List in USD or CAD?

[ammolitehunter]

Merry Christmas to all fellow sellers!

Every time I transfer USD money from my Paypal to my Canadian bank account I get dinged with what seems to be an exorbitant fee for changing my USD to CAD.

Is it time to list in CAD?

If not--why not?

[brandeentertainment]

I would list Canadian unless 90% of your buyers are Americans.. Listing USD only attracts US buyers so unless your customer base is from US there is no point in paying more money to the money monster....

They claim listing USD will increase your sales up to 15% I claim no not a chance... IF a buyer wants it they want it regardless of the currency ...

[snoopwiz]

For some years, while the exchange rate was favourable down south, I exclusively listed on .com and of course in USD. Since that has changed and the dollar being as close to par as possible (give or take) we switched to .ca and Canadian dollars.

Do not think it affects sales whatsoever. Like was said in this thread, if they want it, they buy it, currency type matters not.

[pierrelebel]

"currency type matters not."

That may be true for you and many other Canadian sellers.

My experience is different.

From my perspective, looking at a typical American buyer facing the choice of purchasing two identical items, one priced in American dollars and the other in Canadian dollars, that American buyer will purchase the item priced in familiar American dollars 99% of the time, avoiding currency fluctuations and the 2.5% currency conversion fee charged to him (the buyer) by his credit card issuer or PayPal.

Given the choice, why would an American buyer want to pay more out of his pocket for the privilege of purchasing in Canadian dollars?

Now, if the majority of your customers are Canadians, it makes sense to list on eBay.ca in Cdn$.  Both buyers and sellers avoid the currency conversion fees.

However, if the majority of your buyers are located in the USA, being competitive in US$ and getting the sale is more important than the few percentage points charged by PayPal. It is just another cost of doing business and they are many ways to minimize those costs (having eBay bill you in US$ for example).

[snoopwiz]

Pierre, all good points if the buyer has many choices of seller, selling the same item. The rules do change when you are offering OOAK (or similar) in which, if its what they want/need, the currency will not matter.

[pierrelebel]

As I stated earlier "that may be true for you and many other Canadian sellers"

When looking at the hundreds of millions of items listed on eBay, you do not find that many "one of a kind" items.

Even then, a Canadian seller risks a less than perfect experience from the buyer's perspective when the payment turns out to be more than expected (as advertised on eBay where the currency conversion fee is not shown).

[2012beautystore]

I would say that it's better to list in CAD if you will transfer money back to your Canadian bank account. Because during these days, the exchange rate is very expensive.

I used to list in USD before because Ebay says that it will attract more international buyers. But, I found the exchange rate is too expensive when I transfer back to my bank account so I switch to  list in CAD. And, I don't notice any drops in my international transactions. So, personally I think is better to list in CAD.

[femmefan1946]

I sell internationally.

Because everyone understands the US dollar and Americans understand no other currency, for me it is worthwhile listing in USD only.

Canadian buyers are only about 8% of my sales (not counting Canadian postage lots) so there is no good reason to switch to our home currency.

[inuitgifts]

Half of our listings in USD, another half in CAD. Have been like that for a few years. From my experience, currency is irrelevant, does not affect sales. Actually thinking of switching completely to CAD.

[lady.stark]

Well, for me, it is like Pierre said. When I changed all my listings in CAD $, my sales began to drop slowly. I used to have about 100 $ in eBay fees alone in June-July and last month was only $8. 😞  So I changed back to US $ and I noticed that my sales are going up again. Hope it will continue that way. 🙂

[mommandadd]

My experience is that you get higher prices when you sell in US dollars.

So while you definitely do get dinged on the usurious e-bay/paypal exchange rates, because you sold the item for a higher amount it's offset or covered.

[doumb21]

... and they are many ways to minimize those costs (having eBay bill you in US$ for example).

Pierre, I found that is a great idea. 

I always have both USD and CAD funds in my Paypal account and currently my eBay bills are in CAD.  Put you are right, it would be a good if eBay would pay itself with USD instead.

I browsed through the different menus on eBay and I did not find where I could change that settings.

Could you help me find where I can set this option to USD.

Thank you.

[pierrelebel]

To switch the eBay billing currency from Cdn$ ro US$ (or vice versa) go to:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/billing-currency.html 

The conversion of fees does not include a premium or spread for the conversion.  It is done at the wholesale rate.

[doumb21]

Thanks.

I made a lot of sales during last promotion.

If I understand well, I better wait the end of this billing cycle, otherwise I would get my PowerSeller discount on all those sales.

[snoopwiz]

Different strokes for different folks. Up until a year or so ago, all mine was in USD> When the exchange changed, i switched to CDN dollars. I noticed no difference in sales. Mine continue to increase each year. Of course, selling OOAK items (for the most part)  the minimal exchange will not deter my US buyers from clicking the BIN button. If they want/need it, pennies wont deter them.

I can perhaps see though, for those selling low value commodity items, a US buyer may opt to buy in their own currency.

[rose-dee]

I switched to all U.S.$ in my listings some time ago, and found it did increase my U.S. sales over the long run, although I don't know that I believe eBay's stats on the percentage increase to be expected from such a step. 

Aside from trying to appeal to U.S. buyers (my main market), I think U.S. currency is pretty much a familiar thing to most buyers, and I think Canadians are usually aware of where our currency stands with respect to the Greenback at a given moment (thanks to the nightly news). 

As for Paypal and eBay currency exchange costs, I've taken the longer view.  For quite a period of time a few years ago, I was actually making 10% to 15% on the exchange rate with every sale when the $Cdn was well below par.  I think that we're heading in this direction again, so I'm leaving my listings in U.S. and as they say, in the long run it will all come out in the wash.  If the $Cdn falls below $0.80 U.S. I can sit back and cover all my shipping discounts to my customers that Canada Post makes so necessary!!

Finally got my Power Seller status yesterday, so I'm joining in the Club here for the first time.:^O