eBay

banners_only · ‎03-28-2016

Hello everyone,

I wanted to get your opinion on the following. I have the possibility of having a US address and using USPS shipping (From Canada) and I was wondering if you think my sales would be better than having a Canadian address (but also using USPS).

I ask because I have the feeling US buyers are more willing to make purchase from US seller than Canadian Seller. Maybe something about listing placements perhaps?

Am I wrong?

Thanks for your help.

pocomocomputing · ‎03-28-2016

As far as I know and have read in these forums, you cannot use USPS shipping options in your ebay listings on eBay.com without an USA address. Especially for calculated shipping which would need your Zip code to make a price for shipping options that work by distance (from one zip code to another zip code).

pierrelebel · ‎03-28-2016

If a Canadian seller lists on eBay.com and ships from a USA address, it is easy to enter the item location as a USA address with the associated ZIP code.

Problem solved.

banners_only · ‎03-28-2016

Hello,

My question was not really about if I could do it because, as Pierre stated, I can. My question was more of a philosophical question about this:

If you take 2 sellers, 1 Canadian and 1 US and they both sell the same items, have same experiences, same feedback and same prices, would the US Seller sell more than the Canadian Seller?

The reason behind this question is because I have received a few comments from US Buyers that did not want to buy from me because, as they stated:

" I don't want to deal with International shipping and the possibility of an International return".

Thanks

pocomocomputing · ‎03-28-2016

@banners_only wrote:
Hello,

My question was not really about if I could do it because, as Pierre stated, I can. My question was more of a philosophical question about this:

If you take 2 sellers, 1 Canadian and 1 US and they both sell the same items, have same experiences, same feedback and same prices, would the US Seller sell more than the Canadian Seller?

The reason behind this question is because I have received a few comments from US Buyers that did not want to buy from me because, as they stated:

" I don't want to deal with International shipping and the possibility of an International return".

Thanks

The issue is a valid one for a buyer in the USA. So yes, having a real address in the USA to use for shipping and for returns would be better and may get a few more sales. You also will get more buyers who are "buy American" supporters and will only buy from a USA seller.

If you an use ebay.com with an USA address and use USPS shipping, it would be ideal for selling on eBay.com to USA buyers. Essentially you are a USA based seller who lives in Canada.

You also benefit from faster shipping within the USA, lower shipping cost to the USA and world than Canada Post shipping options, tracking on almost all shipping minimizing false claims of items not received and so on.

vintage*finds · ‎03-28-2016

I've thought about this too. Some items I sell have gotten about one-third of what US sellers get. I could get a US address. That's the easy part, but I'm two hours from the border and I'd have to cross with a load of opened boxes. And there's gas to think about. I think if I was selling huges scads of things, I'd do this. For that missing two-thirds it might be worth it.

banners_only · ‎03-28-2016

The advantage I have is that I am already using USPS with a Local Broker here in Montreal and he drops my packages 5 days a week. Picks them up at my door as well. I have everything I need to "become a US Seller" but just wanted to know if it was worth it and if it would impact my sales.

I guess I will try it out!

vintage*finds · ‎03-28-2016

Worth a shot ...

pocomocomputing · ‎03-28-2016

@banners_only wrote:
The advantage I have is that I am already using USPS with a Local Broker here in Montreal and he drops my packages 5 days a week. Picks them up at my door as well. I have everything I need to "become a US Seller" but just wanted to know if it was worth it and if it would impact my sales.

I guess I will try it out!

If you could try it out for 3 months and post back your experience good and bad, that would help others.

hlmacdon · ‎03-28-2016

@vintage*finds wrote:
I've thought about this too. Some items I sell have gotten about one-third of what US sellers get. I could get a US address. That's the easy part, but I'm two hours from the border and I'd have to cross with a load of opened boxes. And there's gas to think about. I think if I was selling huges scads of things, I'd do this. For that missing two-thirds it might be worth it.

