Right now if you see my listing in US dollars on eBay Canada..... A Canadian buyer will see the conversion to Canadian dollars.on eBay Canada.

That Canadian buyer will assume the price is inflated over the last few years when shown in Canadian dollars.

What Canadians may not realize is that the price in US dollars has been adjusted ... down....as the exchange rate changed.

The price in Canadian dollars, as seen today, is about the same as it was two to three years ago.

Once all listings have been changed to Canadian dollars....that Canadian dollar price will remain constant with each change in exchange rate.

Hopefully Canadian buyers will view that price as a fixed, unchanging price.

In turn US buyers on eBay.com will see a constantly changing number when expressed in US dollars...on eBay.com

US Buyers will have to make adjustments in thinking about buying... constantly .....and in relation to the exchange rate

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As I adjusted my US dollar price my percentage of US buyers went up with each passing year.

The percentage of US buyers was...

2013 --- 20 %

2014 --- 25 %

2015 --- 37 %

2016... first 4 months --- 47 %

My total sales in Canadian dollars remained relatively constant for 2013, 2014 and 2015..... and my prediction for 2016 is similar to the previous three years.

As my prices in US dollars dropped my sales to US buyers went up almost instantly

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Having all listings showing with constant pricing.... in Canadian dollars on eBay Canada..... should ..... ... bring back my Canadian buyers.

But then will those US buyer keep buying..... That is the question....

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The question becomes ------

If I can keep the number of US buyers each month as a constant..... or relatively constant....and bring back the number of Canadian buyers to what it was in 2015, 2014, or even 2013.....

Then my total sales should increase.... both in number of sales and in total value.

We shall see....

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US Buyers should continue to see the low price for the item and for shipping

while

Canadian buyers will see a non changing price in Canadian dollars.... and maybe have more confidence in a non-changing price as the months pass

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If I look at the annual dollar value of sales for 2013, 3014 and 2015.

I must then ask...... Is there a limit on annual dollar value of sales.... in Canadian dollars.... for me on eBay

or .....Is that total dollar value for sales a reflection of the total number of people shopping on eBay at any one time... and those interested in buying my inventory

Or .....(1) is price of the item ... (2) the cost of shipping and.... (3) the the exchange rate.......... All three factors combining and influencing Canadian buyers relative to US buyers.

We shall see....

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I sell with a focus on books dealing with Canadian history....... So my listings are focused on Canadian buyers.....

My focus with all categories of books... non-fiction books .....has been primarily on Canada and everything Canadian .... a focus on everything listed since about September 2008.

and when Canadian history is not selling other categories do sell

However, one must also realize that as the years have passed I have met the needs of many Canadian buyers....

and .... unless I keep adding new inventory to my store.... I just might meet the needs of the Canadian market to a lesser degree with each passing year.... Same inventory... less Canadian buyers interested in my inventory.

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My changeover to Canadian dollars starts on May 16...... and then we shall see...................

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I sell books.... and have to stay on eBay Canada...... because of the cap on the shipping of books for all listings of books on eBay.com

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Sales to Canadian buyers depend on their fear of inflated prices because of the exchange rate

Sales to US buyers depend on their view of the cost of the item, and the cost of shipping... a lower cost today than in years past.....and .... a reflection of the exchange rate

pjcdn2005 · ‎04-26-2016

Obviously I have no way of knowing if your sales or other poster's sales are slower because they are now listing some or all of their listings with the Cdn.$ But I don't think that anyone can really 'know' that at this point. For example, in March you made a couple of posts complaining about extremely slow sales. In one post you said that you had only made 6 sales as of March 19th. This was before the announcement about changing to the Cdn $. I could be wrong but I thought that until the announcement you listed only in $U.S?

If that's the case.....how do you know that the reason your sales are slow right now is for the same reason that they were slow in $U.S.?

esclyons · ‎04-26-2016

i would also like to add my story, i have been switching my listings over to canada$$ as they end. i have been doing this since the notice came down, because i have no faith in the tool that is coming down. so for the last 3 weeks, i was always listing in us $$ for the record.. but for the last 3 weeks my canada sales have been flat, no change ,, but my sales to the usa have almost halted. and the usa accounted for almost 85% of my sales..where i was selling at least 20-25 items a week it has slowed to 3-5 items per week..i have records going back years, and never have i seen such a drop off. i have had 2 people from the states saying that shipping was too expensive for them to buy..it is 20$ canadian, where it used to be 18$usa, and we all know that the canada price is actually cheaper.. but the americans don't see it that way.. i am also seeing my offers coming in as if i were still using usa dollars, so the offers are too low, as items are now in canada dollars..

so what is eaby canada going to do for me?? they are going to tell me to list on .com,, which has it's own headaches trying to list items on 2 different sites..

can anyone explain to me why we can't keep listing in us$ on the canada ebay, it is a computer program thAt does all the conversions, so for ebay to say the changes will allow them to better look after canada seller's is a crock of **bleep**..

why try to fix something that isn't broken.. would love to hear from someone who can reasonably defend ebays decision, on what they plan to do for the 1000"s of us who the change will hurt.. other than just using ebay .com..

pocomocomputing · ‎04-26-2016

At this point the decision is made and done. ebay already explained the how and why to it. Basically nothing to do about it now. It would take months of bad sales proving what they did was right or wrong. Even with such proof, they would not go back on the decision.

sheepgal54 · ‎04-27-2016

@pocomocomputing wrote:
At this point the decision is made and done. ebay already explained the how and why to it. Basically nothing to do about it now. It would take months of bad sales proving what they did was right or wrong. Even with such proof, they would not go back on the decision.

