eBay

raphael@ebay.com · ‎03-18-2016

Hello Canadian sellers,

This thread is open for discussion regarding the recent announcement about eBay Canada retiring USD support from its selling flows. Myself and other employees will come visit this thread and do our best to answer any questions on this topic.

retro_thrift · ‎03-23-2016

It is mentioned here about 15 times that the tool is being released in May. It is also in the email that you were sent, the ebay message you were sent and on the announcement board?

@toddmarde wrote:
Who's going to pay me for the week I will loose to convert everything on your stupid tool that won't work? where is this tool anyway?

ypdc_dennis · ‎03-23-2016

@toysago wrote:
If I choose to list only on ebay.com do I keep my current feedback rating or start over. ...

Why would you possibly think that your eBay feedback rating would disappear?

As long as you are using the same seller account the feedback remains. You don't need to create a new seller account to sell on eBay.COM or on any of the other eBay sites.

this-that-whatever · ‎03-23-2016

Andrea does not have a link on her email to comment on this matter..

Guess she knew the complaints would fill her inbox.

Hope you guys are getting paid well..

Just another bad decision to drive Canadian sellers to different marketplaces.

Time to become an Ebay buyer, where all rights are protected.

ypdc_dennis · ‎03-23-2016

@toysago wrote:
... Ebay is cutting their own throat by forcing this policy change. I wonder what the share holders will do when the eBay stock free falls to worthless penny stock. And it will so buckle up ebay.ca you're all go into be looking for new jobs very soon.

eBay.CA does not offer stock. eBay.CA is a small finger of eBay.

The parent company eBay is the one traded on the stock market and is in no danger of becoming a penny stock.

Anonymous · ‎03-23-2016

@nicknack17 wrote:
If we list only in CAD will US buyers have the option to pay in USD??? I've been with Ebay many years and have listed both ways and found that U.S. funds have been the best approach for me. I find that U.S. buyers wish to pay in U.S. funds.

They see price and shipping (or bid amount / increment for an auction) converted to their own currency.

They also see the original amount in CAD, so it emphasizes to the US buyer that they have a buying power advantage. Buyers seem to like that, because they have been voting for CAD with their dollars.

When they check out, they are technically still checking out on a CAD item, but to the buyer, they are paying in US dollars. PayPal manages the foreign exchange and pays the seller in CAD. This also works if someone is shopping for your item and finds it on our Polish site, or our Italian site etc. (if you ship to those countries).

sporting-arts · ‎03-23-2016

There's a simple way to deal with ebay on this issue it's called "delete my account" which I will be doing as soon as these changes take effect. Amazing to me that this entity takes an interest in preventing folks from making a little extra on the exchange. eBay has been in a steady state of user decline over the last many years and I can only imagine the effect this will have to further the trend, if it doesn't decimate the Canadian user base I'll be amazed. I for one will be out, I have had enough. Its already a rip off with the fees etc....it's like anything though, once the greed kicks in the whole thing goes into the toilet....It's a real shame.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎03-23-2016

@pocomocomputing wrote:

Selling Manager Pro.

Someone posted in another topic that they have ebay Selling Manager Pro with their store subscription on ebay.ca. If they move their listings to eBay.com, what happens to Selling Manager Pro on ebay.ca? Will it work for listing on eBay.com? Will they have to end the subscription on eBay.ca and subscribe again on eBay.com? Will they lose all their eBay.ca templates, cost, inventory on ebay.ca?

Hi pocomo,

Subscriptions to Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro are site-specific, so the seller in your example would probably need to end their eBay.ca SMP subscription and start a new one on eBay.com. I don't think the inventory data, templates and other settings would follow to .com unfortunately. I was unable to find out for sure based on the internal documentation I have on SMP, but I'll ask the team for good measure.

mutton517 · ‎03-23-2016

I called Ebay customer service and asked that question and was told China users would but I doubt it, Ebay only makes changes when it benefits them

Anonymous · ‎03-23-2016

@chipmunk_collectibles wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@sirspinalot wrote:

So, what "new features and improvements" are being considered once this comes into affect?

This change makes every single feature an easier business case when we press for concurrent or fast follow launches. In general, this ensures we stay on pace with everything that is coming down the pipe, in the near, mid and long term.

SO basically, this decision was not made in the interests of Canadian sellers, most of whom it will generally harm to varying degrees. Instead, your decision was only made to save Ebay.ca a few thousand dollars in administrative costs and thereby pad your stock performance report for the year. Undermining the foundation to add a few shingles is not a particularly wise business strategy.

Draw your own conclusions if you must, but none of that speculation is accurate.

