eBay

aligolf · ‎03-23-2016

I really do not understand this from a business point of view. I read through all 14 pages of comments regarding the changes to try and gain some insight into this. I did not find many positive comments from sellers.

My views are that anything that restricts selling on a platform is bad. Presently anyone who wants to list in Can can and also for US. If you take away the US you lose revenue and business plain and simple. I have tried listing in both and currently I am making a few hundred in CAN but over 1000 per month in US. Ebay.ca you have a unique niche that other ebay parts do not have, it generates more money for you and you are getting rid of this?

Ebay really needs to communicate better as I do not understand their stats on this. They are opposite to my own stats that I keep on my own selling and many other sellers seem to share this belief. Would be great to have more transparency around this. Can you show me stats for collectibles that show me I will make more money listing in CAN?

I will be the first one to praise you if this works, I do not see if happening but in all honesty I do not know. I have a successful business now and if this ruins it can I then turn around and SUE YOU for wrecking my business??

I have $20,000 in inventory I bought based on the ebay.ca model I was expecting to have this year?

I have started to convert my listings but also starting to explore some different selling sites as Like others am tired of ebay not listening to what I need as a seller.

This is my vote for Ebay Darwin Award for 2016

pacificwinds6875 · ‎03-23-2016

I am in 100% agreement with your posting (that would be 132.03% Canadian - haha)

I just muddled through quite painfully doing a new listing on the .com site. My problems are the shipping area and setting up tax (which I was unable to do).

85% of my sales are to the USA, 10% to International and 5% to my fellow canucks. I will not be listing in Canadian dollars as we want to be paid in USD. That is our choice - nothing wrong with that choice - it's a business decision as well. Thought out and implemented.

Using the Canadian EBay has become comfortable but there are quite a few plus and minus about it. Do you agree?

I will be calling them for help with "how the heck am I to do this??!!" kind of question and we will see how helpful they are.

I am pretty sure they will not be able to help us out in regards to shipping and taxes. Wish me luck

pierrelebel · ‎03-23-2016

"I really do not understand this"

I must say that, in my opinion, eBay has not done a very good job communicating with members. If I had the job to do so, my message would have been very simple as I believe in the KISS system:

"Effective (insert date) eBay.ca will become a single currency (Cdn$) site as are all our other international sites. For fifteen years we offered dual currency. That is no longer possible.

We are confident most Canadian sellers will achieve better results using the Canadian currency. However, if you feel you know better than us, by all means we welcome your listing business on eBay.com (based in the USA) which is used by American sellers and many international sellers wishing to list in US$ instead of their local currency.

We will provide some tools, prior to the effective date, to help you migrate your listings if that is what you wish."

End of message.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-23-2016

If you take away the US you lose revenue and business plain and simple.

You are making more sales in US dollars because there are more US buyers. If you sell from dotCA to US buyers, they are probably shopping on the dotCOM site.

And there they see your listing in both USD and CDN.

The comparison should not be currencies, it is which sites are performing best for you?

Not counting my Canadian postage lots, which are in CDN and only offer free shipping to Canada, well over 90% of my sales are to the USA, no matter which currency I list in.

As long as you have shipping to the USA enabled, your listings will show on dotCOM in US dollars. This is just not a problem.

You know what is a problem?

Canadians listing on dotCOM cannot use Calculated Shipping, since this is tied to the site's domestic postal service.

This means if your products are bulky, you must estimate the average cost of shipping from Canada to the recipient, cross your fingers and hope you have more sales where the destination is cheaper than your estimated average than sales where the destination will cost more than your estimated average shipping.

pierrelebel · ‎03-23-2016

"Canadians listing on dotCOM cannot use Calculated Shipping, since this is tied to the site's domestic postal service."

That is correct and the same is true of ALL international sellers listing on eBay.com in US$ instead of their own country site in local currency.

This may explain why the majority (more than 50%) of all listings on eBay.com offer "free shipping" and do not require "calculated shipping".

hlmacdon · ‎03-23-2016

@pierrelebel wrote:
"Canadians listing on dotCOM cannot use Calculated Shipping, since this is tied to the site's domestic postal service."

That is correct and the same is true of ALL international sellers listing on eBay.com in US$ instead of their own country site in local currency.

This may explain why the majority (more than 50%) of all listings on eBay.com offer "free shipping" and do not require "calculated shipping".

Which unfortunately for customers means they are likely being overcharged when purchasing multiple items as the cost of the shipping is being bundled in. For some sellers who have little to no attach rates it isn't an issue, but for sellers with a high rate of attach and knowledgeable buyers it is an important issue.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-23-2016

And that's fine if the cost of shipping is standardized.

We can ship up to 500 grams anywhere within Canada for $5.05 or less, so long as the shipment is less than 2cm thick.

Go over that thickness and we are into parcel rates, which vary with provincial destination.

Same with shipping outside Canada.

While some parcel rates are standardized, I believe it costs about the same to ship anywhere in Europe, for example, there are variations depending on destination and dimensions.

This makes it easier to list bulky or heavy items on dotCA, which allows us to use Calculated Shipping.

they are likely being overcharged when purchasing multiple items as the cost of the shipping is being bundled in.

Unless the buyer asks before bidding for relief, using Best Offer, I suppose, or the seller voluntarily sends a refund, always a pleasant surprise.

wonsxela · ‎03-23-2016

Canadians listing on dotCOM cannot use Calculated Shipping, since this is tied to the site's domestic postal service.

This means if your products are bulky, you must estimate the average cost of shipping from Canada to the recipient, cross your fingers and hope you have more sales where the destination is cheaper than your estimated average than sales where the destination will cost more than your estimated average shipping.

Which may not necessarily be a problem. I live in Northern Alberta, and in my experience shipping to the mainland US, the cost to ship a package of the same size/weight is always the same regardless of the destination.

pjcdn2005 · ‎03-23-2016

The difference is more so in Canada if you have to use a parcel service. It looks as if you use lettermail which is the same cost everywhere but there is a big difference in shipping a package from Vancouver to Calgary vs Vancouver to a small center in Quebec.