Can you guys help me understand people's complaint about having to list in CAD?

[wonsxela]

Suppose I normally listed Generic Video Game in US funds on ebay.ca, typically charging $25 USD + shipping. I just found out that I'll soon have to list it in CAD. Why is this such a frustrating problem for me? After all, if I list in CAD, I get paid for that item in CAD, regardless of the buyer's location, so I'm not losing anything on the exchange. Is it because $25 USD is worth a slightly varying amount of CAD, depending on the day's fluctuation in the exchange rate? If that's the case, that could sometimes bump my listings off the top of the "lowest price" list filter, but if I happen to have a sale going, that probably puts it back to the top anyway.

[cutepaperstory]

One big problem for me is the constantly fluctuating exchange rate. I buy what I sell in Korean won, but linked to the USD. When I list in USD I know exactly what my profit will be.  When I have to list in Canadian $, I will be constantly checking the exchange rate and editing my prices.  The items that I sell have a fairly low value (around 10 USD per listing), and my profit margin isn't that high after eBay takes its cut, so unless I am vigilant about updating prices I will end up making less money. If the Canadian dollar goes the other way, I will still have to constantly adjust to make sure that I am still competitive. 

A second issue is that I try to set my prices to nice round numbers: 10 USD, and others like to list at 9.95$, for example.  Since 95% of my sales are to the USA, I am most interested in having prices look good to them.  Now the USD price on my items will change daily.  Also, imagine that a buyer in the USA puts a bit on one of my items at 9.78$.  Then the Canadian dollar makes a bit of a recovery, and when they look again, the price is now 10.05$.  For most this might not be a big deal, but if my competitor has the same item listed in USD at 10 flat, I now have a customer who wants to cancel, and who might wonder whey I changed the price.  The Canadian dollar has been all over the place lately, since I started selling on ebay a few years ago it has been worth more than USD, and right now worth a lot less.  The varying amount is anything but slight. 

Third, I like having USD in my paypal account as I do shop a lot on line.  If I get CAD in my account, then I do have to exchange it before I can pay.  A small loss, but a loss nevertheless.

[widgetc]

If a seller always buys stock in USD listing in Canadian can mean needing to adjust prices frequently if margins are tight. Also If you list in USD and get paid in USD you can buy your stock without currency conversions. Get paid in C$ and you have to convert it back to USD to buy stock which costs conversion fees.

[pierrelebel]

" I like having USD in my paypal account as I do shop a lot on line. "

That is easy to understand.

However, since you are located in South Korea, and you wish to sell in US$, and you do not use the Canadian shipping calculator on eBay.ca, why not simply sell on eBay.com (USA)? 

I do not get the logic of insisting to list on the Canadian site anymore than selling on the British site or the German site if you want to sell in US$.

[cooltoyzncomics]

Another issue I see is that on the . com site it show the listing in CDN funds with the US conversion but when you hit the best offer button you can only enter your offer in CDN funds and the conversion is not there. A lot of US buyers will say meh and move elsewhere. I tried to list some items in CDN dollars once before and am trying it again now with the promotion. I still have never even had one sale in CDN funds while my items in US funds continue to be purchased everyday.

I have also purchased a couple of items in the past that were in CDN funds that  were way below the market value they should have been listed for. I believe the only reason a bargain like that was even there for me to find without it having been purchased in the first 5 minutes of posting is because it was in CDN funds and scared away the US buyers.

When Ebay says that we will get more sales if we list in CDN instead of US, I call them out on that fallacy. It's actually offensive that they would fabricate a positive influence for sellers instead of just admitting their actual corporate reasons for the change.

[mmmcross]

I noticed the same problem with the Best Offer conversion. In my first attempt listing in CAD on .ca, my sales were not too different from my usual USD/.com listings, and buyers offered the same amounts they usually do, but they came through in CAD.

[hlmacdon]

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@ryan.oneill wrote:

When Ebay says that we will get more sales if we list in CDN instead of US, I call them out on that fallacy. It's actually offensive that they would fabricate a positive influence for sellers instead of just admitting their actual corporate reasons for the change.