The decision was made exactly for the reasons we've laid out here. It has nothing to do with saving money. The stakes here are to put ourselves in the best position for our sellers - and therefore our business - all our sellers to be as successful as they can on our platform.

luxe.labels · ‎03-23-2016

I sell on eBay.ca in US dollars. 80% of my buyers are US and overseas. I do not want to encourage Canadian business as I have to pay GST/HST/PST on all sales in Canada even though I do not charge it. Like it or not, US dollars are the currency of international business.

I plan to migrate my listings to eBay.com. However, I would like to know if I will still be able to print my Canada Post ship labels through Paypal. I also do not 'officially' accept returns. Can I still have a no returns policy and maintain my Top Rated/Power Seller designation selling on eBay.com?

mutton517 · ‎03-23-2016

So I called Ebay customer service and got some poor soul on your site and asked "Why" and he was unable to answer me all I wanted to know was why change something that has been working for customers of yours for years "Why". He became confused and then asked me to wait while he found a supervisor. He kept coming back on to tell me that his supervisor was currently busy and then tried his best to field the question but it became very clear that he had "NO IDEA". I also suspect his supervisor did not as well(so much for Managerial Courage). So I challenge everyone to call and ask the same dang question.

jerausti-2 · ‎03-23-2016

I agree 100%. Why fix something that is not broken..........

velvetfinch · ‎03-23-2016

I think the most unsettling part of this thing is the fact that we will lose the the ability to set a psychologically appealing price point for US buyers (the vast majority of buyers) Since prices will fluctuate constantly based on the CAD/USD conversion, prices will end up looking 'messy' and 'unappealing' to US buyers. Sure Canadian buyers (which constitutes a grand 8% of my total sales) will see a nice pleasant round price while the majority of US buyers will see crazy looking prices. Example of an unappealing price, consider seeing something with a price of $13.17 vs. a price of $12.99. Which one looks better? There is a very clear correlation between price points and purchasing, it is basic Selling 101.

pjcdn2005 · ‎03-23-2016

raphael@ebay.com wrote:
@pocomocomputing wrote:
Selling Manager Pro.

Someone posted in another topic that they have ebay Selling Manager Pro with their store subscription on ebay.ca. If they move their listings to eBay.com, what happens to Selling Manager Pro on ebay.ca? Will it work for listing on eBay.com? Will they have to end the subscription on eBay.ca and subscribe again on eBay.com? Will they lose all their eBay.ca templates, cost, inventory on ebay.ca?
Hi pocomo,

Subscriptions to Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro are site-specific, so the seller in your example would probably need to end their eBay.ca SMP subscription and start a new one on eBay.com. I don't think the inventory data, templates and other settings would follow to .com unfortunately. I was unable to find out for sure based on the internal documentation I have on SMP, but I'll ask the team for good measure.
I use Selling Manager on both sites and the information is identical. I did have to download SM on each site.

Hopefully SMP is similar.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎03-23-2016

@retro_thrift wrote:

@crazy_for_comics wrote:

I picked one question out of my head .........

I have gtc items listed in usd. If I stay on Ebay.ca will the eBay listing migration tool in May convert all my gtc's from usd to CAD with the the proper exchange rate? .......Like for example would a $9.99 usd item become 13.05 cad?

I can answer this one since I asked this question in my seller panel phone call. Once we are able to use the tool in May and bulk edit our listings to change the currency, you can use the feature in the bulk edit tool that is already there to increase cost by X amount of dollars or X amount of % (or decrease if our $ ever became higher than the US$ again). We will be able to bulk edit 500 at a time.

I have around 2600 listings so I will only need to do this 6 times which should only take a few minutes each batch. The exchange rate usually only drops 0.005 percent a day lately so I don't think we will ever need to be bulk editing daily unless the market crashed overnight.

Hi retro_thrift,

Thanks for jumping in! To add a bit of detail to what you already said, the tool will actually handle up to 5000 listings at a time. You'll be able to set a conversion rate for the listings you want to convert to CAD, and move whatever items you want to eBay.com. New listings will be saved as drafts in Selling Manager, where you'll need to go to publish them, up to 500 at a time.

Anonymous · ‎03-23-2016

@chipmunk_collectibles wrote:

I should also mention that your team has perhaps overlooked the basic fact that Canada exists in a somewhat unique global economic situation. We do not have the unified currency zone that allows for fluid trade in Europe. Despite recent rebalancing, we do not have the severely devalued currency that China benefits from. Nevertheless we are extremely export dependent and are still the United State's second largest trading partner. For this reason having a common trading currency between our two great trading nations MATTERS. It's our equivalent of the Euro Zone. Having access to that common USD currency facilitates trade, it facilitates sales for ebay sellers, and finally, whether you choose to recognize it or not, it facilitates profits for Ebay.

