eBay

carly@ebay.com · ‎08-25-2005

Please join us on Thursday, September 2, from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT for a general discussion and question and answer session with Jordan, the eBay Canada Country Manager. Jordan will be here on behalf of the eBay Canada team to answer any questions you have about eBay.

If you are not able to attend, but want to leave some questions in advance please post them here, and you can check back later for answers. This thread will remain open until the workshop is over on Sept 2.

Hope you can join us!
Carly

jakeeangel · ‎08-28-2005

Hi there!

I've recently discovered eBay Radio and am thoroughly enjoying it. I've learned a great many things that I didn't know. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Meg Whitman's Keynote speech from this year's eBay Live was there. I was fortunate enough to attend this great event. Listening to it again was wonderful. It also reminded me of something which leads me to my question to you.

In her speech was a speech from Jack Potter the US Postmaster General. He mentioned that Meg came to visit him at his office in Washington to impress upon him the value of her eBayers to the USPS. He has in turn responded to her with some wonderful additions to the already fabulous services offered by the USPS.

Uh, oh - here it comes! lol 😛 You knew it was coming and I don't mind laughing, laughing is always good, but I am very serious. What are you as eBay Canada's manager doing to impress upon Canada Post the value and revenue generated by the multitude of eBay Canada users to the Canadian Postal system? What kind of arrangement or relationship are you working on with them? Just a quick glance at the board and goodness knows the Canada Post workshops, should tell you that many people are fed up, frustrated and most important to them, should be to you and to Canada Post as well, will be put out of business.

Their services, pricing, customer service and inconsistencies are atrocious! What are you doing to help these people? When they can't sell it not only impacts their lives it impacts the revenues of eBay Canada and in turn Canada Post. Too many people are coming away with the impression that neither eBay Canada or Canada Post care about them. What will you do for them? They are crying out for help and running into a brick wall when they get nowhere.

How is it that Meg Whitman was able to do something for her eBay US users but nothing is being done for eBay Canada users? This needs to be addressed. Can you please help and address this most serious of issues?

Thank you for your time,
Debbi

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

jakeeangel · ‎08-28-2005

Hi again! I have another question for you. 🙂 How come eBay Canada doesn't acknowledge it's Power Seller's the way eBay US does? They get little gifts of thanks for their service and contributions to the site and service around Christmas and eBay anniversaries. Canadians get nothing. Why is that? The Pinks hardly even contribute to the business discussions on the PS board. Sorry but Congrats on your Status doesn't count as contributing in my book.

I've read about them getting little things like pens, mugs, business card holders and stuff like that. It's not much and the US PS'ers do grumble about how pititful the offering is. But I know I'd appreciate some kind of acknowledgement from eBay Canada. I like little niceties like that. So how about it or at least some kind of an answer as to why not? It' can't be that much money can it? A little thanks or pat on the back goes a long way for morale and positive reinforcement. :)

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

patinage4ever · ‎08-30-2005

Shipping by Canada Post can be that much money!

catalystpaintball · ‎08-30-2005

I have a question, more of a concern for Power Sellers but I've been trying to get an answer to this one for some time now and I have yet to get a response.

I have a B&M store as well as a Webstore and Ebay sales, so I have to charge GST/HST to all my customers. As of right now Ebay will let me charge no tax or just one tax rate to one province. Maybe that's the way it works in the US but in Canada I need to charge tax to everyone and at 2 different rates, depending on where they live.

So right now my listings say that I don't charge tax and that has to be fixed. What if anything is Ebay going to do about this.

Steve

just*another*borg · ‎08-31-2005

How does a seller become a "Power Seller"? I have read about the minimum sales requirements, which I certainly qualify for, above and beyond. But how do I go about getting the PS logo into all my auctions? And I'm still unclear about the benefits of having the Power Seller status. Besides the logo itself, is there anything else? I agree with jakeangel (post #2) that little promotional premiums now and then would be great. It really would be nice to be "appreciated" as a customer.

ferret-mom · ‎09-01-2005

Hello Carly -- thanks for yet another opportunity to participate in a workshop.

I have a few questions about the eBay "presence" in Canada. First, how many employees does eBay have here in Canada, and are they all located in Toronto? What is their relationship with the main eBay site; do they communicate with their US counterparts? Are the job descriptions/duties generally the same? In other words, is eBay.ca a carbon copy of eBay, but on a much smaller scale?

I ask these questions because, like jakeeangel, I am wondering why eBay.ca does not seem to enjoy the same privileged relationship with our postal authorities that the US site has developed with the USPS.

