eBay

yjw1 · ‎11-12-2003

Maybe I am slow but it took me a while to stumble onto this one.
I though I would share it encase anyone else is as slow as I.
If you pay you Ebay fees via credit card, you are charged the credit card exchange rate.
If you make a onetime payment from your Paypal account each month you are charged the Paypal exchange rate; considerably lower.
If your fees are in excess of $1000, this could save you over $100 a month.

yjw1 · ‎11-12-2003

Oh Ya...here are the links:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/billing/e_payment2.html

http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?PayCouponShow

dymus9 · ‎11-13-2003

i just signed up for direct debit from my checking account. i used to pay with credit card. i get 1% off of ebay fees now. so do you think it would be worthwile to cancell the direct debit option and do paypal pne time payments???

shooger · ‎11-13-2003

I got tired of paying the exchange rate and fee multiple times, back and forth. If I needed to pay $100 CND, they'd take the CND that I had, change it to USD, and then back to CDN to make the payment. Basically, it costs you $108 to make a $100 payment! So I changed my eBay preferences to be billed in USD. Now there's no double (or triple) conversion fees. I just accept USD, and pay eBay with USD, face value.

Additionally, I have my PayPal MasterCard hooked up to my eBay account. Once a month, it automatically withdraws the $250 or so that I owe. Then PayPal gives me $4 USD or so as "cashback". For any PowerSeller that doesn't do this already, you're losing money. I buy my stamps and other shipping supplies with the PayPal MasterCard, and get 1.5% cashback on everything. Free money... you're crazy not to take it!

yjw1 · ‎11-13-2003

dymus9,
I would have a close look at it I were you.
I only list in .com so I am billed in US funds.
If I pay directly from my Paypal account with funds that have been deposited from buyers, I have only been charged Paypal fees to accept those payments.
If I transfer the funds to my CND bank account and pay with my visa. I am given a far lower exchange rate on the transfer than what the CC charges me for the US payment.
So $1000 US coming in @ 1.285, $1000 CND going back @ 1.375. It cost about $100 to transfer the funds around rather than just pay with the original us money.

Anyone have a better Idea?

pierrelebel · ‎11-13-2003

"Anyone have a better Idea?"

Yes.

Get a credit card (MasterCard or VISA) from your local bank denominated in US dollars and change your billing currency at eBay to US dollars.

You will get billed in US dollars, be charged to your credit card in US dollars and pay the credit card statement three weeks later in US dollars directly from your US dollar denominated bank account where you deposit your US dollar checks and money orders from your customers.

In other words, you never need to convert to or from Canadian dollars. Keep both proceeds and expenses in US dollars and do not worry about ever losing a penny to the bank or PayPal "exchange conversion risk spread".

Good Luck.

zarzuella · ‎11-13-2003

I do exactly as Shooger does - I use my Paypal US$ debit Mastercard for eBay fees, postage, even shipping supplies. 1.5% back on everything.
Ann

mahsauction · ‎11-13-2003

How do you change your billing currency to USD from CAD? I also registered my account through Ebay.ca originally.

pierrelebel · ‎11-13-2003

Go to the Site Map link at the top of the page and click on the Switch my Billing Currency link in the "Seller Accounts" section.

pierrelebel · ‎11-13-2003

PS - eBay only allows ONE switch of billing currency a year.

hdwrench1 · ‎11-13-2003

OK , I must be dumb as a post but I now currently pay with my CDN. visa card. I know all US purchases with this card are about 3% more than the billed amount. (exchange rate , sure) but if I use my Paypal debit card I will save the Visa exchange surcharge?? and get 1.5% cashback??
Like I said my brain is stuck between gears today.

jhongs · ‎11-13-2003

Q: Ebay limitis my account balance to less than 40 Candian. Once my balance oweing is over 40, they will not let me list any more auctions. So, right now, I have to pay the ebay fees at least once every week. I'm getting so tired doing this every week! Is there any way to raise my limit? By the way, I pay by PayPal Debit Card and get the 1.5% cash back. I was thinking of swictching to billed by USD. However, they won't let me pay by credit card if i made the switch (must pay by automatic bank withdrawals).
Jeff

mahsauction · ‎11-13-2003

Thanks Pierre!

atelier_kd · ‎11-13-2003

jhongs...

I never heard of anything like that? Even though you have a credit card on file, they still limit your balance?

mahsauction · ‎11-13-2003

Shooger, when you initially setup your Paypal debit to pay your Ebay fees, did you have any problems?

momosworld · ‎11-13-2003

I use my PayPal debit also, no problems at all, last month I received about $40 back for my 1.5%...its a nice change to receive $$$ back 🙂

momo.

shooger · ‎11-13-2003

mahsauction - No, there was never any problem. I just went into my eBay profile, selected the "add a credit card" option, and input my PayPal MasterCard number and expiry date. My next monthly eBay payment came right off my PayPal MasterCard, and PayPal gave me 1.5% of it back. Simple as pie - it was one of the best moves I've made since starting up.

The other best move, which I detailed in my above post, was changing my eBay billing current to US dollars. My customers pay my PayPal account in US dollars, and eBay withdraws their fee in US dollars. No more getting burned by the conversion - twice, even three times. You could be making as much as 8 or 9% MORE profit with this simple move. Of course, as someone above said, you can only change your billing currency once per year... but trust me, why would you EVER need to change it again?

I know I sound like an advertisement, sorry. I'm just upset when I see other people getting overcharged just because they didn't didn't know any better. Believe me - eBay and PayPal aren't going to let you in on your oversight! 😛

acurael · ‎11-13-2003

Agreed!

The less you convert the currency back and forth, the more profit you keep in the end.

USD billing on ebay with USD payment and banking is ideal!

jhongs · ‎11-13-2003

Just solved all my problems! I have a limit on my balance, because i didn't even have a credit card on file. So, i put my Paypal Debit Card on file, and changed billing currency to USD. Now, i won't be ripped off by the exchange rates any more!