Thanks chipmunk.

That's what I would have said a year ago.

eBay is one of the largest ecommerce sites in the world, and on of the most global marketplaces on the planet. Just imagine the data points that we can look at in order to understand buyer behaviour around a question such as this.

What we have seen is a change. It's something new. On our site, our almost uniquely international platform of trade, we are seeing the old barriers of currency - that really logically are rooted more in inconveniences like not understanding the actual price, or having to go to the post office to get an international money order - are falling away.

US buyers, in particular, as a population of ecommerce buyers, are voting with their dollars and showing us that what they are seeking is value. If the number they see in USD works for them, then they buy, whether it was listed in USD or not. This is not how things used to be at all.

The other thing that is different is that ecommerce in Canada continues to strengthen and expand. When these buyers shop on eBay, they are shopping on a site with 100's of millions of live items. A relatively small share of these are Canadian., When you list in Canadian dollars, your listing really stands out on eBay.ca. So it seems CAD now helps you with both domestic AND export sales.

This is not conventional wisdom, so I understand why folks find it difficult to understand or accept.

raphael@ebay.com · ‎03-23-2016

@anahita_jewelry wrote:
If we move all our listings to eBay.com using the new tool in May, will we ever be able to move our listings back to eBay.ca in the future if we chose? Or will that be a final choice and force our listings to remain on eBay.com for good?

Hi newageglam,

Although we have designed and built the migration tool specifically to help sellers impacted by the retirement of USD support form the eBay.ca listing flows, we have been exploring the idea to make it available for sellers wanting to move eBay.com listings to eBay.ca in the future. When we can do that and for how long are both TBD at this time.

pjcdn2005 · ‎03-23-2016

@luxe.labels wrote:
I sell on eBay.ca in US dollars. 80% of my buyers are US and overseas. I do not want to encourage Canadian business as I have to pay GST/HST/PST on all sales in Canada even though I do not charge it. Like it or not, US dollars are the currency of international business.

I plan to migrate my listings to eBay.com. However, I would like to know if I will still be able to print my Canada Post ship labels through Paypal. I also do not 'officially' accept returns. Can I still have a no returns policy and maintain my Top Rated/Power Seller designation selling on eBay.com?

Yes you can still print your labels through paypal if you list on .com. You do have to sign into .ca to do so or sign into your Paypal account and print them directly from there. I've always printed them from Paypal and it's worked well for me.

You would still be a TRS on the global system so on .ca, your listings would still show that designation.

As long as you have TRS global you receive the 20% off of fvf, it doesn't matter if you have a no return policy or if you list on .com or .ca.

If you qualify for U.S. TRS now, that would stay the same. But your listings won't show any sort of TRS designation unless they qualify for the U.S. TRSplus requirements which are more stringent.

Anonymous · ‎03-23-2016

@amazingidea wrote:

I can sell my items on eBay.com but some categories such as "Coins & paper money > Bullion" are not allowed for non-us members! How can you fix it?

eBay is treating Canadians as low class members. What happen to eBucks? Sorry, not for Canadians anymore! I think eBay wants us to use kijiji.ca instead of eBay.

Never get good news from eBay, only bad news or fee increase notifications!

If you think it is hard to manage, why don't you merge eBay.ca to eBay.com? It is much easier.

Hi amazingidea.

Merging eBay.ca to eBay.com involves building a very different kind of eBay. We do now serve some of our international buyers with a different version of .com. But any of my colleagues supporting those countries would drop that arrangement in a nanosecond to have a complete platform like the one we have in Canada.

The cost of such a change would be enormous, and I don't think it would help us to bring features to Canadians, Rather the opposite.

amuseyou · ‎03-23-2016

Im not that upset about the CAD change. There are just SO many other reasons I am angry at eBay-this hardly even makes the list.

However, I DO find it absolutely hysterically funny: two years ago their 'best selling' practices were covered in suggestions about "listing in USD for increasing your sales" This is what THEY pushed!!!?????

Luckily we never have bothered-and have been listing in CAD for years. I think those from other countries simply see the conversion rate on their end-this really doesn't seem to have huge consequences, but perhaps I am merely not seeing the whole issue?

I can say that we have listed in CAD exclusively and continue enjoying sales from the US continually.

I just wanted to put in my experience for other sellers tohelp a little? I apologize if I am not seeing the issue-its not my intent to be a blockhead, nor CERTAINLY not to take "eBays side"...now that's the LAST thing I would do TRUST ME!