Keep in mind you can't just cross with boxes. You have to follow import procedures and go through the commercial lane. If you look into this in the future I'd advise you to check out the other thread on the subject for details on how to do this and avoid getting reamed out by a border guard 🙂

hlmacdon · ‎03-28-2016

@banners_only wrote:
Hello,

My question was not really about if I could do it because, as Pierre stated, I can. My question was more of a philosophical question about this:

If you take 2 sellers, 1 Canadian and 1 US and they both sell the same items, have same experiences, same feedback and same prices, would the US Seller sell more than the Canadian Seller?

The reason behind this question is because I have received a few comments from US Buyers that did not want to buy from me because, as they stated:

" I don't want to deal with International shipping and the possibility of an International return".

Thanks

Having a US return address makes a difference with potential buyers. A cheap way to do this is to get a USPS PO Box with the "street address" option. Unlike a standard PO box, any courier service can deliver to a USPS street address PO Box. Additionally the yearly fee is far cheaper than your typical package receiving service that charges on a per package basis, assuming you have a mix of supplier/personal shipments going that way as well that is. I use this setup and with endicia it's a cinch to send the customer a prepaid label and it is painless for the few US buyers where I have a return/exchange issue.

The only considerations I would keep in mind is you have to change the item location to a US address for USPS calculated shipping to be available to use (needs an origin zip). While this would be advantageous as your ETA estimates would be as accurate as any competing US seller with the same handling time, just bear in mind you need to factor in your handling times to account for the time to export the package as you may not have as much Estimate day padding compared to a flat rate option on .ca. As someone who has dealt with the headaches of forwarding services not having a consistent schedule I'd recommend you look closely at your handling/eta times.

I currently list through .ca using flat rate services to price USPS shipments, I'll be moving listings to .com in the next month or two. I suspect I'll see a lift in sales, but I expect a larger percentage of that lift to be attributable to being able to address the add to cart issues US buyers experience as I have a high rate of multi-item sales. I'm more interested to try to get some idea of how many buyers in my particular niche filter out listings located outside of the US.

yourtixfix · ‎03-28-2016

I used a USA address and ship via USPS using a service to take my packages across the boarder. Never had a problem and sales have increased 200%. If you can compete with USA sellers then do it. Selling in USD is king!

faircrochet · ‎03-29-2016

@banners_only wrote:
Hello everyone,

I wanted to get your opinion on the following. I have the possibility of having a US address and using USPS shipping (From Canada)

I think if you are shipping from Canada, even if you take the items across the border yourself to use USPS, you must put the item's location as Canada. So your address, which most buyers wouldn't really see until they get your package, doesn't mean much.

banners_only · ‎03-29-2016

card-zonejen:

Not really. With the service I am using, here are the steps:

1) I can print the postage label on Stamp dot com (with my US address)

2) Broker service picks up my packages

3) they carry it (along with hundreds of other packages) over the border

If I have a return, the return address is my US address and my broker charges me a very small fee to bring it back to me.

So my Canadian address is irrelevant and only my US address would be showing on the packages.

Now, as I write this, I am thinking that I would not print the label in Ebay or Paypal and that might cause an issue with Ebay as far as confirmation of delivery no? Or as long as I enter the tracking number, Ebay/Paypal don't care about where I print the labels?

Just thinking out loud here....

hlmacdon · ‎03-29-2016

@faircrochet wrote:
@banners_only wrote:
Hello everyone,

I wanted to get your opinion on the following. I have the possibility of having a US address and using USPS shipping (From Canada)

I think if you are shipping from Canada, even if you take the items across the border yourself to use USPS, you must put the item's location as Canada. So your address, which most buyers wouldn't really see until they get your package, doesn't mean much.

Were that the case I would imagine the thousands of sellers from Asia that use US based 3PL services would have their accounts banned. The policy states:

Sellers must be clear and accurate about the location their item will be shipped or picked up from.

If the item is being consistently shipped from the same location I don't see an issue, but you can always query Raphael on the next weekly discussion.