Does eBay.ca belong to any business groups or associations? After all, there is strength in numbers, and even though eBay is, in itself, a unique phenomenon, when it comes to selling and shipping, you must obviously share the same concerns (on behalf of us -- your members) as the multitude of small Canadian businesses that have discovered the internet as a means to facilitate their transacations. Surely to goodness Canada Post could not ignore a large delegation if you were to approach them with sound statistics and information relating to the amount of business that is generated through your website.

Perhaps you could approach Meg and the powers-that-be and see if they would be willing to fund some sort of scientific survey. Lord knows there are enough polling firms here in Canada, and it would be a nice change from the political polls to which the Canadian voting public is regularly subjected.

Just a thought....

Linda

jordanb@ebay.com · ‎09-01-2005

Hi Everyone, it's good to be with you again, I look forward to answering your questions

jordanb@ebay.com · ‎09-01-2005

Hi Jakeeangel,

In answer to your question:

Let me begin by stating that one of eBay North America's top priorities is to make shipping on eBay easier for both buyers and sellers. We are committed to helping Canadian sellers (of all sizes) maximize their business opportunities on eBay. To that end, we are continually striving to help sellers grow their businesses by offering a variety of solutions to help manage their sales and improve their efficiency.

We are aware that thousands of Canadians come to eBay to make a living and to start their own businesses. Further, we realize Canadian sellers face a number of challenges, including shipping. We are making every effort to make shipping a more affordable and convenient process.

To that end, we are very excited to be working on initiatives with Canada Post relating to an Online Postage and Shipping Label Printing program for Canadian sellers that we hope to get live to site in as early 2006 as possible. This initiative would greatly simplify the shipping process and lower shipping costs (through an exclusive domestic and international discount program), allowing you to focus more on managing your sales and customer satisfaction. Stay tuned for more details on this.

As a personal aside, neither the eBay Canada team nor I are taking our foot off the gas pedal in identifying shipping related solutions/discounts/opportunities that will improve the economics and logistics of Canadians selling on eBay. Trust us that we understand how much of a friction/frustration point shipping can be and we are more committed than ever to addressing the issue.

jordanb@ebay.com · ‎09-01-2005

Jakeeangel,

Regarding your second question,

The eBay merchandise is great and I am glad that you like it. Currently, the eBay Shop on Bay.com is run by a third party company that is officially licensed to sell eBay-branded merchandise. At this time, they do not ship outside the domestic United States. I am happy to pass along your request to them as well as providing them with some suggestions as to how to efficiently ship to Canada.

jordanb@ebay.com · ‎09-01-2005

Jakeeangel,

I hear you on the Canadian PowerSeller issue, and I will get back to you on September 15, with some concrete thoughts and ideas on how we can improve the program.

jordanb@ebay.com · ‎09-01-2005

Hi catalystpaintball,

Unfortunately, there are no plans for the immediate future to address your tax break-out scenario.

However, with the single rate system, the seller simply needs to enter the applicable compound rate.

Here is an example: If in Province A you need to remit GST, you enter that %. If in Province B you need both GST and PST, you would enter a compound rate. If in Province C you need HST, it is a already a compound rate. There isn't a break down on the invoice, but it will be labelled "sales tax" and will assess an accurate amount to the buyer. Then it is the seller's responsibility to break out the tax accordingly for tax remittance purposes.

jordanb@ebay.com · ‎09-01-2005

Hi just*another*borg,

Thank you for your question. Information on the PowerSeller Program can be found at http://pages.ebay.ca/services/buyandsell/powersellers.html. There is no cost to join the PowerSeller program. Membership is FREE for eligible members, and the criteria can be found at the above link. Once you become a PowerSeller, you have the ability to add the PowerSeller icon and logo to your listings. We recommend you display it, as it shows buyers that you are an experienced seller. Full instructions are available in the Resources section of the PowerSeller portal. There are a number of other benefits, including Customer Support, Canada Post Shipping Discounts, and monthly newsletters. Upon acceptance into the program, you will receive a Welcome Kit in the mail which lays out all the benefits of the 5 different PowerSeller levels. For more information, feel free to contact powersellersinfo@ebay.com.

jordanb@ebay.com · ‎09-01-2005

Hi ferret-mom

eBay has two offices in Canada, one in Toronto, ON and one in Burnaby, BC. As for our relationship with our friends at eBay in the US, we work very closely together in all aspects of our business but have the autonomy to do the things necessary to provide a great Canadian user experience.

As for memberships etc., we are indeed members and leading voices in a number of Canadian organizations where we are proud to continually speak on behalf of our Canadian users. In addition, we meet with political figures at all different levels of government to apprise them of relevant eBay happenings.

As for Canada Post they continue to hear the collective Canadian Community voice loud and clear (see workshop on August 25....no shortage of interest there). Clearly we are all on the same page here in working with Canada Post (and trust me, we are talking to each other on a daily basis) to make shipping within Canada and cross border as economical and easy as possible for our users.