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I don't doubt there are some items that sell better in CAD, but from looking at some of their public data and the categories, these are categories where supplier pricing/msrps are on a more level playing field when CAD and USD are compared or they are items in high margin categories where sellers are able to offer the same item for the same amount in CAD compared to the USD price, hence those CAD listings will have an inherent price advantage when the CAD is in a weaker position and convert better.

What would be fair to say is that Canadian buyers would be more likely to buy items listed in CAD, assuming the numbers worked out equal and only the currency conversion cost was a factor, but in my experience many Canadian buyers spend their time trying to buy from outside of Canada to take advantage of lower shipping costs due to our high domestic shipping costs, and to avoid paying taxes.

From reading everything they have posted, the change is more being driven by technical reasons, with the Canadian division receiving little support from a corporate level on the implementation of new features due to the dual currency setup. The coding work to get around this is minimal, so you can only imagine how difficult they must find their jobs. In that respect I can sympathize with them.

[Anonymous]

I already have 17 US buyers whining about having to pay in CAD $$$$ this week!!  2 wanted to cancel their orders. 

I am seeing the potential loss of sales the upcoming months!  Thanks eBay for not allow us to have our choice of currency which is US.  I sell items to US 95%, it make senses to list them in US currency!

[pocomocomputing]

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@hlmacdon wrote:

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@ryan.oneill wrote:

When Ebay says that we will get more sales if we list in CDN instead of US, I call them out on that fallacy. It's actually offensive that they would fabricate a positive influence for sellers instead of just admitting their actual corporate reasons for the change.

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I don't doubt there are some items that sell better in CAD, but from looking at some of their public data and the categories, these are categories where supplier pricing/msrps are on a more level playing field when CAD and USD are compared or they are items in high margin categories where sellers are able to offer the same item for the same amount in CAD compared to the USD price, hence those CAD listings will have an inherent price advantage when the CAD is in a weaker position and convert better.

What would be fair to say is that Canadian buyers would be more likely to buy items listed in CAD, assuming the numbers worked out equal and only the currency conversion cost was a factor, but in my experience many Canadian buyers spend their time trying to buy from outside of Canada to take advantage of lower shipping costs due to our high domestic shipping costs, and to avoid paying taxes.

From reading everything they have posted, the change is more being driven by technical reasons, with the Canadian division receiving little support from a corporate level on the implementation of new features due to the dual currency setup. The coding work to get around this is minimal, so you can only imagine how difficult they must find their jobs. In that respect I can sympathize with them.

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Is it really technical reasons or the additional cost of the special case of dual currency Canada. Perhaps too much of the eBay.ca budget is spent handling the dual currency. With their study showing that sales increase overall and in most categories with Can $, then any money spent maintaining the dual currency is a waste of money and resources.

The bottom line is that it is a business decision based on money. Nothing to do at all with technical reasons.

[pjcdn2005]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I already have 17 US buyers whining about having to pay in CAD $$$$ this week!!  2 wanted to cancel their orders. 

I am seeing the potential loss of sales the upcoming months!  Thanks eBay for not allow us to have our choice of currency which is US.  I sell items to US 95%, it make senses to list them in US currency!

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I'm surprised. I haven't ever had a buyer comment on it even when I listed everything in Canadian dollars.

What exactly was their complaint about it?

[pierrelebel]

"I already have 17 US buyers whining about having to pay in CAD $$$$ this week!!  2 wanted to cancel their orders. "

If I may be candid, that statement has no credibility. None.  I have listed in Cdn$ for years and have had thousands of sales to American buyers in Cdn$ and never ever received a complaint about the currency.

It is best to keep posts on this board factual.  This is not the place to write fiction.

[pjcdn2005]

The bottom line is that it is a business decision based on money. Nothing to do at all with technical reasons.

Do you think that it will be easier for them to implement things like Promotions Manager with just one currency?

[hlmacdon]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

The bottom line is that it is a business decision based on money. Nothing to do at all with technical reasons.

Do you think that it will be easier for them to implement things like Promotions Manager with just one currency?

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Read all of Rodney's posts. He is quite clear that eliminating the dual currency means delayed features or features not akin to the .com equivalent will be able to be pushed forward as they no longer have that issue holding them back from implementing changes and having to make a business request for something tailored to suit .ca's dual currency setup.