Thats so right poco Its not so much about sales even though Ebay insists we will get more in Cad, its about the technology. They want every country to list in their own currency because it is easier for them. Its their show, they do what they want

As for me, I am so sick of all the changes and manipulating that I think I am ready to quit. Since the official announcement, I have had 4 sales, just 4 in a about a month here on Ebay. The worst month ever in the 12 years I have been here and btw those sales were in US $ not my Canadian dollar listings

pocomocomputing · ‎04-27-2016

I thought I would check your listings to see if there are any issues. I have a suggestion that might help.

I looked at 252343602146 and noticed that you did not fill out the eBay item specifics. The UPC, MPN, Brand, Model, Country/Region of Manufacture. I know they do not apply to this item but from what I understand you have to fill out UPC and MPN with Do Not Apply for your item to be given a good best match search rating. As for Brand, "unbranded" is an option so best to use that rather than nothing. Country/Region of manufacture should be filled in too. As for model, make up your own model names LOL. Make a list and be consistent. You have to feed the ebay required Item Specifics just to make them happy for search.

Same for listing 252343597857, 252339244050.

My understanding of Item Specifics is that a buyer will do a search and then use the eBay Item Specifics on the left in the search to filter listing. If you do not use any of the Item Specifics that show on the left, then you are filtered out as soon as one is used by a buyer. So best to feed the eBay Item Specifics as best you can.

I hope this helps. From what I read about UPC and MPN, you have to use Does not apply instead of not using them.

Perhaps someone can comment on my notes above.

PS I used Have one to sell on your listings to get a listing with the Item Specifics in that catagory so that is how I know you did not fill in the Item Specifics.

reallynicestamps · ‎04-27-2016

I don't know if it helps you, since most of your books would be heavy hardcovers, but the media shipping cap has risen to $5 USD (from the previous $4USD)

This makes it slightly easier to list books (and DVDs and CD collections) on dotCOM.

But a lot of the reason for switching or not will remain the seller's need for Parcel services over envelopes under 2cm and 500 grams.

cumos55 · ‎04-27-2016

Moved my store from eBay.com to eBay Canada in September of 2008....

Using Canada Post was a definite benefit when on eBay Canada.

Bulk edit and everything else was also of benefit and very easy.

The cap at $5.00 on eBay.com was a true killer...... No way can ship to the US at $5.00, when the cost of shipping is actually three times more costly...

Tracked Packet is about $19.00 Canadian for a parcel weighing less than one kilogram.... No discounts

eBay Canada is my only option.....

The end result.... as I say... We shall see.

Much of the concern with the change to Canadian dollars on eBay Canada could depend ... on what one sells.

My focus is Canada and everything Canadian....Books....primarily as it was in 2008

Will my Canadian buyers return?........ We shall see.....

pocomocomputing · ‎04-27-2016

@cumos55 wrote:
Moved my store from eBay.com to eBay Canada in September of 2008....

Using Canada Post was a definite benefit when on eBay Canada.

Bulk edit and everything else was also of benefit and very easy.

The cap at $5.00 on eBay.com was a true killer...... No way can ship to the US at $5.00, when the cost of shipping is actually three times more costly...

Tracked Packet is about $19.00 Canadian for a parcel weighing less than one kilogram.... No discounts

eBay Canada is my only option.....

The end result.... as I say... We shall see.

Much of the concern with the change to Canadian dollars on eBay Canada could depend ... on what one sells.

My focus is Canada and everything Canadian....Books....primarily as it was in 2008

Will my Canadian buyers return?........ We shall see.....

Why no discount?

Even if you list on eBay.com, you can still use PayPal shipping with 14% discount for Tracked Packet. The ebay.com sale shows in PayPal (assuming a PayPal sale) and you have the Canada Post shipping options if your PayPal is registered in Canada.

pierrelebel · ‎04-27-2016

I have mentioned it many times before but let me repeat the message for readers who may have missed it:

It does not matter if your store is on eBay.ca or eBay.com

Either way you can list on both sites.

The only difference - and I mean the only difference - is that if you "lease" a store on eBay.ca your monthly rent will be charged in Cdn$ while if you "lease" your store on eBay.com, the same amount will be charged to your account in US$