[pjcdn2005]

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@hlmacdon wrote:

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

The bottom line is that it is a business decision based on money. Nothing to do at all with technical reasons.

Do you think that it will be easier for them to implement things like Promotions Manager with just one currency?

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Read all of Rodney's posts. He is quite clear that eliminating the dual currency means delayed features or features not akin to the .com equivalent will be able to be pushed forward as they no longer have that issue holding them back from implementing changes and having to make a business request for something tailored to suit .ca's dual currency setup.

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I've read them. I was just asking poco for his opinion.

[cumos55]

Each Canadian seller on eBay  has to decide what to do.

The most critical question is....  Stay on eBay Canada or move to eBay.com.... and then the consequences?

There are many subtle things  that have to be understood.... and many questions must be asked... and answered.

Keep asking the questions.... and look for answers

... There is a "right" answer for everything

None of us knows  what the adjustment period will be...after the change..... US buyers...  Canadian buyers..

Our biggest market is the US.....  for many sellers.....   

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We were given several months of advanced notice of the change to Canadian dollars only  on eBay Canada.

My biggest concern was the time required to make the change to Canadian dollars..

The Migration tool  makes the change as in a ... flick of a switch

The change should be quick.....   and completed  quickly ... and then make adjustments  with all of my listings  in Canadian dollars..

I have my routine for the change to Canadian dollars sorted out....  and almost ready to go..... ready to make the changes but will keep reading ... the questions  and the answers

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Make the change... Make appropriate adjustments.

Sellers are not too sure of the future....  the consequences .....the sales...  

But then what?...  We shall see.

[wonsxela]

If I may be candid, that statement has no credibility. None.  I have listed in Cdn$ for years and have had thousands of sales to American buyers in Cdn$ and never ever received a complaint about the currency.

It is best to keep posts on this board factual.  This is not the place to write fiction.

_________________________________________________________

Indeed. I can't see this being true either, especially since US buyers see a CAD listing in their currency.

[tobyshitzu]

Other then a few to take advantage of "no FVF" promos on .com, Ive had all listings on all ids in CAN$ fo a few years.  Not once have I had a single comment on that.  I've had Americans who asked about shipping time respond with "oh I didnt realize you were in Canada"...after they bought and paid in CAN$.

The only bad thing about this i,s I believe I've had an advantage attacting Can buyers vs Can competitors listing in US$, and often gotten a little higher price (including  compared to a number of people who have posted here claiming US$ was better... who were selling the same thing at the same time for less).  Which will go away as most of them will switch to CAN$.   Whereas an American buyer is only buying from me if they cant get it there or the unlikely event Im significantly mote competitive then US sellers to the point 2.5% to exchange doesn't matter to them.  And completely irrelevant to overseas buyers whether they buy in US$ or CAN$   

[zee-chan]

I've been listing most of my books on .CA too and I have never heard any complaints about paying in CAD. I have listings on .COM just for the sake of using the free listings there as well. I figure if people are buying online and internationally often they should know that paying for exchange fee (and exchange rate fluctuation) is part of the shopping experience. I buy from Japan most of the time and that's precisely why I use a credit card that waives exchange fee. Saves me that 2.5% every time and I still get 1% cash back on top of it 

[sylviebee]

It would be nice if Canadians were welcomed into the eBay bucks program again.  

If they're telling us that forcing ca. listers to list in $C gives them more leverage for promotions etc., then how about bringing that back?

That's always been a thorn in my side.  

[cutepaperstory]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

" I like having USD in my paypal account as I do shop a lot on line. "

That is easy to understand.

However, since you are located in South Korea, and you wish to sell in US$, and you do not use the Canadian shipping calculator on eBay.ca, why not simply sell on eBay.com (USA)? 

I do not get the logic of insisting to list on the Canadian site anymore than selling on the British site or the German site if you want to sell in US$.

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I actually list on both sites to get the maximum number of free listings each month.  I get 50 free listings on .com, and 50 free listings on .ca.  Having to list in 2 different currencies will also have the effect of giving my similar products a sightly different price on the 2 sites.